At Kisetsu-en Bonsai Online I every month present a new species of the month.

This month it is one of my favourites. The Shrubby honeysuckle, or Lonicera nitida.

This tree was, as many others, created from a raw and simple plant collected some years ago. Garden material is very usable for all kinds of bonsai. From small shohin (up to 20 cm. in height) to larger bonsai.

Lonicera nitida is easy to find, but it isn’t easy to find a piece with a good trunk. They grow in hedges and they need to fuse trunks to be impressive.

In the monthly JULY BONSAI MAGAZINE, I explain how to care for this wonderful small shrub, how I style and create it.

Creating foliage pads

A question I received from one of my passionate members was about creating foliage pads.

Foliage pads have to have a flat bottom, more or less, and a curved top to look like a real foliage pad on a larger tree seen at a distance.

How to avoid them being flat and without depth is about pruning the new growth so the form is right. And adjusting some small branches with wire to avoid straight upwards growth can bring the foliage pad in balance.

This is all explained in depth in the newest online tutorials you find at Kisetsu-en Bonsai Online.

Setting your own standards and footprint on your work. The great thing about growing your own bonsai from simple material is the creativity you can put in your trees. I help you achieve that through the online courses, and with the Q&A for members, you can get all the help you need to proceed.