This month you can start bringing dormant deciduous species for repotting and styling. If you are planning to put your tree into a bonsai pot for the first time, be sure to bring at least a couple of pots you think might work well with the tree. Sometimes it’s hard to tell, when a tree is in training, what pot will suit it best for the next part of its journey.

Other trees that may need a tidy up at this time include olives and some natives (not figs though), which have produced excessively long growth during the recent growing season. June might present an opportunity to catch up on weeding your trees, a practice that may have been neglected due to other priorities earlier in the year.

It’s also a good time for wiring, as it takes much longer for the wire to need removal, because branches of most species don’t thicken over winter. If you are planning to wire a tree, it’s best to have the potting medium on the dry side (not watered for a day or two, depending on the weather), as this means the branches of your tree are likely to be more flexible and less likely to snap.

The focus of our July workshop, like last year, will be on deciduous groups, so maybe start to plan for that as well.