Happy Birthday from my Daughter!

     What does the daughter of a bonsai enthusiast get her father for his birthday? If she's my wonderful 12-year-old, a new starter tree!

Wild Olive Ramification. Again, "reblogged, sort of."

     A day or two after I finished translating José Rivera's article on his peg graft, I got another email from Paul Stokes. This one started: "I should have known ..." He had a chance to publish another Spanish-original blog post, and would I mind translating it?

Peg Graft. Reblogged, sort of.

     A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Paul Stokes at ofBonsai, the online magazine. He had received permission to republish an article by José Rivera of Puerto Rico; and having learned that I'm not just an until-I-die bonsai practitioner but also a professional translator, he asked if I would be willing to translate  Mr. Rivera's short article into English. I agreed.

I had never heard of Mr. Rivera's technique before. I'm calling it a "peg graft," for lack of another term; you

"Exotic" works both ways.

     A local species of scale appears to have a sweet tooth for willow-leaf fig. It will attack other tropical species, too, like Ficus microcarpa. But if willow-leaf fig, Ficus salicaria, is available, it seems to go for that first, and with the greatest appetite. (Since Ficus salicaria is one of my favorites, that puts us very much at odds!)