Japanese White Beech Bonsai Care Guide

Choose an outdoor spot that can provide full sun during the summer. Some shade will benefit the tree in the height of summer. During very cold weather periods a frost-free environment like a shed or greenhouse is advised. 

Water your Japanese White Beech as soon as the soil gets dry. Use the top inch of soil as a judge and ensure it doesn’t dry out completely. Be careful not to overwater the tree. During the growing season these bonsai appreciate being watered at least once a day and sometimes twice. 

A younger Japanese White Beech should be fed with mild organic feed high in nitrogen content from spring to the end of the growing season. This will aid their health and size. For older trees use a milder organic feed lower in nitrogen content. Only fertilise after the first growth set has hardened. 

Pruning your bonsai is important not only to create or maintain an aesthetic style but to also ensure optimal health. Allow the Japanese White Beech new shoots to elongate in the spring. Around May, this should allow you to cut shoots back to two or three leaves once around six or eight are present. Allow new growth for six to eight weeks before cutting back once more. Repeat this process throughout the growing season. Japanese White Beech is not suitable for defoliation. Go for leaf-cutting as opposed to defoliation, along with the new shoot trimming in May. 

Wiring Japanese White Beech is best done in late spring or winter, promptly after the leaves have fallen. If wiring in winter avoid bending branches too aggressively as this can onset die-back. We recommend using wires with a thickness that matches the thickness of the branch: if the wire you choose is too thick you will damage the bark. If it is too thin, it won’t be effective.

Repotting your tree is an important way to provide a fresh and suitable soil mix and ensure appropriate root health. Repotting your Japanese White Beech should take place at the start of Spring as the buds start swelling. This is a rare Bonsai in that around half of the roots can be cut during repotting without detrimentally affecting the plant. 

Trees that are ready for repotting will require root pruning, a suitable new pot and appropriate soil mix.

When repotting, do not cut back the root mass by a large amount, and choose a well-draining soil mix that has a neutral or slightly higher PH value of 5-6 but not over 7. We tend to use a mixture of different speciality bonsai soils on our trees. Every species is different so please contact us for free soil-mix advice or to take advantage of our repotting service.