I love trees! …so I have loads of them in my back yard. Tiny versions of big trees.
Hi, and welcome to Blue Sky Bonsai. I’m Dave. When I tell people that I love bonsai, they usually say “I had a bonsai. It died”.
Here at Blue Sky, it is my goal to show you the important tips, tricks and techniques, do’s and don’ts, and horticultural essentials so that you can do more than just keeping your trees alive; you can make your bonsai THRIVE and look truly like the BEAUTIFUL TREES that they are. If this sounds like it could help you nurture your own beautiful bonsai, then be sure to join me by bookmarking this site and by subscribing to the Blue Sky Bonsai YouTube channel!
Q and A with Dave Bluesky:
Q: Why do you do the youtube videos and offer all this advice ?
A: I do this hobby to impart the joy of my horticultural artistic passion. It is my heartfelt wish that you get the same deep enjoyment from your hobby and from my videos and advice about your bonsai trees. Who knows, you might even feel the same relaxing vibe that I get when I do bonsai. Whether you’re a bonsai beginner, or a keen enthusiast looking for your bonsai video fix, I urge you to follow my videos on YouTube because I publish them purely for YOUR enjoyment and consumption!
Q: Do you make any money from your videos or tutorials?
A: Almost none. It’s important to note that I do not advertise or promote products with income from those product manufacturers on my videos, so my advice and tutorials are unbiased.
I do, however, recommend that you use certain products with your bonsai craft. And some of those products might be listed with my affiliate links so that if you click then decide to purchase I might get a small commission. But I reiterate: that is not why I’m doing this. (Besides, the amount of money from commissions is so small that I sometimes consider not doing that, just to avoid all the admin associated with declaring it as foreign income, tax, etc.!)
Q: How long have you been doing bonsai?
A: 16 years as of February 2021, that is, I got my first bonsai in 2005. That means I have been killing bonsai (accidentally, of course) for 16 years. But more importantly, I have been keeping them alive for about 15 years.
Q: Why do you like bonsai? What got you into this beautiful hobby?
A: I have always loved trees since I was a kid. We had a massive oak tree in the back which dominated our small back garden, and more old oak trees nearby. When I was older I got into photography and kept finding myself drawn towards photographing beautiful trees. I love the huge fat tree trunks, the massive powerful sweeping branches and the old beautiful crackly bark.
Q: If it’s just a hobby, why do you have so many trees?
For several reasons. There are hundreds of viable species that can be successfully and easily grown in pots, and I like so many different features of them. You might get a particular interesting feature on just one type of tree. Amazing flowers on another, and a special fruit on another.
Secondly, as a bonsai artist you are bound to lose a tree or two at sometime, due to some reason such as accidental underwatering or a weather-related accident. It always hurts the heart if you lose a tree, especially one that you’ve worked on and developed over several years. But, having a “bank” of many different trees just softens the impact of losing one of them. The converse, if you develop and maintain just two trees, and lose one of them, that’s a big blow: half of your entire collection going to compost.
And thirdly, bonsai is a healthy passion, so it must be satiated!
Blue Sky Bonsai 