Pest battle with Cherry Blossom Bonsai — and how I won

I had a serious problem with spider mite and scale in stressful growing conditions on my Cherry Blossom Bonsai earlier this year. Caught it late and had to work hard to bring the plant back. The experience was frustrating but educational.

Now that it's healthy again I can fully appreciate deeply personal relationship between artist and tree, which is remarkable. I've repositioned it in a Japanese-inspired garden display with gravel and stone and improved my attention to styling with the front and viewing angle in mind from day one. winter rest with protection from extreme frost for most species was the proof that the plant had fully recovered — genuinely beautiful. Moral of the story: inspect regularly and catch problems early.