One thing I learned very quickly is to never fertilize any deciduous tree until the leaves have flushed out in spring. The reason for that is very simple: as we want internodes to be as short as possible and have a tight ramification on the tree, fertilizing in spring - especially with high nitrogen fertilizers- would push the tree to produce longer internodes. Having too much space between each leaf is is exactly that which we want to avoid. The second problem is that high nitrogen fertilizers stimulate the bonsai tree to produce much larger leaves. That too is not on our want-list.
Wiring and styling flowering apcricot trees is typically done in early spring when the leaves have flushed out and hardened off. It is the only time of the year that the branches are very flexible and will not break off. Don't try to wire at other times of the year, your branches are guaranteed to snap when you do. Use a slightly tighter pitch then 45° when wiring because of that brittleness of apricot branches. Better use a thinner wire and double up, rather than using a thick wire.
by Eisei-en (Bjorn Bjorholm) Defoliating Flowering Apricot Bonsai
Develop Sekka Hinoki in low unglazed pots (e.g. Japanese terracotta pots)
Try to overwinter the Sekka Hinoki in a frost free place. The trees that have overwintered free of frost will grow out faster and ealier than the ones that have been in frosty conditions.
Anticipating to pruning your Japanese Maple right on time? This is one of the best autumn maintenance tutorials on Acer palmatum bonsai I have seen to date. Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai shares meticulously why the timing is so important and how to pay attention to pruning, detailing his vision of long term development of his tree.
Graham Potter: "the reason to prune the tree right before the leaves naturally drop is because we've got a few weeks where it's not going to be typically cold. So even if the tree has no leaves, the roots are still actively pushing nutrients into the tree and the buds. For that reason, the growth in the spring will be much more even. This is the benefit of this pruning."
October is one of the rare time slots where the sap flow on two needle pines is low and the tree can be needle plucked.
Do keep in mind that the preferred time for major pruning work is mid summer. In our time zone that is July.