Late Colour in this Old Swamp Cypress

 It is very strange to see the Gallery Swamp Cypress still holding their Autumn colours.  This is the first year that this has happened in the some 43-45 years of their lives.!

This example has been developed in the 'Sequoia' style and has been criticized for it for some time now for not being trained 'true to species'.

There are many books and articles written about how to train swampys' the "correct way" with a mature broad crown and very few lower branches.

There are some very good examples of this style but personally I like to express our Swamp Cypress in a different way.

If you have any thoughts/opinions on this subject please let me know.!!!

Well; Over the last few days It has been  a real privilege and pleasure to have worked on these stunning  'mikawa' black pines.

To sit down and contemplate refining these 54yr old bonsai has been an experience and a real highlight of my 48 year bonsai journey.

Many thanks to Ian Hearn for passing these bonsai on to my care.!!!!

Mikawa Black Pines added to the Gallery Collection

The Australian Bonsai Gallery has acquired a number of old ‘makawa’ Japanese Black Pines from the highly respected collection of Ian Hearn.

We feel privileged to now be the custodians of these old and rare bonsai.  They will be an added feature, and true assets of the Bonsai Gallery.

We will be posting more as the Winter work progresses.

These bonsai were grown from Japanese seed in the very early 70's and have been in the Ian Hearn collection all that time.

The outstanding feature of 'mikawa' black pines in the thick bark they develop over time.

Some progress on Workshop Pines

Another successful round of workshops at The Australian Bonsai Gallery.

Lots of needle thinning, bud selection, wiring and styling were the focus of brining these Japanese Black Pines to the next level in their refinement.

Some heavy wiring and trunk bending techniques required to improve the balance and depth in some of the trees with a minimum of stress to the trees.

Our one-on-one workshops allow us to better focus on our students and their individual needs.

Learn more about our workshops and sign up for a day or weekend of intensive tuition HERE.

Winter Bonsai Workshops

Winter is a very busy time for the serious bonsai artist and there is no better time to add to the refinement of that special bonsai.

Pines should be needle plucked, bud selected and wired this time of the year.  Deciduous bonsai are much easier to refine in Winter, for obvious reasons; bare branches allow for easier wiring, bud selection and branch placement.

The Australian Bonsai Gallery workshops allow you to gain a clearer understanding of these processes and give you the confidence to take your skills in bonsai to the next level.

Our workshop content is the product of more than 48 years of experience in the development and refinement of bonsai.

Details of our Workshop content can be found HERE.  |  Workshop registrations HERE.

 Winter Show for Swamp Cypress

 With an extraordinarily warm Autumn it has taken till now for our Swamp cypress bonsai to start showing off their colours.

 Autumn/Winter Pine work Begins

 Autumn and Winter are very important seasons in the bonsai calendar at The Australian Bonsai Gallery.

 Time to remove past seasons wire, thin out old needles, re-wire, and improve the style of your pines.

A pine like the one in this article, being over 1000mm high, requires around two days work to maintain it's overall health as well as to refining the design.

The concept of continuous improvement is an ever-present focus for us.  To this end we have developed a simple and straightforward process for the refinement of Black and Red Pines. 

A copy of this process can be downloaded HERE.

Get Your Bonsai Soil Ready

The Australian Bonsai Gallery is all set for the upcoming re-potting season well ahead of time.

It seems that every year there is a new component on the market that is worthy of trialing.

The last few years we trialed the South African SAkadama with mixed results.  In our opinion it is way too hard.

Next season we will be trialing a different brand of Japanese Akadama, Ibaraki. It is reportedly the superior Akadama.  It has a lot to live up to as we have had great success,. to date, with the Kobayashi brand.

We purchased some Ibaraki Akadama a few days ago and, as we do with all clay based substrates, did a 'Dispersion test' on a small sample.  The sample passed with flying colours and if this test is anything to go buy Ibaraki may be the best yet.!

For more info on the mix used at the gallery See this link.

Trident Maple Autumn Colour

An early show of colour in this old Trident maple this year.  We have never seen such dark red in this tree before... may be due to the move to our new gallery last year.

This tree is a favorite at the Australian Bonsai Gallery.  It features a beautiful pot from Murrumbung Studio Ceramics....... thank you Tracey Francis.!!

Japanese Black Pine For Sale

The Australian Bonsai Gallery is offering this magnificent Black Pine for sale.!

This bonsai has been a 40+ year project at the gallery and is now showing it's traditional Japanese style very well.

The tree is large.  At 1400mm high and a trunk, above the nebari, of 245mm. 

Offers are envited.  Contact us to place your offer by using the form or the WhatsApp chat.

Go to the Shop for more images and details.