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The Trident Maples at the Australian Bonsai Gallery started colouring up about 3 weeks ago.!!
Night temperatures are still reasonably high so don't know why the early colour.???
One of our Chinese elms has already lost most of it's foliage as well.!!??
Some time ago I waded into the 'deep end' of the Bonsai Soil Mix debate.
Visitors to The Australian Bonsai Gallery constantly asked about our bonsai soil mix so I thought I would share an article I wrote three years ago on this subject.
Feel free to comment and share your experience.
The health and vigor of the bonsai at The Australian Bonsai Gallery attest to the success of our bonsai soil mixes.
There are no tricky, hard to get ingredients here; most are readily available.
The big question we are often asked:.....
Q.... Do you use the same mix for all species of bonsai.??
A.... You must, firstly, know the characteristics of each ingredient of the soil mix; that is, knowing what they contribute to the health of the tree. Secondly, it is essential to know the horticultural needs of each species and how to match the quantities of each ingredient to the needs of the tree.
A quick example would be say.... a Swamp cypress would require a greater proportion of water holding ingredients than a Japanese Black pine.
Once you have mastered these skills you should be able to water your entire collection at the same time intervals.
Over the past few years Australia has seen higher than average rainfall and the need for a tailored soil mix has never been more important.!!! Over this period we have seen an increasing number of other peoples bonsai that have suffered from soils holding far too much moisture.
Usually the cause is soil mixes high in fine organic matter. This has a dual effect on the tree. Once wet the soil takes far to long to dry out; and, if left to dry out too much the soil becomes 'hydrophobic' and will not take up moisture. Both these effects are terminal for most bonsai.
The following image is a sample tray we have set up for our Bonsai Workshop students. Our students learn quickly how to prepare a good mix for their trees.!!
We have just added a few bonsai pots for sale on the website.
These pots are old.!! I purchased them many decades ago from the Koreshoff Nursery in Castle Hill.
Resukyū (レスキュー) Japanese white pine restyled to a softer look this season.
In contrast to the last article on a grafted White Pine this old pine is on it's own stock and, as such, grows much slower. The advantage is that it produced much smaller needle clusters and there are no graft faults to deal with.
This grafted Japanese White Pine was field grown, from commercial nursery stock, at The Australian Bonsai Gallery for about 6 years before being lifted to a training pot in August 2019.
The Black Pine stock had developed significantly while in the field and will require some carving to better blend the graft union.
Carving will be done in Winter to avoid significant sap loss.
Japanese White Pine from August 2019 to Febuary 2025
Today I had the pleasure of working on an old Koreshoff Morton Bay Fig for a client.
The old tag stated that it was from 1976; it looked every bit as old and more. The image here does not do it justice. This bonsai show it's age in the very 'gnarly' old bark and truly gives you that 'Wabi-Sabi' feeling.!!
My first news article for 2025 so..... Happy New Year.!!!
I have been going through some old Bonsai Australia magazines - The, then, "Official Journal of the Bonsai Society of Australia". These old magazines had some really useful information.!
The following articles feature bonsai by Max Candy and a detailed demonstration by Mr. Nakajima & Mr. Komatsu in 1985.
The history of bonsai in Australia is being lost so if you recognize these trees I am sure that the bonsai community would like to see some recent images.!! Please, if you have any information, I would like to publish and share.
Confused.?? So was I until I realized that if you remove the first flush so late that the attempted second flush results in only bud formation that:
Still confused.??..... So was I, STILL, so some years ago I started experimenting with this idea of a late first flush cut on my old Black Pines ( every second year) and realized that:
The bonsai in the following image is a great example of this technique. What you are looking at is 'last years second flush buds opening as this years first flush needles'.
It should be noted that this technique, logically, can only be applied every second year.
There are many reasons to prune most deciduous bonsai in Summer.
Firstly, a heavy pruning in summer reduces the 'transpiration load' on most broadleaf deciduous bonsai. This reduces water stress.
The resultant 'Summer flush' of this pruning is Important to the design and development of deciduous bonsai. If you get the timing right this late flush can produce smaller leaves and finer branching; increasing branch ramification.
This Japanese white pine has been discounted for a quick Christmas sale. For more info on this bonsai click HERE.
