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.

Resukyū (レスキュー ) Styled

After an incredible amount of growth last season this white pine needed a huge needle thinning. Now it is time to open up the spaces between branches…. Lots of wiring.!!!

This JWP tends to flower along the new candles in most years.  The last two years it has flowered more that ever before resulting in long internodes.

A second thinning and wiring was needed to open the design and allow for some adventitious budding next Spring.  Additionally, it will give the inner shoots scope to develop.

Resukyū (レスキュー )

Pine Work with Blindness and Blinkers

Some very satisfying work o this old Japanese Black Pine. I have named this one Zaidan - 財団 .  It means 'foundation' and represents the beginning of my bonsai journey so many decades ago. 

This is a very strong tree both in it's appearance and in it's 'Shin', or heart.  It requires many hours of careful thinning, vigor balancing and wiring.

Just as an aside, I came across a Facebook thread that was very critical of those who "blindly follow Japanese traditional bonsai" and who have "the blinkers on" when it comes to bonsai styling.  There were so many comments agreeing with this opinion and none that challenged it.!!  I felt like 'wading in' but thought it futile to attempt to explain the absolute satisfaction and 'calm' that comes from following the traditional way of bonsai.

The bonsai in this image would, in my opinion', be a classic example of "blindly follow Japanese traditional bonsai" and having "the blinkers on".!

I revel in my blindness and blinkers.!!!!!

Restoration of an old Ficus Bonsai

This bonsai came in to The Australian Bonsai Gallery for some restoration. Low light and a lack of correct fertilising has weakened this bonsai considerably.

No new growth and a number of dead secondary branches tells the story.

Full sun and a fertiliser boost with Nutricote (my 'go to' for ficus bonsai) has done the job of producing new growth and getting the sap flowing.

Another week of this and it will be ready for a defoliation and repotting. 

Scroll down for a quick clip and appraisal.

Landscaping the New Bonsai Gallery

Now that the main build is done we are starting to landscape the new bonsai gallery. First up is the entrance way with some large stone placements.  This will set the stage for the landscape style in the remainder of the gallery area.

Lots of work ahead to soften the look of the gallery and give it a real Japanese 'Niwa' feel to complement the gallery bonsai collection.

Our Workshops are continuing between moving rocks and planting out so if you are interested you can enquire now.