More Bonsai Refinement

We have named this bonsai - Tancho no mai (タンチョウの舞い) Dancing Crane.  It may seem, to some, to be a little too 'poetic' but after redefining and improving the layers in this tree it's story seemed to tell itself.

This old Mikawa Japanese Black Pine was initially grown from Japanese seed by Ian Hearn in 1971.  Ian had also developed and styled the tree over many years.  The was purchased by the gallery ~6 years ago. It is a real honor and responsibility to be the custodian of such a special bonsai.

Tancho no mai (タンチョウの舞い) Dancing Crane

Autumn Pine Refinement Continues

The philosophy of continuous improvement is a core focus for any serious bonsai practitioner. 

The Japanese word 'Kaizen' ( 改善) represents this deep seated ideology in the bonsai world.

Year in year out we strive to improve our trees; adding to, and building on previous years of work is a never ending labour to achieve that elusive 'prefect imperfection' we see in the masterpieces of those Japanese masters we all follow. 

Autumn and Winter are very busy times at The Australian Bonsai Gallery.  The work done at this time is determinant of the future improvement of any bonsai. This is the focus of our student workshops over Autumn/Winter. 

The old Mikawa Japanese Black Pine featured in this article, is one that I feel, has improved significantly this Autumn. Smaller needles and improved ramification, as well as the all important Japanese notion of Ma (間) - the deliberate 'emptiness' or 'vacant space' between branch layers.

Check out the short clip at the bottom of this article for a 360 degree view of the recent work. 

Don't Do's for Black Pines in Summer 

We have had a number of visitors and students asking about Summer work on Japanese Black Pine bonsai.

Most enquiries are, we think, born out of "itchy feet".  Student wanting to do something to tidy up their trees over Summer.

The following short clip explains why you should put down the scissors and tweezers for a while and just let your trees do what they do best in summer...... ie,  grow and mature their second flush growth.

Bud selection and needle plucking should only be done after the second flush has matured and well into the cooler months to ensure that no more growth will occur.

Remember that this article applies to JBP in refinement. 

 Huge Black Pine FOR SALE

This old Black Pine has been for sale for some time now.  Offers made but I was unwilling to let it go at a reduced price.

Reluctantly I am now at the stage where I need to move this one on and at a price that I had not thought I would be offering it at.  Click HERE  for the detail and images.

Celebrating 50 Years of Bonsai

The Australian Bonsai Gallery is celebrating a 50 year milestone of bonsai cultivation.

From our humble and confusing beginnings in 1976 we have been experimenting, failing and learning all aspects of this wonderful art form.  

Bonsai has now become our 'IKIGAI' (生き甲斐).  A life-long passion of learning and of continuous improvement.

We have come to realise that the Japanese notions of Ikigai, Ichi-go-Ichie, and Wabi-Sabi are so closely intertwined with the art of bonsai.  The understanding of these notions definitely enriches the understanding and application of bonsai art, design and philosophy.

 Finally we would like to give a big THANKYOU to our many students, and Deshi, for their enthusiasm in allowing us to pass on our knowledge.

 Summer White Pine Work

At the Australian Bonsai Gallery we do most of our White Pine work in Summer after the basil bud sheaths have shed.

No Spring 'candle shortening' as these white pines are very well branched and produce multiple terminal buds that allows for a simple selection of smaller Summer growth.

The bonsai on the RHS of the following image is For Sale Here. It keeps getting better and better each season and the price is following this trend.!!!!

Swamp Cypress Summer Pruning

Just a quick reminder about pruning Swamp cypress to improve ramification.  Always allow the first Spring flush to extend and mature before hard pruning back to around five dormant nodes.

The following images show three of the collections swamp cypress already pruned as well as our forest planting 'Before' and 'After' pruning.

 For more detail on the results of this technique have a look at a previous article HERE.

 Rock Planting Maintenance

Since posting the following clip to social media I have had many requests for some additional detail on the process of the repair work.

I have always used a mixture of fine clay (from sieved Akadama) and fine pulverized cow manure. When mixed with water it forms a strong and flexible 'Muck' that I work into the repair area.  It forms a reasonably thick layer for the tree roots to penetrate and 'Air-prune' as they exit the moss layer.  Additionally, the Muck makes a great bed for the moss layer which is pinned in with large copper 'staples'(just visible in the following image RHS).

This technique works for most species of bonsai from Swamp cypress to Japanese Black Pine.

WARNING Pine Needle Blight

 Pine Needle Blight (Dothistroma septosporum) is a fungal disease that can devastate your bonsai pine collection if not treated early.  Better still it is recommended that preventative measures be taken throughout wet/humid weather.

 A simple application of a copper based fungicide like Kocide Blue (Copper Hydroxide) can prevent infection and spread of the fungus.

However, the last growing season at The Australian Bonsai Gallery we experienced an extended wet Spring and Summer.  Despite the application of Kocide Blue one of our oldest Black Pines became heavily infected.  We continued to apply the copper spray throughout the season and into Autumn to prevent it from spreading.

The infection was so serious we did not needle pluck or bud select this bonsai in fear of further weakening it.  Fortunately this bonsai is normally very strong and this season it started to produce a good first flush of un-infected needles.

As shown in the image below we, finally and out of season, needle plucked and bud selected the tree as well as removing all the infected needles......  Looks like this venerable old tree has made a full recovery.!!!!

Removing First Flush on Pines

It does not seem to matter how many decades I have worked on pines I always hesitate when it comes to cutting that wonderful bright green Spring flush.!! 

It seems a shame but knowing how important this task is makes it a necessary part of the refinement of all 'two flush' pines.  Within a few weeks this pine will respond by pushing out multiple second flush buds.

 Our Japanese Red Pines are usually the first to be cut each year followed some weeks later by our Black Pines.