In bonsai, a raft is one trunk along the ground supporting a number of ‘branches’ that have become trunks in their own right. Rafts come in straight and sinuous and are usually developed when a stock plant has branches on one side only. Plants that are good for rafts are privets, figs, crabapples and junipers, […]
This month we are having two workshop meetings, with our special one in the main hall on the first Tuesday and the normal workshop on the third Tuesday night in the activities room. May continues to be a good time for tidying up the foliage of evergreens such as conifers and other non-flowering bonsai, although
Water Gum (Tristaniopsis laurina) is a great choice for bonsai, particularly in the Sydney area where it is commonly used as a street tree and thrives with little or no attention. Shiny, attractive foliage with bronze tips in spring, easily reducible leaf size, clusters of small yellow flowers and beautiful bark which flakes off in
A bonsai exhibition of solely Australian native plants is always a pleasure. Seeing the species that grow around us is exciting, and the Canberra Bonsai Society’s show did not disappoint. This year’s theme, ‘The Australian landscape in the palm of your hand’ displayed 31 trees. Below are some, with their catalogue descriptions. Alpine Baeckea Baeckea
Last month’s workshop had fewer attendees than we’ve had in recent months, although there was still plenty to do. Figs were still able to be repotted, as the weather was still quite hot, and there was trimming of excess summer growth to be done as well. Normally it’s too late now to do any more
Our workshop last month was interesting and well attended, with some new members creating root over rock fig bonsai. Ingrid also showed us how to expose and work to develop further a fig from her collection, which had previously been planted as a root over rock style. Our February workshop isn’t too late in the
All members are reminded that in December there is no workshop meeting on the 3rd Tuesday, but our normal monthly meeting for December (1st Tuesday) is a workshop meeting, with a focus on figs. Our workshop meetings for 2024 will resume in January next year, the third Tuesday of the month, as normal. Our January
This is a great time to bring tropical species such as figs and bougainvillea to work on. Root pruning and styling are both possible, so make sure you bring everything you’ll need if you want to spend your evening developing these species. Pruning the foliage and styling of your deciduous trees and conifers is also
Bought at the Illawarra show last May, the basic plan for this old trident maple (1991) was to deal with the congestion at the apex, remove the highest root on the right-hand side and change the angle when repotting. The original sandy soil mix, which was drying out too quickly, was to be replaced, so
Remove any weeds, moss, fallen leaves and debris from the soil surface. Study the structure of the branches and then cut out any crossing branches and shorten the long branches to instigate more branching (ramification) in spring. Remove the tree from the pot and survey the root system. Using a small bonsai rake, scrape from
