Grewia is an evergreen native of South Africa and is a beautiful flowering plant but seldom seen in bonsai displays. I am basing this article on two short, early attempts and the grewia I have now had for two years. In gardens, the grewia grows to be a substantial bush and is happy in sun […]
This month is one of our planned focus workshops for the year, focusing on a group planting of a deciduous species of your choice. Suitable trees include maples, liquidambars, elms, ash or one of the deciduous conifers (Taxodium or Metasequoia). Young trees are best suited for this style, to be spaced and grouped together in
Our June meeting saw Michael Kempson explain how he works his junipers to achieve fantastic results. Bringing a record amount trees for any demonstration (all juniper), Michael had every base covered and showed his junipers’ development from fairly raw stock (albeit with excellent bones) to refined trees. It was an inspired way of showing the
Clinton has once again agreed to demonstrate for our club. It’s always a pleasure to see Clinton in action. As you all know, Clinton has worked full time in the family nursery since 1989 and holds a Nursery Trade Certificate. He was the president and taught at the School of Bonsai for many years where
This year we have certainly had a cold start to winter and it’s time to get going with the repotting of deciduous trees if you haven’t already started. Some of the species you should be working on include crabapples, maples, elms, wisteria, liquidambars, flowering prunus of all types, deciduous conifers and ashes. Bear in mind
REMINDER: Michele T It has been a bit chaotic the last couple of years with lockdowns and the like preventing our regular meetings for long periods of time to time. The situation has (understandably) meant that some have allowed their BSA membership to expire. It seems that our regular meetings are going to be able
June is a busy month at the NBPCA with a large portion of our deciduous trees requiring structural pruning now that the leaves have fallen. Any deciduous tree that bleeds sap heavily requires its structural pruning done as soon as the leaves have fallen. Japanese and trident maples are first up. Deciduous trees that are
You can now start bringing dormant deciduous species for repotting and styling. If you are planning to put your tree into a bonsai pot for the first time, be sure to bring at least a couple of pots you think might work well with the tree. Sometimes it’s hard to tell, when a tree is
Michael’s passion for bonsai started twenty years ago and is now regarded by ‘some family and friends as a serious engagement, boarding on obsession. He started taking lessons in 2016 at the School of Bonsai, where he now teaches and has been a member of BSA since 2018. While engaging with a diverse collection there
With the sun moving lower in the sky during the colder months, you may need to move your trees around to get more direct sunlight. Keep frost tender trees under protection if frosts are likely in your area. To prevent your bonsai trees from having constantly cold, wet feet and damp foliage, it’s important to
