May was not a very pleasant month weather-wise, with many wet days to dampen the spirits of bonsai enthusiasts. Hopefully you have enjoyed some autumn colour from the deciduous trees in your collections, especially as we have had a bit of a break from the rain the last week or so. Many of my trees […]
Nepean Bonsai Club’s show last month was a terrific success at its new venue, Glenbrook Public School. The gymnasium provided much needed space and very good lighting to show every tree at its best. An extensive sales area, coffee cart and sausage sizzle made for a most enjoyable day.
For the first half of April, we experienced glorious, summer-like weather in Sydney, although that changed for the second part of the month. We’ve had a lot of cloudy and showery weather of late, so watering thirsty trees has probably not been a priority, like it is in summer. Keep your deciduous bonsai in full
Leptospermum is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), mainly native to Australia and New Zealand. These plants, commonly known as tea trees or manuka, are small evergreen shrubs or trees, typically 2-5 metres tall. Leptospermum are an excellent choice for bonsai for several reasons: • Naturally small leaves • Compact growth
October 2021 I saw this tree at Flower Power and fell in love with the beautiful flowers. The trunk had nice movement and the price was reasonable, so it joined my collection as an apprentice bonsai. I have had mixed luck with leptos, losing four in one season after very careful repotting, including one
May brings the very talented Hugh Grant, of Tree Makers Design, as our demonstrator. Well known and admired for his work with native species, particularly yamadori, Hugh is also very adept in designing and styling exotic species. Having trained at Mirai, with Ryan Neil, Hugh brings a western perspective to his bonsai practice.
March was a real mixed bag of weather conditions, as the start of autumn often is. The first half of the month brought hot weather, with three days of extreme heat in a row, actually killing a couple of my tinier trees in spite of my best efforts to save them. The second half of
As always, the Australian Plants as Bonsai Show, at the National Botanical Gardens in Canberra, was a wonderful display of native bonsai. It is always inspiring to see. Below are a selection of trees with their catalogue descriptions. 19 Ti tree Leptospermum grandifolium Tree age 23 years Styled since 2004 Pot by Roger Hnatiuk The
An elder statesman of Australian bonsai, John started bonsai in 1971. He was founding member of the Nepean Bonsai Society (where he continues to teach), an inaugural member of the AABC and its vice-president for many years. John has demonstrated at AABC seminars and conducted workshops and demonstrations all over Australia and New Zealand. John
This summer has not been particularly hot in Sydney. The humidity and the showery weather of late, has meant that I have had plenty of issues on my trees with such pests as scales of various types (white wax scale being the worst on some natives) and the usual caterpillars and fungal infections on susceptible
