Hugh’s choice of tree for last month’s demonstration was Casuarina or more precisely, Allocasuarina which are a favourite his. Commonly known as she-oak, Casuarina and Allocasuarina are in the same family but Allocasuarina are only found in Australia while Casuarina are found all over SE Asia, the Indian subcontinent and islands in the West Pacific […]
Well known bonsai nurseryman, Ashley Brown has been surrounded by plants all his life. He started his horticultural career in 1985 working for one of Australia’s largest propagation nurseries, has owned his own nurseries from 1993 and as a result there are not many species with which he is not familiar. In 2005, he moved
The weather is finally getting cooler and winter is on the way, so hopefully your deciduous bonsai will be starting to show some autumn colour. Keep the trees in full sun, if possible, as sunlight combined with cooler nights improve the colour intensity. If you are in the market to purchase more deciduous species, this
To do good bonsai wire is a necessity but some people can’t seem to see the reason. Cruel, they say. Can’t you do it another way? Not really. You have little control over the shape of a branch using weights and clip and grow is slow and tedious and doesn’t help styling on a more
Dothistroma needle blight is more commonly known as red tip or red band disease. To the best of my knowledge it first appeared in the radiata pine forests around Cooma NSW and is rumoured to have been introduced to Australia from New Zealand on forestry workers’ equipment used in this area. I first came into
Anatomy of a Shohin Display is reprinted by courtesy of Jonas Dupuich and Bonsai Tonight Anatomy of a shohin display One of the first displays to catch my attention at this year’s Gafu-ten exhibit featured six trees and an accent plant. Unlike the display of larger bonsai, shohin display entails complex relationships among all of
Enjoyed by members and visitors alike, Joe Morgan-Payler’s visit was a great success with an excellent demonstration and a full day and evening of workshops. For a change, members were invited to bring trees they would like Joe to work on and he would decide which tree he would develop. There was plenty to choose
Hugh Grant is an Australian bonsai artist from the Central Coast of NSW whose work explores bonsai from the perspective of natural sculptural form and ecological references. For Hugh, bonsai is used as a medium to initiate a collaboration and a direct immersion of the landscape, creating an understanding of trees and plants. Hugh has
While the weather remains warm, it’s a good time to repot many species, particularly evergreens like pyracantha, cotoneasters, olives, star jasmine etc. Recently repotted trees will need protection if the nights suddenly become cold within the first couple of weeks after repotting. It is a good idea to tidy up conifers as well. Remove any
Bending Branches Obviously the most common way to bend branches is with wire but there are times that you need to use different techniques for the sake of the health and the type of tree you have. Using corks to pry apart brittle branches (especially azaleas) and at repotting times to pry apart stubborn roots.
