I picked up a little beauty at the BSA sale table on Friday. Yes, the early bird gets the pyracantha. It has age, character and is small… all the things I look for. In its purchased state it was out of balance and ready for restyling. The pyra was a little hungry and needed a
This year’s show was excellent with many visitors commenting on the number and variety of trees displayed. With more than a hundred and thirty bonsai and companion plants to accompany them that is no understatement! Trees ranged from the spectacular (above), some needing two strong men to carry them, to Shohin and even mame and
Andrew did a fantastic demonstration at September’s meeting, using an enormous rock that once resided in an aquarium and a variegated juniper that had he had styled in a master class with Yannick Kiggen (Belgium) at this year’s Bonsai Week at the National Arboretum. Andrew’s aim for this demonstration was to lift both the tree
If you missed Shaun’s demonstration last year, on root over rock with a twist, don’t make the same mistake again. Shaun is an extremely talented bonsai artist whose work is represented in the National Collection of Bonsai and Penjing in Canberra. Sean’s skill spans bonsai of all sizes; from spectacularly massive privets and olives to
October sees the continuation of repotting and pruning in our bonsai collections. Watering should now be done daily, unless rain occurs. Be sure to check afterwards that the soil is moist and the rain has penetrated the soil. As usual check trees which are in full sun more carefully. It is also important to fertilize
With only two weeks to go until our show, hopefully you’ve chosen your display and they are looking good. We hope to better label the trees this year returning to the previous format of common name, scientific name and years in training so, as this will take a bit of time to organise we will
As usual, the Illawarra Bonsai Society’s Tops Weekend was great fun with lots to learn. The ‘all women cast’ did not disappoint with our own Paulette De Martin, Avril Stanley (Brisbane) and Ruth McClucas (Canberra Native Bonsai Club) each bringing an interesting and individual direction to the weekend. Paulette spoke about making her lightweight trays
THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A SERIES PERTAINING TO POTTING MEDIUMS Dorothy Koreshoff O.A.M. ©️ reproduction by permission. I have spent what seems a lifetime with bonsai since marrying Vita Koreshoff in 1949 at the age of 18. He had been growing bonsai before I met him, but over the years, Vita and I trialled
What a wonderful AABC Convention this year; great demonstrators, a fantastic show (see our website for photos) and an excellent group of like-minded people with whom to share the experience. Congratulations to Bonsai Northwest Inc who left nothing to chance and made sure that the 31st AABC Convention was a memorable experience for all those
Having seen a most beautiful elm with exposed roots at the recent AABC Convention (thought to be one of the best trees on display by Bjorn Bjorholm) the question of how one might achieve such a developed exposed root system for a semi cascade was something to investigate in the future but luckily, last month’s
