Banksias are a great Australian native species for bonsai. Not only are they an iconic Aussie plant but they also respond well to bonsai culture and techniques.

Regular readers will have seen this callistemon before. It was started many years ago to replicate the river callistemons that grow in and along the creeks and rivers in my area.

This spring it has been wilting badly most days so I decided it was time to repot to give the roots more room.

After a number of failed attempts to upload some new catalogs I’ve managed to get them onto the catalog page and actually work – Yay!

Just go to the catalog page and click on the blue links to see what Shibui Bonsai has available this season.

As usual, please be aware that some of the trees featured in the catalogs will already have been sold. I’ll attempt to update the files whenever I can but the reality is they will usually be way behind the actual stock. Thank you for your patience.

Last Sunday I moved a Japanese red pine in preparation for decandling.

I’ve finally found time to take photos and put together a catalog of the new field grown trident maples and the new Root over rock trees but having trouble getting those files onto the wordpress site.

It is now mid spring at Shibui Bonsai and trees are all growing. That means I spend a fair bit of time trimming new growth.

Today is the spring equinox. days are definitely longer and getting slowly warmer. The bonsai have noticed and many of the deciduous trees have started to grow.

By spring sales stock at Shibui Bonsai are usually at the lowest levels. Most of the trees Shibui offers are grown on site. We dig new trees from the grow beds in late winter and pot them up but it takes a few months for those trees to grow new roots. Shipping trees with tender new roots would likely damage those fragile roots as the tree is jostled and shaken in transport. To give you the best stock I don’t ship trees until I am sure the new roots are strong enough to handle the rigors of the postal service.

It is officially spring here at Shibui Bonsai and, this year, the trees match the calendar. Most of the trident maples have begun to open new buds with those lovely red new leaves. Here are a couple of my trident maples today.

Most of the Chinese elms have also started to unfold new leaves. Chinese elms start off with brilliant green buds.

Finally for today, a crab apple. Leaves have opened fast this year. Flowers should follow soon after. This one is old enough to have developed plenty of fruiting spurs so it is usually a mass of flowers. Crab apple flowers come and go pretty quick but I’ll try to catch it at its best for you.

In the last Shibui Bonsai post I showed how I start root over rock trident maples. They are then planted in large pots or boxes in the nursery for the summer. I find the nursery is the best place because the trees get regular water that can trickle down between the rock and foil and keep any of those shorter roots alive until they grow long enough to reach out the bottom and into the potting mix.