For many years there has been a myth that ‘normal’ fertiliser will kill Australian plants.
The truth is that most Aussie natives don’t care. Many actually grow way better when they have access to reasonable levels of P so they grow better when fertilised with standard fertilisers. I have actually come to the conclusion that many of my early failures with Australian native plants can be attributed to starvation because I was too frightened to fertilise. Continue reading
I usually repot any native plants in November or December. There were plenty that needed doing this season because I had not repotted for a couple of years. I find that many native plants grow lots of fine roots in the pots and quickly get to the stage where there is no room in the potting mix for water or air to penetrate. This mans that it becomes increasingly difficult to keep the mix hydrated and I have lost quite a few trees because I have not repotted often enough. Continue reading
Spring has been very busy for Shibui Bonsai. We had a trade table at Canberra Bonsai Society show and supplied more stock for Bonsai North West spring show in Melbourne at the start of November. Our local Albury Wodonga Bonsai Society staged exhibitions at both Albury Show and Myrtleford show.
Now that spring is over I have finally managed to find time to take photos of the trees on the sales tables and get them up on the Catalogue page. No descriptions yet this time but I think you can probably get a pretty good idea of the trees from the pictures. Just email neil@shibuibonsai.com.au if you need more info on any of the trees featured.
Spring seems to have started slowly here at Shibui Bonsai. Lots of rain keeping temps a little lower than usual but the trees have responded to the warmth and started to grow. Continue reading
After a wet winter the longer, warmer days of Spring are welcome. It is always magical to see the new leaves start to open and flower buds swelling so I thought I’d share some photos with you. Continue reading
Late winter is typically busy at Shibui Bonsai. Trees in the grow beds must be dug, pruned and assessed. The best are potted up for you to purchase. Others are replanted to continue developing. A few that don’t look like measuring up are consigned to the scrapheap. Continue reading
It is mid winter at Shibui Bonsai. July and August are the months I usually dig all the stock from the grow beds and assess them. Continue reading
Sooner or later all bonsai growers need to bend parts of a bonsai. Whether the bend is in the trunk or just moving a branch slightly there is always some fear that the tree will break instead of bending the way you want it. Continue reading
The new shoots on Black pines have matured so it is time to thin out all the new shoots that have grown since decandling.
It is important to know that this is part of the technique used to REFINE MATURE pines. Younger, developing pines should be allowed to grow freely to gain strength and size and cut back hard every couple of years. Decandling is used to ramify the branches on trees that are closer to being mature bonsai. Continue reading
Shibui Bonsai specialises in quality pre bonsai and starters but occasionally I need to make some space in my personal bonsai collection. This year I have picked 2 advanced bonsai to go on the sale tables. Continue reading