Category Archives: repotting

XXL trident seedlings

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I tackled some bigger garden grown trident seedlings today. Thicker roots so these took a bit more time and effort to extract than the smaller ones I usually offer.

After they are out of the ground and roots separated from each other the trunks and roots need to be trimmed

Trident trunks like this are still available bare root – until the new shoots start to open. Prices from $15 through to $30 for these XXL bare root tridents depending on how good the root base, trunk taper and trunk bends. This one priced at $20 as an indication.

XL trunks are a bit thinner, usually around finger thick – that’s about 1.5-3cm thick at the base – and priced at $10 – $15 each depending on quality as above.

As shown, XL and XXL tridents are usually tall and thin. They are good for larger groups as is but can be trunk chopped and grown on to create trunks will have good taper in a few years.

There are a small number that already have forks in the trunk which will give a natural point to chop for taper and for trunk bends. $30 for trunks like this one with good roots and a natural fork for trunk reduction. Not many of these so get in quick before they are sold.

Some have lots of side branches. Expect to pay $20 for a trunk like this. Only while stocks last.

Shohin Root over Rock

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June marks early winter here at Shibui Bonsai. The leaves have fallen off most of the trident maples and that means it’s time to start work on the developing trees. Most years I start with the Root over Rock plantings because it is always great to finally see what has happened over summer.

The box of potential shohin trident root over rock

After clearing fallen leaves you can now see the trees and rocks wrapped in alfoil.

I use aluminium foil because it conforms very closely to the shape of the rocks. even into crevices and hollows and holds the growing roots very close to the rocks.

Roots have grown through the bottom of the polystyrene box over the summer indicating good growth of at least some of these trees.

After cutting the roots under the box I gently ease each tree out of the soil. Breaking a few of the roots at this stage doesn’t matter as I intend to cut them back much further in the next step

Just a quick, rough trim of roots hanging out from the foil to make the trees easier to handle.

I won’t trim the tops at this stage. I really want to see the shape of both rocks and new roots before deciding where to prune the long trunks and branches.

Next time I open them up to see how the roots have developed.

Ficus bonsai

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Summer is a great time to work on ficus and other sub tropical plants. They respond quickly and recover far better if pruned or root pruned while they are still actively growing.

This old ficus has been posted before. It is now a bit too large for me to manage comfortably so I’ve offered it for sale. Earlier in spring I gave this one a really hard trim as trimming had been neglected for a year or 2 and branches were becoming too long.

The tree has responded with masses of new shoots, some from the existing branches and more from the trunk. Now it is time to select best new shoots, thin out excess shoots and trim the good ones.

Ficus before selecting new shoots
After

The dwarf green tree frog was not impressed that I removed all his cover but stayed put while I worked. Now safely back in the poly house.

The above tree (with or without the frog) is still available if you fancy owning an old, impressive trunk bonsai. Still priced at $3,300

For those who would rather invest some time instead of money Shibui Bonsai also has smaller starter Port Jackson figs. In just 30 years you could have something like the tree above for an investment of just $15 or $20.

I also repotted some starter root over rock ficus to check the roots. These trees were started just last year which shows how quickly ficus can grow.

Ficus Root over rock

Shibui Shohin Bonsai

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Every year my back protests more and more about lifting heavy objects. Larger bonsai look great but I’m finding myself not wanting to move them for repotting, trimming, etc. A few years ago I decided to start planning for the future so I started seriously developing much smaller trees for bonsai. Many of those trees are now looking good. Time for some pots but where do I find good small bonsai pots.

I’ve heard good things about a number of Aussie bonsai potters but actually finding them proved more difficult as I am not registered with any social media sites where it appears most of these potters hang out.

Eventually I tracked down several of these elusive Aussie potters and ordered some trial pots. Parcels began arriving just in time for spring repotting so a number of new Shibui Bonsai shohin are now sporting brand new made in Australia pots.

First up, Brendon Norton – Bad Swan pottery, WA.

Pyracantha
Lonicera
Trident maple
Trident maple Root over rock

Some from Val garth – Val Pots, Melbourne.

Chinese elm
Shimpaku
Trident maple

Luke Parsons – Adelaide Bonsai pottery supplied some more.

Chinese elm
Lonicera
Trident maple

And more pots from Marie Hewartson

Pyracantha
Trident maple
Buxus harlandii
Shimpaku

All these talented Aussie potters also make larger pots. Most have a small range of pots in stock but you may even be able to talk them into making a special designer pot to suit your special tree.

I still have a few pots without partners from this year’s purchases but there are still more small trees coming along for the next few years. If there are any talented bonsai potters out there making smaller pots please feel free to get in touch.

More banksias

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A couple of my smaller bonsai banksias started to develop dieback in some twigs toward the end of spring.

Many people would assume that, because these are banksias, the dead shoots would be the result of phosphorus toxicity. My experience with this genus led me to a completely different conclusion.

I have noticed that banksias have very dense fine roots that develop very quickly. Here’s what I found when this one was removed from the pot.

It definitely needs repotting.

First, trim back any long, fresh shoots.

When I cut through the root ball I found exactly what I was expecting – a dry patch in the middle.

That area is dry despite a thorough water last night and again this morning. The roots are so crowded that water has great difficulty penetrating which means the tree starts each day without a full pot of water. The dead shoots have nothing to do with P toxicity. They simply show a lack of water.

The remaining roots were trimmed quite a lot.

Note that there are no visible proteoid roots on this banksia because it gets regular fertiliser. Proteoid roots appear when banksias are short of nutrients and tend to disappear when the trees are fertilised regularly so paradoxically, regular fertiliser actually helps reduce the chance of P overdose for banksias.

Then back into the pot with fresh mix.

My experience with banksias as bonsai shows that the roots grow so fast that these need repotting every year to prevent them becoming root bound and having difficulties with water absorption. Fortunately they also seem very tolerant of the repotting process during the warmer months. This repot was carried out during a string of 40+C days in early January. New shoots continued to grow and more buds have sprouted since the repot. As usual, the freshly repotted tree went straight back to its usual position on the bench. The area is covered with light shade cloth this year but no other ‘aftercare’ was given.

I’ve found banksias to be very rewarding for bonsai. Why not have a try? Shibui bonsai normally has banksias available in a range of sizes including field grown trunks – see our banksia catalogue – hhttps://shibuibonsai.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Banksias-2018-1.pdf

Banksias as bonsai

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Summer has proved to be a good time to repot banksias and a couple of the shibui bonsai banksias were due for it this year.

When I first started to grow banksias for bonsai they were not very successful. Most just lasted a year or two then suddenly died. Given that banksias have a reputation for being quite sensitive I just thought the genus was not suitable then I started to see some great banksia bonsai and gradually pieced together a couple of important facts about banksia bonsai. Continue reading →

Trident nebari

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Spreading basal roots, known by the Japanese term ‘nebari’ is considered very important for maple bonsai. Surface roots are prominent features of old maples, pines and elms so these features are also valued in bonsai of these species.

Nebari should, ideally, spread evenly all around the base of the tree, showing enough to give the tree the air of age and stability. Continue reading →

Repotting natives

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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 →