Today I pricked out the last of this year’s black pine seedlings. Correct treatment of the roots at this early stage pays dividends later with better rootsystems to give superior nebari on your bonsai. These photos show my methods. Continue reading
With longer summer days and temperatures in excess of 40C several days in a row the pressure is really on watering and watering properly. With the dry weather I start to notice the areas on the benches that don’t get full coverage from the watering system as a few trees start to wilt and leaves brown off. Sensitive trees are moved to areas that recieve a full share of water while drought tolerant species can manage better in the ‘rain shadow’ areas. Continue reading
It is June at Shibui Bonsai and that means winter. We have had a few light frosts so far this season but this morning was probably the coldest yet.
Frost on a trident maple
Here in Australia we do not have to contend with really severe cold that growers in some other areas get. My cold hardy trees stay outside without any protection all winter without any ill effects, in fact I think it might even be good for them. Low temperatures help to induce some trees to flower better and I hope that some of the pests and diseases will also be killed during cold weather. My ficus, which are NOT cold hardy, live in the unheated poly igloo which provides enough protection to get them through the winter here. Continue reading
It is getting cooler at Shibui Bonsai as Autumn really kicks in. For a while we thought we might miss out on good Autumn colour but a few more cooler nights have seen the trees colour up reasonably well.
January and February are the hottest months of the year here at Shibui Bonsai. So far temperatures have not reached 40 C but it’s still hot enough to make watering my most pressing priority. Continue reading