Spring

4 months since the last post. Shame on me! Plenty going on with bonsai. Here is some of it:

We dug the ground grown trees in July and I potted the best of them into grow pots during July and August. all have produced new buds and shoots and should be growing new roots in the potting mix. I’ll try to find time to photograph them and put up a new catalogue in November. Not much time this month. We’ll be flat out with shows and sales for the next few weeks.

August was also busy with repotting my bonsai and planting out the new seedlings into the vacant growing beds.

All my deciduous trees hav now budded and many are growing strongly. I tip pruned tridents, Japanese maples and Chinese elms today and it is likely to be a continuous process for a few weeks.

Warmer weather has produced a flush of growth but also dries out the pots so I’m watering daily at the moment. Some are wilting between waterings, a sign that the tree is potbound. I notice this most with the natives. They seem to have prolific roots that fill the pot within a single year. I’m just waiting for the weather to warm up a little more and stabilise before starting to root prune and repot these natives. For those who have not yet heard, most of us find that most Aussie native plants respod best to repotting during warmer weather. Even if the tree is actively growing i find they tolerate quite severe root pruning during warm – hot weather but sulk and often die when repotted in winter. 

Shibui Bonsai will have a trade stall at the Canberra Bonsai Society spring show next weekend. You’re welcome to stop and say hi while checking the great bonsai at the show. As well as a great display of bonsai and sales tables, there will be 2 great speakers each day. Plenty to see, do and learn at the Canberra Bonsai Society spring show Oct 12 and 13. see – http://www.cbs.org.au/exhibition/

2 thoughts on “Spring

  1. Hi Neil

    Just wondering what you mean by” tip pruning tridents maples and Chinese elms”

    Are you just cutting the tips of the leaves/foliage or do you mean you are prunning the tips of the branches.

    Thanks

    Mark

    • Hi Mark,
      By tip pruning I mean taking out the growing tip of the shoots. On developing trees that need more thickening or more ramification you should let the shoots grow to maybe 4 or 5 nodes long before cutting the shoot back to maybe 1 or 2 nodes. On well developed trees we pinch out the growing tips much sooner so the branches do not get too thick.

      Neil

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