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.
Autumn 2012
Its now May and here at Shibui Bonsai nights have been cool enough for the deciduous trees to start to think about dormancy. One of the great delights in growing deciduous bonsai is the autumn show of colour.
Age before Beauty?
We often see and hear about how old, and therefore valuable, a bonsai is. In my view a bonsai is like any other work of art. Although its age does have some bearing, it is the beauty of the piece that really influences its value. Continue reading
Nebari
Nebari is the Japanese word meaning the lowest part of the trunk and the visible part of the roots. In Japanese bonsai good nebari is deemed a very important aspect of the tree. Continue reading
Different phases in the life of a bonsai
We regularly hear of special pruning techniques for bonsai but before rushing off to try it out you should ask: What is the aim of this technique? And, possibly more importantly: At what stage in the life of my bonsai should I use this technique?
As I see it, a bonsai goes through a number of phases in its life.
First phase is ‘Growth’.
Second phase I call ‘Development’.
Then as the tree is close to ‘finished’ it goes into ‘Maintenance’ phase
Each of these phases have different aims and require different techniques to bring about the desired outcomes. Continue reading
January 2012
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
Welcome to Shibui Bonsai
I’m developing this site to share the results of more than 30 years of bonsai experience and my tips and techniques for developing and maintaining really top quality bonsai in Australia.
My aim is to add new material once or twice each month to build up a comprehensive library of practical and up to date bonsai techniques and ideas.
While much of the material here relates to my experience growing bonsai in south eastern Australia, many of the comments will also apply to growers in other areas and other climates.
For those who are interested I will also feature a few of the trees for sale in Shibui Bonsai’s nursery.