Advanced bonsai for sale

Posted on 28-Sep-2024 by Neil Padbury

My back is not getting any younger or stronger so it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage larger bonsai so I am reluctantly offering several older bonsai for sale.

This is an opportunity to obtain well developed, 30-40 year old bonsai.

Trident maple – informal upright, root over rock.

Grown from seed in the late 1980s. This trident maple is one of my early trials with root over rock. You can see that the rock is on the small side and the tree has grown so the roots have almost swallowed the rock. Branches are well ramified and few scars on the trunk. Priced at $2,500.

Ficus rubiginosa – informal upright.

Grown from seed in the early 1990s. This tree started out as 2 seedlings fused together to form a twin trunk bonsai. The trunks fused very well but, as the individual trunks continued to thicken, the fork between them moved higher and higher so it is now an informal upright bonsai with a very thick lower trunk and a large first branch. The cold climate here is not the best for ficus so ramification is not as extensive as the trident above but plenty of primary branches to continue building on. $2,500

Cedrus deodar – informal upright

Cedars grow slowly so it’s not surprising that this is one of my oldest bonsai. Obtained as a pencil thick seedling from Nell Saffin in the early 1980s and developed slowly in pots, this tree is a beautiful example of deodar bonsai. Cedars of this age and quality do not come up often. Priced at $3,500.

If you’d like to see more photos of any of these trees, please ask. I’m happy to take shots of different sides or any particular aspects of the trees that you’d like to see.

I don’t really want to consign trees of this size and quality to the tender care of the postal service so alternative arrangements will need to be made for delivery. Pick up by the buyer is preferred but other options may be available so, if you don’t think personal pick up is possible, please talk to me about other delivery options.

New catalogues

Posted on 2-Dec-2023 by Neil Padbury

The trees that were transplanted from the grow beds last winter have grown well and the new roots should be strong enough for them to cope with the posties now. Most have already had one haircut.

I spent last week dodging storms and rain to get photos and the new catalogues are now uploaded to the catalogue page. Feel free to browse and see if anything takes your fancy this year.

Budget Trident maples

Posted on 27-Jul-2023 by Neil Padbury

I’m sure many beginners are concerned about purchasing bare root trees and having them delivered through the mail so some of you may be more interested in some trident maple trunks that are already established in pots.

These are some of the XL and XXL bare root tridents that were left after last year’s winter bare root sale so I potted up some of the nicer trunks. That means these have had a full year to grow new roots and re-establish in the pots ready for whatever projects you’d like to try with them. Some might need another trunk chop to establish a better trunk line, others are ready to start growing branching this summer.

Delivery for some of these will be a little more than the bare root equivalent but generally a single pot doesn’t change the post price much. As usual, I’m happy to provide a delivery price quote before you commit to purchase. Please supply a mailing address or at least a postcode because post rates depend on what Auspost zone you are in.

Shibui Bonsai also has plenty of smaller trident and Japanese maples in smaller 11 cm pots as well as a good range of other bonsai species. email neil@shibuibonsai.com.au to order or enquire about your next bonsai starters.

XXL trident seedlings

Posted on 22-Jul-2023 by Neil Padbury

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.

Bonsai North-West Show

Posted on 25-Apr-2023 by Neil Padbury

Shibui Bonsai is pleased to be asked, once again, to supply stock for the coming show and sale at Footscray, in Melbourne.

For those who have not attended before, BNW show regularly features some of the best bonsai in Melbourne on the display tables. Well worth going out of your way to attend.

As well as a great range of awe inspiring bonsai on the show benches there’s a large and varied sales area featuring all things bonsai from small starter stock plants through to aged bonsai worthy of the show bench themselves. The club stocks a range of tools and equipment, wire, pot mesh, etc and several vendors supply pots, both locally made and imported.

Bonsai Northwest exhibition and sale: Footscray Community Arts Centre, Moreland rd Footscray. Saturday and Sunday 29th and 30th April 2023, 10am-4pm, both days

For more on Bonsai North West see the club website: https://www.bonsainorthwest.com.au/

Here’s a small sample from the trees I’ll be taking down.

If you want good pre-bonsai or starter stock but can’t get to BNW sales tables you can still order online from Shibui Bonsai.

Summer trimming

Posted on 29-Jan-2023 by Neil Padbury

Many native trees are growing strongly during summer so new shoots need regular trimming to keep the trees in shape.

Today I trimmed a Banksia integrifolia. This tree was grown from seed collected on South Coast NSW around 18 years ago.

Trunk and nebari with fingers for size scale

This Melaleuca almost died from dehydration earlier in spring. It is now sitting in a tray with around 3cm of water through summer to make sure it doesn’t dry out again. It has recovered well and is now growing strongly and needed a second trim for this season.

This melaleuca grows so quick and responds to pruning so well that I generally just shear the new shoots with scissors – hedge trimming. Occasional more selective pruning helps maintain the foliage clusters and overall shape.

Shibui Bonsai has a small range of Aussie natives as starters and pre-bonsai and occasionally larger field grown specimens. We currently have a few large trunked Banksias for sale – see sample picture below. Unfortunately these are too large and too heavy to be posted so pick up or alternative delivery only.

Catalogue updated

Posted on 26-Jan-2023 by Neil Padbury

I’ve just added Chinese elm catalogue and Pines and Junipers to the catalogue page.

Chinese elms were a little slower to re-establish roots this year so I delayed advertising these until now. The trees now have strong roots and can now cope with delivery to anywhere on the East coast of Australia.

Pines and junipers are both always slow to settle in after transplant so I always wait until well after the summer solstice to make sure the new trees have recovered properly before offering them to buyers. This year one of the junipers did not make it. I’ve included the original photo in the catalogue just to remind readers of some of the pitfalls of growing field grown trees for bonsai.

Hope you’ll take a look at the new offerings and at the maples on offer this season.

For those looking for younger material or smaller and less expensive stock please email to discuss your needs. The Shibui Bonsai benches are currently overcrowded with lots of trees in 11 cm pots – trident maples, Japanese maples, Chinese elms, Azaleas, including some Satsuki varieties, Shimpaku junipers, Japanese Black pines (only smaller available this year), Chojubai, Cotoneaster as well as smaller numbers of less well known bonsai species. Email neil@shibuibonsai for prices and avialability.

Catalogue update

Posted on 29-May-2022 by Neil Padbury

As usual I’ve been so busy growing and selling trees that it has been a long time between catalogue updates.

I’ve finally done a quick stocktake, made time to update the files and upload them to the catalogue page.

Also, as usual, discerning buyers have picked out some of the best field grown trees. I’m looking forward to whatever new trees I can dig this winter but there’s still some great potential left on the Shibui Bonsai benches.

Check out the catalogues and see if there’s anything that looks like you could develop into a great future bonsai.

Don’t forget there’s always a few trees that don’t make it to the catalogues for one reason or another. If you are looking for something particular just email neil@shibuibonsai.com.au and let me know so I can check the tables.

Old bonsai for sale

Posted on 27-Oct-2021 by Neil Padbury

One of the original members of our local bonsai society passed away last year. His widow has asked me to help sell off the last of their bonsai as she is downsizing and will not have space to keep these trees.

You now have the opportunity to own some Australian bonsai history at very realistic prices.

Trident maple, 1983 – $500

This trident maple is nearly 40 years old. A great opportunity to own an aged trident bonsai.

74cm tall (including pot), width 60cm

Moreton Bay fig, 1982 – $900

This is a superb example of twin trunk bonsai and has great ramification we expect to see in a bonsai close to 40 years old. Also note the great nebari.

65cm tall (including the pot), width 65cm.

Note that although this tree is labelled as Moreton Bay fig I am pretty sure it is actually Ficus rubiginosa – Port Jackson fig. Way back when these trees were being developed there was quite a lot of argument about fig ID and many PJ figs were misidentified simply because they lacked the rusty colored leaves. We now know that PJ figs come in many variants including green leaf like these 2 trees.

Moreton Bay fig, 1984 – $600

The almost horizontal right side trunk on this tree makes it a unique bonsai. I think the aerial roots at the front of the tree should go but I’ll leave that decision to the next owner.

55cm tall (including pot), width 60cm

WA fig, 1983 – $300

60cm tall (including pot), width 60cm

For more photos or info on any of these trees please email neil@shibuibonsai.com.au

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