Black Pine Bonsai Simplified

We hear so many comments about how difficult Japanese Black Pine bonsai are to develop and refine.  So many novices are told not to start with JBP as they are difficult and not suitable for the beginner.!

In an effort to dispel this myth we have put together this short presentation to demonstrate how easy it really is to deal with this great species.

Now that your second flush growth has hardened off, it is a great time to start your foliage balancing, bud selection, and wiring. 

A pdf of this presentation is available for download HERE.

Click image to open slideshow

If you missed last month's workshops we have just added more dated for June - 2021. Our workshops allow you to tap into more than 45 years of experience in the development and refinement of bonsai.

The Australian Bonsai Gallery is offering a number of Bonsai Workshops for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels.

All of our Bonsai Workshops are held in The Australian Bonsai Gallery among our collection developed over the last 45 years.

Our Bonsai Workshops are held over one day, from 10:00am till 3:00pm and numbers are limited to 3 students per workshop, (Due to COVID-19 restrictions).

Extended, 'one-on-one' Advanced Workshops can also be scheduled by appointment.  See all available workshops HERE.

Spend the day working on & promoting BONSAI

The World Bonsai Friendship Federation established this international day of celebration to pay homage to bonsai Master Saburo Kato's mission to promote peace and friendship through the art of bonsai.

The day is celebrated on the second Saturday of May each year, which this year is TODAY.!!

Master Saburo Kato

Bright Autumn Colour

This 'root-over-rock' trident maple (pictured on the left) never disapoints to put on a nice Autumn show.  This maple, although displaying some nice Autumn colour, needs a lot of work to increase the number of buds so that we can reduce the overall leaf size.

The image to the right is from Mr. Takeyama’s trident maples at the Fuyo-en Bonsai Garden in Omiya Village.  After seeing these bonsai in 2016 I realised just how much more work we have to do, at the gallery, to really bring our bonsai to an acceptable level.

The work continues.......

'Mikawa' Japanese Black Pine - New Home in Canberra

 Looks like a road-trip coming up to deliver a number of bonsai to Canberra.  This old 'mikawa' Black Pine as among a number of trees due to be delivered soon.

There are still a number of great quality bonsai for sale on the website HERE. 

If anyone is interested in purchasing we will be delivering between Dorrigo and Canberra soon.

Trident Maple Branch Development

Following on from a story I wrote on 10-Dec-2018 regarding the construction of a lower branch on this old Trident Maple:

"I have been working on this trident maple from a cutting struck in the early 80's. It should be more advanced, by now, but it has been a victim of my limited time. It is finally getting some attention. The final stage of (initial) development is to thicken the lower branch with these sacrificial growth. The rest of the tree is being refined and the leaves and inter-nodes are reducing nicely."

.... the project is now completed.  The sacrificial branches were shortened and the many buds that followed have now developed into finer branches.  

As with all bonsai the refinement never ends.  This bonsai will continue to improve.!!

High Quality Zheng-liang Pots

The Australian Bonsai Gallery has just picked up some very good quality Chinese bonsai pots.  All by ZhengLiang from the renouned Yixing province of China.

Thanks to a 'tip-off' from a bonsai mate (thanks Dom) we were able to find these pots.  The pots from this maker are hand made and very well designed.  

If you have any of these pots in your collection... hang on to them.!!

Discounted Japanese Black Pine Bonsai

Some Japanese Black Pine bonsai have been discounted for a quick sale.  The Australian Bonsai Gallery has it's eye on some very expensive Japanese bonsai pots so these bonsai have to go at these prices.

More details HERE

Another Black Pine Bonsai going to a new home

This old 'mikawa' Japanese Black Pine starts a new chapter in it's life.  Now in the care of another bonsai artist, this bonsai will continue and build on the 4 decades of care and design of the previous owner, Ian Hearn.

The new 'custodian' has inherited a great bonsai and will continue and build on this legacy.

There are a number of 'mikawa' Black Pine Bonsai waiting for the next chapter in their lives... For Sale HERE

Black Pine Autumn Work - starting early this year

 So many Black Pines to work on over the cooler months so starting early.!  This one is a bit of a favourite.  It produces an incredible number of 'adventitious buds' each Spring so bud selection is a major job on this one.!

It is a bit of a monster.!!  The base/nebari is ~20cm;  thanks to the large sacrificial branches that were developed low on the trunk, many years ago, when it was in our field beds.

All of the foliage you see now was nothing more than a mass of small buds on a small secondary branch... so long ago.!!