A few Shohin Bonsai

I have trees from 5 cm to over a metre. The small ones are easy to handle. The big ones are a challenge especially during photography session. Here are some of my shohin. Enjoy n cheers, CJ.

Pyracantha, 22 cm, trained from $1 nursery stock since 2001.

JBP, 23 cm, trained since 2004.

Lilypilly, 19 cm, trained from $2 nursery stock 2001.

Tiger bark ficus, 20 cm, trained from $4 nursery stock since 1998.

Wild Olive, 15 cm, dug 2001.

Blooming Bottlebrush

This Bottlebrush is big, 1 m x 1.2 m. Photographing it is a challenge especially when I have to do it on my own. However the bloom is at its' peak and the urge to capture the beautiful moment overcame the time constrain and the challenge of moving it to my make-shift studio. It was saved from a demolition site in 2001. According to the lady living next door to the demolition site, this tree was planted 50 years ago (as of 2001). So now it is about 60 years old. An expert lady at Friends of King's Park identified it as a Parker's special.  Enjoy n cheers, CJ.

Another blooming NZ Tea Tree

This Leptospermum Scoparium has been blooming since May 2011. The bloom is reaching its' peak. So I decided to photo it. This is the first time I photo this tea tree which I have been training over the last 12 years. It was kind of neglected until about 3 years ago when I started to pay more attention to it.
Enjoy n cheers. CJ

Update on my smallest Tea Tree bonsai

This little fella is blooming profusely this Spring. It was air-layered in 2007. Here it is in a self made pot.
Enjoy and cheers, CJ

Colours In My Backyard

Here are some colours in my backyard. Hope u enjoy them. CJ

Blooming NZ Tea Tree

Today I photographed this NZ Tea Tree bonsai which is in full bloom. A Leptospermum Scoparium Civic Pride, it was developed from ordinary nursery stock about 11 years ago. The flowers have cabbage petals and is a mixture of white and purplish pink. I once counted over 5,000 flowers on a larger tea tree bonsai. So I presumed this one must have thousands of flowers as well.  Enjoy. CJ

Camelia Japonica in bloom

I dug this Camelia from a house under demolation in the North of Perth in 2001. I still remember the day the demolition contractor called me. I have this agreement with him whereby I will bring a carton of beer for his workers for every site he recommended to me. He was so excited and insisted that I must come to see the site he was working on. I rushed to the site and wow ! A garden full of some fantastic trees and plants. This is one of the smallest tree I dug from this site. I was told the trees were planted when the house was build about 50 years ago. So biologically this Camelia is about 60 years old. I potted it into this Chinese pot 2 years ago. I know this tree deserves a much better pot. I am still looking for one. I may eventually have to make one myself.

Irish Strawberry / Arbutus Unedo

This Irish Strawberry bonsai was trained from an ordinary nursery stock since 2001. I find the Irish Strawberry to be a good material for bonsai. It grows fast if well fed. It has white flowers in Autumn which will turn into fruits in late Winter/early Spring. The amazing thing is the fruits stay on the tree for a long time. So very often I have both fruits and flowers on the tree at the same time in Autumn. The fruits will turn from green to yellow and then orange and finally red. The Irish Strawberry is sceptible to scales attack. A regular spray of white oil should take care of this problem.
This bonsai was recently displayed at the 24th AABC Perth 2011 Exhibition/Convention. It won a merit award judged by Megumi and Min Hsuan Lo. A good friend from Sydney likes the tree very much. So I offered it to her. She refused to take it without giving something in return. So I told her if that is the only way she will take the tree back to Sydney, then just do as she please. I packed it into a big carton box and she took it back with her on her flight back. It is now safely in a nice home with an expert loving pair of hands looking after it. Could not have asked more for one of my creation. CJ

24th AABC Perth 2011 Convention

The 24th AABC Perth 2011 Convention was held at the Fremantle Esplanade Hotel from May 20 to May 23. It was a highly successful event. The exhibits were of high standard and nicely displayed in a spacious hall. There are chairs for visitors to sit down to enjoy as well as discuss the trees. This must be a world first for bonsai exhibition. Participants from all over Australia had a wonderful time as well as learned alot from bonsai master Min Hsuan Lo, Megumi as well as local presenters. We have nothing but good feedback. All the hardworks and sacrifices by all the people involved were worth it. A job well done.

A tiny She-oak

This is one of my tiny air-layered She-oak/Casuarina. It comes in at 8cm tall with a 4.5cm base. The She-oak air-layered easily. In early spring, it takes only about 4 weeks to get new roots. This bonsai was first trained on the branch of a big tree. When it was about 80 -90 % complete, I air-layered it. In about 6 months they can be put into the bonsai pot. This is one very fast way to obtain a decent small bonsai in less than 2 years.

CJ

BCI Best Bonsai AABC Convention Perth 2011

This Swamp Paperbark / Melaleuca Rhaphiophylla won the BCI best bonsai award at the recent AABC Perth 2011 convention at Fremantle Esplanade Hotel. I immediately offered the tree to the Bonsai Society of WA for auction to help defray the cost of the convention. Before the convention I was told we may end up losing money. So this is my little gesture to help them. We managed to raise $1,900 which went into the convention fund. I last heard we may end up making a small profit.

This tree was dug from a development sit in Canning Vale in 2001. It was one of a number of trees I got from this dig organised by BSWA. The major part of the trunk movements were already there. My efforts involved the growing and training of the branches and the apex. So this tree is basically shaped by nature. I took it from nature and return it to society for the benefits of the community. That's the way I look at my gesture.

The Swap paperbark grow very fast and is greedy. So have to feed it frequently. I used Osmocote Plus for Natives supplemented with a liquid feed of seasol + miraclegro. Constant trimming is necessary to keep them in shape. As the wood is soft due to the fast growth, watch out for wood borer. Also sprinkle systematic insecticide on the soil to prevent the leave from mite attack which caused it to curl up. Remove water shoots immediately. Left uncheck they can grow rapidly and deprive nutrients from nearby branches leading to dieback. In the hot summer month of Perth, soak them in a shallow tray of water.

From my experiences, the Melaleuca Rhaphiophylla is one of the more tolerant of the paperbarks. I have successfully dug quite a number of them. They do tolerate bare rooting during spring.

CJ

A Banksia Bonsai

More than 10 years ago I first drove down to Albany with my family. We stopped at Mt Barker on our way back. We visited a Banksia Farm where Banksia of all varieties were grown a huge property. I bought three different Banksia seedlings to train as bonsai. This is the only successful one. I have lost the label and is not sure which particular specie of Banksia is this.

Another Small Wild Olive

This is another of the small wild olive trees which I was fortunate to come across at an Olive Plantation up in the hills in 2001. I try to train it in the way an Olive tree grows naturally.

An endemic Australian Native - Kunzea Ambigua

Sometime in 2001, while browsing through a nursery I came across a bunch of interesting looking shrub which I have never seen before. I particularly like the foliage which looks like five needle pine from a distance. I was not sure whether it is suitable for bonsai. However for a $1 each, you can't lose much. So I bought about a dozen. I started to train this fella a few months later. This is the result after 9+ years. The sequence of photos show its' development over the years. Subsequently I learned that Kunzea is endemic to Australia. That means it can only be found in Australia. Of the 35 species only one can be found outside Australia - Kunzea Ericoides which can also be found in New Zealand.

An Azalea more tiny than my smallest NZ Tea Tree Bonsai

Today I potted and photo this Azalea Satone into a proper Bonsai pot. It has been growing in this recycled plastic container for the last 4 years. At about 4cm it is even more tiny than my smallest NZ Tea Tree Bonsai. It was grown from a cutting. Satone cuttings root easily. Satone has small leave which make it highly suitable for bonsai. However the downside is this azalea don't flower. Yes NO flower.

Another Tiny NZ Tea Tree Bonsai

A few days ago, I clean this fella up and photo it for the first time. It stands at 6 cm tall. It is a Leptospermun Scoparium Red Damask.

Update On My Smallest NZ Tea Tree Bonsai

This little fella is still alive and blooming. So I took some pix of it and posted onto the IBC forum. It is about 2 inches tall. I hope to keep it alive for as long as possible. NZ tea tree is a very demanding specie to bonsai. It requires continuous care and attention. Some general guidelines on handling them are 1. Always keep the top soil moist. 2. Never completely defoliate. 3. No bare-rooting. Clean cut for root reduction. 4. Feed them well. 5. Protect them from intense heat. I am still learning. Every now and then, they and the weather throw up some nasty surprises. Recently we have a sort of heat wave record in Perth and I was not prepared for it. So I lost a few of my smaller tea trees despite my intensive care and attention.