Nursery Will Be Closed 11th & 12th Of October

Canberra Bonsai Society Annual Show Will Be Held That Weekend.

I will be trading with selected items at this show.

TIPS FOR OCTOBER (Southern Hemisphere)

Nearly all of your bonsai will have new growth by now.  You should keep the bonsai in a sunny spot, preferably morning sun where there is good air circulation.  Because your trees will grow toward the sunlight, be sure to rotate your trees often to ensure even growth.  A friend of mine will rotate his a quarter turn every time he waters.  It is hard to judge when to water during spring.  We are almost watering every day here at the nursery, however, you should be guided by your tree, if it is already wet – don’t water it.  If you have pines that have developed already, keep them very dry to ensure smaller needles.

Pruning will be your biggest job during this month.  Keep nipping back the new growth on your deciduous trees to about 2 or 3 nodes.  This will ensure you keep the foliage nice and compact, the nodes closer together, and as a result – smaller foliage.   Don’t forget your candle snapping on your pines.  Pines still in development should have the dominant candles snapped from the top of the tree first, and the dominant candles on the lower ranches left on.  Pinch prune your junipers to maintain tight compact foliage close to the trunk – otherwise they get too gangly.

Repotting of conifers, junipers, broad-leaved evergreens should continue through this month.  When repotting a pine – be sure to keep some of the white fungus from the old soil and mix it with the new.  This michorzia forms a symbiotic relationship with the tree – they rely on each other to remain healthy.  Try adding more gravel, or better still, Zeolite, to your soils for potting junipers and conifers.  Pop some Osmocote in the mix as well.  Watch how healthy your trees become!

October is a great month to do any jins and shari as the tree will heal fast, be sure to apply lime sulphur once the wood has dried.  Fertilising should start now, in order to give your trees enough energy to continue to grow.  A fertilizer high in nitrogen is appropriate.  We use Nitrosol here at the nursery.  Grafting can be done on any late spring sprouting deciduous trees, be sure to seal your graft properly with grafting paste.

SO MUCH GOING ON IN BONSAI

The world of bonsai in Canberra is about to get very active.

1. First of all, there is the National Bonsai & Penjing Collection Of Australia.

open every day in Commonwealth Park

http://www.cbs.org.au/NBPCA/Index.htm

2. Canberra Bonsai Society will present their annual Spring Show on 11 & 12 of October at the Ainslie Arts Centre in Braddon.

http://www.cbs.org.au

3. The National Native Plants as Bonsai Exhibition Will Be Held At The National Botanic Gardens In Canberra During November.

Spring Class Schedule.

Spring is here, and our class schedule can now be found here "Class Schedule".

We have classes to suit all levels of experience, and we can even accommodate corporate groups - so have a chat to your boss!

Keep an eye on forthcoming newsletters to catch our upcoming workshops and demonstrations.