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If you read my previous post Pinus Radiata (Monterey Pine) Techniques you are probably wondering how the progress is going. The answer is slowly but surely.
After asking all over the net, i have come to the conclusion that not a whole lot is known about growing this species as bonsai. Funnily enough the most information came from Australians. I am guessing that this is due to its wide availability in Australia and Australia’s lack of other dig-able pine species.
There are quite a few growers of this species here and quite a healthy debate was started on Ausbonsai and some very nice examples of Raditatas grown as bonsai were posted. There was also a lot of interesting information shared such as how easily they airlayered.
What has come out of this? Well I think it will be a bit of an ongoing project, ticking away in the background. I plan to document over the next 12 months the various changes in a couple of my trees as they grow in the hope that once I understand their growth habits a bit better I will be able to work out a timing for pruning and candle removal.
I will keep giving updates from time to time as I document them.
I will leave you with two images. Both images were taken on the same day, from different trees. One needed repotting and the other had been repotted this year. I think it is clear that one has neat needles while the other does not. This pair of images gives me hope i can get radiatas to consistently give short neat needles like those in the picture of the older tree.
A young tree
An older tree
Stay tuned.
I am back from a hectic 3 weeks in Japan.
Most of the other times i have been to Japan i have gone with the intention of cramming in as many bonsai related things as i could. This time was a little different. I went to Japan this time to get married. So needless to say, i had far less time to do bonsai things. That being said i did manage to fit some in.
I visited a few nurseries, the new Omiya bonsai museum and the Gafu-ten exhibition. It was getting close to the selection time for Kokufu-ten so most nurseries had there submissions out being prepared.
I would have liked to come home with a suitcase full of pots, but it was instead full of suits, shoes and my wife’s things (as she is relocating to Australia).
I did fit a few things in though, including some Bunzan and Juko pots as well as some tools and a stone that caught my eye. I was also very lucky to be given a very old pot in a kiri box.
Hopefully some of the things i brought back will become the topics of future posts. In the meantime while i sift through my pictures here is one from the sales area of Gafu-ten of to wet your appetites.
Gafu-ten sales area.
Hopefully by the end of the week i will have found time to make a full Gafu-ten post.
I am about to leave for Japan. My trees are being baby-sat and my camera is charged. I don’t know how often I will be able to post while away, but even though this trip is not totally bonsai related I should have a whole lot of images to add to this blog and my bonsai in Japan blog when i return.
I will leave you with a picture I took last trip on the island of Miyajima. A red pine growing in what could only be described as the bunjin style.
A red pine growing on top of Mt Misen, Miyajima.
Merry Christmas everyone and see you all sometime in the New year.
This is the first post i have made on this new blog. Hopefully these posts will be fairly regular and will record whats happening in my garden and any interesting things i come across. I will also try to include a few bits and pieces from my studies at Taisho-en in Japan.
As a start i will kick things off with this small shimpaku i styled on my last visit to Taisho-en.
Nichigo Bonsai 