Suiseki Group

A small collection of Australian suiseki or viewing stones. Suiseki are collected because they have shapes that evoke scenes in nature such as mountains. In this collection there are 2 mountain shapes, a mountain plateau and two fossilised wood pieces. The mountains and plateau stones were collected in Queensland as was the fossilised thick upright tree trunk while the white tree branch is from the Tuross River in NSW. The mountain and plateau stones are fitted into daiza, a Japanese term for a carved timber base which closely fits the base of the stone to hold it upright. The fossilised wood stones are mounted in dobans - metal dishes (also a ceramic suiban may be used) with sand representing water. All the suiseki are then displayed here on timber platforms, similar to bonsai being displayed on stands or tables.

Shohun Group

These are "miniature" styled trees, and each of the above is detailed individually in the lists below. Click on the following names to view them individually.
Grevillea iaspicula Grevillea australis Grevillea juniperina Grevillea diminuta
Wee Jasper Grevillea Southern Grevillea Grevillea "New Blood" Grevillea species

Acacia howitii

Sticky Wattle

Age of Tree : 8 years
Trained/styled since 2014

This tree was purchased from Wariapendi Native Nursery by Canberra Bonsai Society to be used as a demonstration tree at the Australian Plants as Bonsai ioExhibitn in Canberra in 2014. It was initially styled at that demonstration, and obtained at end of Symposium. It has had ongoing styling since. It was first placed into a bonsai pot in October 2017

ANBG locations: 87-107-127

Acacia howitii

Sticky Wattle

Age of Tree : 18 years
Trained/styled since 2003
The plant was one of 3 acquired in 2000 from a plant nursery. After reading some bonsai literature on weeping style, I started working on the plant. I love weeping trees like the weeping willows as I find them to be very graceful.
ANBG locations:
87-107-127

Austromyrtus dulcis

Midyim

Age of Tree : ~ 28 years
Trained/styled since ~ 1990
Midyim is a favourite Indigenous food plant of NE NSW through to Fraser Island, Qld. It occurs in shrubland and open forest and on the edges of rainforest. White flowers decorate early spring growth. It's whitish/purplish fruits with chocolate spots, while small, are sweet and tangy. The horizontal spread of the branches that arch at odd angles accentuate the

free character of the plant and display spring flowers and
autumn fruits very well. Reddish new growth with silvery highlights provides extra sensory delights.

This plant comes from the estate of a good friend, Judy Parker.

ANBG locations: 6-64-78-114

Banksia marginata

Silver Banksia

Age of Tree : 16 years
Trained/styled since 2007
Being grown in the ground for several years helped this tree to develop solid trunks and an interesting root system before the beginning of its development as a bonsai.

ANBG locations:
67-124-230

Banksia serrata

Saw Banksia

Age of Tree : ~ 15 years
Trained/styled since 2011
The tree started its journey into a bonsai as a stock plant from Island Bonsai in Tasmania. One of the factors that led me to choose the tree was that it seemed to have smaller leaves than its neighbours. It also had the fattest trunk.

ANBG locations:
25-28-107-110

Callitris endlicheri

Black Cypress

Age of Tree : ~ 18 years
Trained/styled since 2009
This tree was bought at the closing sale of the Queanbeyan Council Nursery in 2006. It was very root bound and much taller when I bought it - but a saw and many years of patient development have provided a quite pleasing outcome.

ANBG locations: 38-78-124-192

Callitris sp.

Cypress

Age of Tree : 12 years
Trained/styled since 2010
These trees have been grown from seed collected in Tasmania. Of 10 original seeds, 9 germinated in 2006 but in 2008 when I planted them in the garden to put on more growth, I was down to 6. In 2010 I dug up 5 and planted them into an oval pot. Over the subsequent years, at each re-pot, I seemed to lose one or two trees - including the spare number 6 in the garden. I'm down to the 3 you see here - but feel that I might have finally established a mutually beneficial partnership with them.

ANBG locations: 38-105-110-142

Callistemon viminalis

Bottlebrush

Age of Tree : 33 years
Trained/styled since : 2000
Purchased as nursery stock in the 1980s, this tree was grown for many years as a potted garden tree. Its potential as bonsai material was noticed in the late 1990s and first styling began in 2000. It was first potted into its current pot in 2003.

ANBG locations:
10-11-43-124

bottlebrush

Casuarina
cunninghamiana

River She-oak

Age of Tree : 22 years
Trained/styled since 2002
This casuarina is an important part of the character of inland rivers along the eastern side of Australia. Often tall, sometime leaning over the fresh water, these trees provide welcome summer shade. This forest evokes summer days with family down by the river

ANBG locations: 12-99-124-137

Casuarina cunninghamiana

River She-oak

Age of Tree : 8 years
Trained/styled since 2012

Down by the river: sounds of rippling water, whispering foliage and children playing.

ANBG locations: 12-99-124-137

Casuarina cunninghamiana

River she-oak

Age of Tree : 22 years
Trained/styled since 2001

Starting life in a school yard and subjected to rough treatment from an axe, my life turned around when I moved to a new home in a bonsai pot. Now, my long, thin branchlets tell stories of the thin whistling sound of the wind as it moves through my crown. This link between form and sound brings deep welcome memories to many who take time to view me. To see my massive trunk, rough bark and strong branches, you need to work a bit to visually search through the foliage.

ANBG locations: 12-99-124-137

Diselma archeri

Chestnut Pine

Age of Tree : 21 years
Trained/styled since 1997
Diselma is an iconic Tasmanian plant. It tells stories of its Gondwanic origins as much as it figures in the classic mountain scenery of Tasmania. It's family has even more ancient linkages to the world spanning Pangaea, where its ancestors stretched from nearly pole to pole on the planet. Here, in a pot, it reminds me of both the kindness of the gift given by friend Barry N and of my fleeting but memorable visit to the Tasmanian high country with Will F, where we scrambled over lichen encrusted rocks to view alpine lakes and plunging cliffs of the high country. This little tree is truly in the spirit of 'bonsai' to me. Horticulturally, it is slow growing and doesn't take well to wiring. It produces dense roots, but doesn't need frequent repotting.

ANBG location: 67-210-233-305

Eucalyptus gunnii

Cider Gum

Age of Tree : ~ 8 years
Trained/styled since 2009
This little tree is approximately 8 years old and has been in this pot all it's life. We repotted it for the first time in early February 2018. It is pretty hardy and it prefers well drained soils as do all (or most) bonsai. This species does not take kindly to wiring so we use the cut and grow method of maintaining it if and when necessary. Gunnii is not fussy about fertilizers but we usually give slow release every few months, watered in with Seasol or similar.

ANBG location: 99-198

s approximately 8 years old and has been in this pot all it's life. We repotted it for the first time in early F

Eucalyptus lacrimans

Weeping Snow Gum

Age of Tree : 9 years
Trained/styled since 2009
The peeling bark is the interesting feature of this snow gum. In the past the tree has grown a single metre long branch. Tip pruning has encouraged many smaller branches but last year the tree had no peeling bark. Now with repotting and better growth the bark has peeled but there were more 'oversized' leaves that needed culling.

ANBG locations:
15x-15q-300

Eucalyptus michaeliana

Hillgrove Spotted Gum

Age of Tree : 8 years
Trained/styled since 2010

This tree is best viewed on a turn table or a pedestal stand so you can walk around the tree. When either you or the tree is in motion the branches meld together in a fluid 3D form. That is when the tree (for me) comes alive as a 'living' work of art. The koala figure gives scale and helps us imagine the tree in a bush setting.

ANBG locations: 34-43

Eucalyptus scoparia

Wallangarra White Gum
Age of Tree : 8 years
Trained/styled since 2010
This white gum is responding well to reducing the height of the trunk, shooting lower branches and developing a new canopy. It was repotted to an orchid pot at the end of 2017 and again last week for display.is white gum is responding well to reducing the height of the trunk, shooting lower branches and developing a new canopy. It was repotted to an orchid pot at the end of 2017 and again last week for display.

ANBG location: 19-44-328

Ficus obliqua

Queensland small leaf fig

Age of Tree : 18 years
Trained/styled since 2015
Purchased in 2002 from a bonsai nursery in Brisbane, I have been gradually working on this tree keeping the aerial roots from engulfing the main trunk. In recent years I have decided to use the aerial roots to add some character to the base of the trunk. Once they fuse together I think they will result in a really nice base. The tree has been in training since it got to Canberra in 2015.

ANBG location:
64-145-159

Grevillea australis

Southern Grevillea

Age of Tree : 3 years
Trained/styled since 2017

Grevilleas as bonsai have their challenges but the beauty of their flowers in winter and spring make it worth the effort. They quickly lose any ability to produce shoots on bare wood, so it is important to start developing the structure when the plant is still young. Regular trimming is also essential as the tree grows in order to maintain the desired foliage density.

ANBG location: 28-99-131-230

Grevillea diminuta

Grevillea

Age of Tree : 6 years
Trained/styled since 2015

Grevilleas as bonsai have their challenges but the beauty of their flowers in winter and spring make it worth the effort. They quickly lose any ability to produce shoots on bare wood, so it is important to start developing the structure when the plant is still young. Regular trimming is also essential as the tree grows in order to maintain the desired foliage density.

ANBG location: 168-169-227

Grevillea iaspicula

Wee Jasper Grevillea

Age of Tree : 7 years
Trained/styled since 2015

Grevilleas as bonsai have their challenges but the beauty of their flowers in winter and spring make it worth the effort. They quickly lose any ability to produce shoots on bare wood, so it is important to start developing the structure when the plant is still young. Regular trimming is also essential as the tree grows in order to maintain the desired foliage density.

ANBG location: 24-221-240

Grevillea

Grevillea Juniperina "New Blood"

Age of Tree : 10 years
Trained/styled since 2010

Grevilleas as bonsai have their challenges but the beauty of their flowers in winter and spring make it worth the effort. They quickly lose any ability to produce shoots on bare wood, so it is important to start developing the structure when the plant is still young. Regular trimming is also essential as the tree grows in order to maintain the desired foliage density.

ANBG location: 168-169-227

Grevillea

Grevillea Juniperina "Pink Lady "

Age of Tree : 17 years
Trained/styled since 2004

Pink Lady' refers to the delicate pink flowers, most profuse in spring but can be present at other times. A very satisfying plant to work with as a bonsai and very hardy in pot culture.

ANBG location: 24-99f-143-222

Kunzea ambigua

Tick Bush

Age of Tree : ~12 years
Trained/styled since 2008

This tree was given to me as a rooted cutting by another Canberra Bonsai Society member. It was trained as a shohin and repotted every 2-3 years. It is not to be trimmed in the cold season, but twice in the growing season. It needs a very open soil mix, must be kept moist and given fertiliser 2 times in the growing season. It likes morning sun.

ANBG location: 9-12-32-226

Kunzea ericoides "Snow Man"

Kunzea 'Snow Man'

Age of Tree : 5 years
Trained/styled since 2016

Two separate trees sourced from Waripindi nursery were combined to form this multi trunk group.

ANBG location: 11-12-124-131

Kunzea sp.

Kunzea

Age of Tree : 8 years
Trained/styled since 2014

The tree was purchased from a local native plant nursery in the ACT. I was attracted to the tree because of its existing wind swept style, which had been created as the tree struggled to grow in an overcrowded tray of tube stock containers. Its shape immediately suggests exposure to prevailing winds. The slanting trunk and the extended branches on the leeward side of the tree were an ideal combination of features to encourage further development of a windswept native bonsai.

ANBG location: 19-191c-192

Leptospermum laevigatum

Coastal Tea Tree

Age of Tree : 18 years
Trained/styled since 2009

Shaped by strong winds and harsh conditions, coastal tea trees often develop dramatic twists and turns in their trunks and branches.

ANBG location: 12-99-180

Leptospermum laevigatum

Coastal Tea Tree

Age of Tree : ~6 years
Trained/styled since 2017

This tree was bought from a nursery. It was left do its own thing for a few years with no real thought to its direction. It grew a bit lanky through neglect. Last year its rootball was reduced and it was placed on some local granite to create a bunjin type style.

ANBG location: 12-99-180

Leptospermum juniperinum

Prickly Tea Tree

Age of Tree : 7 years
Trained/styled since 2013

This tree was grown from seed collected from the Canberra region. It was originally styled in a more upright position. Leaning it over 10 degrees to its current angle has given it a gentle curve. I made this pot to accentuate the curve with the idea of a tree on the top of a hill shaped by the elements.

ANBG location: 12-191t-194

Leptospermum 'Mesmer Eyes'

Leptospermum Mesmer Eyes

Age of Tree : Unknown
Trained/styled since 2014

I first noticed this type of plant at a Society show about 4 years ago. Attracted by it's lovely flowers, I bought one that fell naturally into a semi cascade and have been surprised at how quickly it grew despite possums and webbing caterpillars. The tree suggested the balance between the short right hand branch and the main trunk as a variation

to the traditional left/right/back arrangement, making a pleasing curve. The bush type penjing setting was inspired by glancing at a
bit of bush-land which had been burnt, leaving the younger growth coming up through the fallen timber. It doesn't have good nebari
and probably never will, but the curve of the trunk seems to draw
the eye away from this fault.

ANBG location: 107-124-127

107-124-127

Leptospermum myrtifolium

Swamp Tea Tree

Age of Tree : 4 years
Trained/styled since 2014

This tree was created by an airlayer from a bush growing in the Snowy Mountains. It was originally planted more upright until I accidentally dragged a water hose across it. I liked the new angle much better.

ANBG location: 85

Leptospermum sp.

Tea Tree

Age of Tree : 14 years
Trained/styled since 2007

Grown from a seedling in 2004, the tree was first potted as a Bonsai in 2007 by Case Snel of the Illawara Bonsai Socity member, and repotted bi-annually plus continually pruned and shaped. The Tree was gifted to me from Case in 2016. The Tree first flowered in November/December 2017 with a wonderful display of delicate small white flowers.

ANBG location: 9-33-195-219

Melaleuca linariifolia
'Claret Tops'

Paperbark Claret Tops

Age of Tree : 17 years
Trained/styled since 2006

A combination of strength and delicate twigginess, if you can imagine a full-sized version of this tree growing in the wild, I have achieved my aim. The cultivar name 'Claret tops' comes from the pinky-red new foliage.

ANBG location: 11-12-124-243

Zieria prostrata

Headland Zieria

Age of Tree : 5 years
Trained/styled since 2016

A rare and endangered plant growing only on four headlands in northern NSW, Z. prostrata makes an attractive bonsai with its small, handsome, dark green leaves and delicate, pink, star-shaped flowers in spring.

ANBG location: 170-174-221

ziera

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