tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43877073910777708742026-09-09T05:09:52.355+04:00Tropical Bonsai - Made in Mauritiusxtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-92117137781136232272016-06-03T19:00:00.000+04:002016-06-03T19:00:33.011+04:00

Critique de François Jeker sur trois arbre expose a la dernière African Bonsai Convention ( ABC4 ) à Stellensbosch.  Pine stylisé par Ryan Neil   Bunjin shohin par Viky Petermann  

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Stellenbosch, Afrique du Sud-33.9321045 18.860151999999971-34.142860500000005 18.537428499999972 -33.7213485 19.18287549999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-77575343467103142012016-03-13T20:05:00.000+04:002016-03-13T20:05:00.444+04:00

Chuhin shohin and accents Larger trees

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-60956492846500451872016-03-12T20:00:00.000+04:002016-03-12T20:00:35.473+04:00

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-83244465340926132392016-01-18T22:00:00.001+04:002016-01-18T22:10:07.548+04:00

Part II Continuing where I left this Leucaena Leucocephala, what we call  "false acacia" here in Mauritius or sometimes white acacia. The plant has had lots of new growth since the last hard pruning session. It was time to repot the plant and have a look at the root system and start to prepare it for a future bonsai pot. Big surprise on a the roots. There is this thick

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-29098939773909413992015-08-06T22:00:00.000+04:002015-08-07T15:06:22.753+04:00

The facts about Bonsai Europa There has not been a European Bonsai event in the UK since 1999, there are no other major events planned by any other groups or individuals, only club and small scale ‘specialist’ shows. Tony Tickle wish to create a major annual/biannual event that will place Bury and the UK on the Bonsai cultural map and a destination event for those traveling a long way.

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com2Castle Armoury, Castle Street, Bury, Bury BL9 0LB, UK53.5942898 -2.298623399999996853.5937008 -2.2998838999999967 53.5948788 -2.2973628999999969tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-50698963391356728662015-07-29T21:30:00.000+04:002015-07-30T17:15:51.605+04:00

There will be a flower show at Cascavelle ( Flic-en-flac, Mauritius) this weekend : Blooming Day at Cascavelle ( 01 Aug as from 10:00 ) The orchid society will be displaying orchids as well as selling orchids there. There will also be an ikebana display/section. In addition Ashiq Boyjoo will be selling his hand made pots during the event. I will be participating but not selling. I'll

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Coastal Road, Mauritius-20.2785228 57.391762999999969-20.3380943 57.311081999999971 -20.2189513 57.472443999999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-17708210688258984532015-07-24T20:24:00.000+04:002015-07-24T20:24:19.453+04:00

In September there will be this year's Orchid Society of Mauritius's show. Some of our bonsai members will be exposing their trees during there on the last day of that show. I'm planning to display several trees and started prepare them two months beforehand. Mame Cuphea This little guy was entered in the last Ryuga 2013 online competition, together with a ficus and a miniature rose.The link is

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-88996939328052142802015-04-16T00:01:00.000+04:002015-04-16T00:01:03.439+04:00

We had an introductory course in Bonsai for our FB Mauritius Bonsai Club on the 7th March at Hem's place. The heavy rain prevented several members from coming unfortunately. Topics that were covered : > What is a bonsai? > How does a bonsai differ from other potted plants ( kusamono, topiary or your average potted plant )? > Basic bonsai structures > Basic characteristics a plant

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-25652530265488750202015-03-12T01:30:00.001+04:002015-03-12T01:30:53.686+04:00

Part I Continuing where I left this Leucaena Leucocephala, what we call  "false acacia" here or sometimes white acacia. I am still waiting for the flowers to confirm its identity but it can wait. The tree has grown, rested and there are several signs that it is starting a new growth cycle. The old branches has elongated and are starting to lignify ( turn into wood ) There are bud swelling

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-55927013649333308672015-02-21T02:29:00.001+04:002015-02-21T02:30:02.046+04:00

Impressive kusamono bronze teahouse by Tony Tickle that he will be presenting at the Swindon Bonsai Show. The overall size is 300 x 220 mm The Bronze teahouse by Henk Fresen is an incense burner. The plate is by Walsall Ceramics and the moss is care of my local wild wood. Well designed and his pictures from various angles and close shots gives its a completely different dimension.

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-32443093798757183012015-02-21T00:54:00.001+04:002015-02-21T00:54:37.745+04:00

This is one of my first materials dating back to 2010. The initial material is a ligustrum ( aka privet or troène ) weed that was supposed to be uprooted and burned. I kept it to learn some bonsai techniques but I did not have great hope of turning this material into a bonsai. I pretty much messed up lots of things while I was learning but adjusted as I gained experience and knowledge. After 5

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-49570691983214571792015-02-08T00:57:00.000+04:002015-02-08T00:57:11.700+04:00

A little experiment that we did last weekend on one of Hem's junipers from his garden. Attempting to create large cuttings on a juniper. Basically, we looked for some semi-thick branches with interesting potential for creating a future shohin or mame bonsai. We prepared several bottles to hold the cuttings and added holes to pass wires to anchor the cuttings. We made a clean cut, added rooting

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com2Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-86007456691552174362015-01-25T00:24:00.000+04:002015-01-25T00:24:47.524+04:00

Part I here ( where I eat my way through tons of cherry to get the cherry nut and then crack those open to get the seeds ) Ok so I finally got the seeds in the part one. A batch of 31 seeds ready to be sowed. I discarded the bad seeds. I used old egg boxes to plant the seeds. I keep those just for those occasions. I usually place 6 seeds per box and its frosted and blocks most of the hard

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com7Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-63211782075006581552015-01-24T19:39:00.000+04:002015-01-25T00:25:37.370+04:00

I've wanted to get hold of a cherry tree for ages, I heard there was a place in beau-bassin that has cherry trees, but I've not yet seen it. I saw some cherry on sale at the supermarket and decided to give them a try, to grow some cherry from seed. I did a basic test to check valid seeds Basically floating seed = bad seed, sinking seeds = good seeds. Cracking the "bad" seeds to

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-13051077292495230712015-01-14T06:30:00.000+04:002015-01-14T09:13:14.513+04:00

Progression of a mame cuphea material. Ideally I wanted to make a han-kengai ( semi-cascade ) with it.  The material was originally from a bigger cuphea plant, but got detached during a repotting.  I was planning to throw it away but then got that han-kengai shape lurking around it so I gave it a try. Still in training but the shape I had in mind is starting to take form finally.

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-59820861476327979962015-01-11T12:56:00.000+04:002015-01-11T12:56:40.931+04:00

I got a little white pine seedling from a friend last year. Well at least that's what he bought and so we are expecting this to be a white pine but its rapid growth is kind of a surprise. White pine are known within the bonsai community to 5 needles per fascicles (bundles) and also to be a slow grower ( 1 growth per year ) compared to other japanese pine species used ( Japanese Black Pine and

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-18132293591261108672014-12-19T00:39:00.000+04:002014-12-19T00:39:26.885+04:00

Not yet 100% sure what species this is but chances are that its what we locally call a "false acacia" a.k.a. Leucaena Leucocephala. I will have to wait for the flowers to be sure. In the meantime I've decided it was time to start working on this little guy. What I would consider to become the future front Previous owner was trying to train a new apex but I disagree with this approach. When

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com5Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-25872823946985848012014-12-16T18:13:00.000+04:002014-12-16T18:13:51.861+04:00

Quick and easy little kusamonoMaterials needed :Pot ( with drainage hole and mesh )Fern(s)MossOld bonsai substrate

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com1Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-20760992945982391722014-12-04T22:21:00.000+04:002014-12-04T22:21:12.561+04:00

During the past weekend I wend over to Hem's place to collect a nice little privet that was grown in full ground for some years. Hem has been working the root ball for some week to cut the long lateral roots and force the tree to create finer feeder roots closer to the trunk. Started off by preparing the bonsai substrate to place the tree into.In this case :Grid, perlite and "soilless soil"

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-13248400167011145292014-11-11T23:57:00.001+04:002014-11-11T23:57:02.817+04:00

Its the mango season once more in Mauritius and all those mangoes everywhere I look reminded me that I had several mango seeds I was experimenting on. This is one of my attempts to create a prebonsai mango material from a seed. I planted the seed in the ground around Feb 2013 and it started to sprout early march 2013. Here's a rough 20 months progression. The plant grows quickly and

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-80279025572366595512014-10-30T22:59:00.000+04:002014-10-30T23:00:30.156+04:00

Spring is here, the slash pine are pulling new candles and this little guy, although being 2 weeks late compared to the other slash pines I have, finally decided to pull new growth all over the place. This pine was originally from a friend's collection and I got custody of it so to speak. I've left it alone so far and have been looking at a way to approach it. The original owner was going

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-2953638551571554482014-10-26T22:24:00.002+04:002014-10-26T22:24:08.260+04:00

Today was the last day for the exhibit for home and gardens in Mauritius. Lots of interesting new stuffs mingled with the usual old stuff at the exhibit. This year I got the impression that there were more nurseries than before and mixed in the lot there were various "bonsai", "pre-bonsai", "mallsai" and "potential bonsai" mixed in. There were at least 6 or 7 nurseries present but only the

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com1Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-20323973223255583442014-10-26T19:46:00.001+04:002014-10-26T19:46:30.011+04:00

This time the article is not related to bonsai [yet] but on one unique plant that I hope one day I'll be able to create a bonsai out of. Trochetia boutoniana also known by its native Creole name Boucle d'Oreille is a shrub from the Trochetia genus endemic to Mauritius. Trochetia boutoniana is the national flower of Mauritius since 1992 and it is often illustrated on stamps of Mauritius. It

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com4Mauritius-20.348404 57.552151999999978-35.844060999999996 36.897854999999979 -4.852746999999999 78.206448999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-45711013616590631722014-10-23T21:30:00.000+04:002014-10-24T08:35:29.394+04:00

Happy Diwali to bonsaika, friends and family celebrating Diwali or Deepavali (Festival of Light)

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4387707391077770874.post-33389142014549332892014-10-23T18:04:00.002+04:002014-10-23T18:04:25.482+04:00

Summer has been back for some time now and its getting hotter and hotter every day. On one side I'm getting all those new growth and on the other side its getting so hot that some plants are getting leaf burns or dehydrated or both at the same time. Life and new Growths Privets [ Ligustrum ] Indian Beech / Pongame [ Pongamia pinnata ] This little guy was grown from seed I found on

xtolordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09167167583406943881noreply@blogger.com1