Week 1 – What is a Bonsai

• Design and Aesthetics
• Cultivation and Care
• Containers
• Soil Substrates
• Tools

Week 2 – Plant Material for Bonsai.

• Popular tree species for beginners
• Bonsai Nursery vs Garden Centre Plants
• Plant Size Advantages and Disadvantages
• Yamadori Plant Material

Week 3 – Approaches to Bonsai Design

• Structural Components of a Bonsai
• Bonsai Design Styles
• General Aestheic Principles and Guidelines
• Directional Design Styles
• Clinton Nesci’s Guide to What Makes a Good Bonsai

Week 4 – Pot Selection

• Choosing a Suitable Pot
• What to Consider When Choosing a Pot

Week 5 – Pruning

• Structural Pruning
• Refinement Pruning

Week 6 – Wiring

• What Wire is Best
• When is the Best Time to Wire
• How to Apply Wire to a Branch
• When to Remove the Wire

Week 7 – Native Plants for Bonsai

• Development of Australian Flora
• Design Principles for Australian Native Material
• Characteristics of Native Material
• Actions and Techniques for Native Material
• Native trees suitable for Bonsai

Week 8 – Display Night: Key Elements of Bonsai Presentation

• What is in a Bonsai Display
• Preparing Trees for Display
• Aesthetic Principles of Displays
• Multi-Tree Displays
• Styles of Display
• Single Tree Displays

Week 9 – Bonsai Soil Substrates and Watering for your Microclimate

• Bonsai Soil Substrates
• Watering for Your Microclimate

Week 1 – Conifers

• Species suitable for Bonsai
• Maintenance & styling

Week 2 – Windswept Style

• Examples of ..
• suitable material & guidelines.

Week 3 – Plant Profile

• Buxus

Week 4 – Semi Cascade & Cascade Style

• Examples of …
• suitable material & guidelines
• *Demonstration (How to create a Cascade Bonsai)

Week 5 – Plant Profile

• Olives

Week 6 – Literati Style

• Examples of …
• suitable material & guidelines

Week 7 – Raft Style & Sinuous Style

• Examples of …
• suitable material & guidelines
• *Demonstration (How to create Raft Style Bonsai)

Week 8 – Re-potting

• How to re-pot established trees and pot bound trees

Week 9 – Plant Profile

• Privets

Week 1 – Video

• Bonsai Garden Auburn

Week 2 – The Holy Ron

• Looks strange but achieves an interesting result

Week 3 – Winter nasties

• Have you heard of the curl grub?
• How to treat sick plants.
• How to prevent pest & disease

Week 4 – Potting Mix

• Special mixes for different plants?
• Ingredients needed to make a good one.

Week 5 – Alternate planting bases

• How about something different?

Week 6 – Natives plants for Bonsai

• Examples of …
• Suitable species & Maintenance required.
• Do we treat them different to exotics?

Week 7 – Fertilising

• What type, when and how often.
• Avoid marketing tricks, keep it simple.

Week 8 – Plant Profile

• Rhododendron sp. (Azaleas)

Week 9 – Pruning

• How to and how often.
• What to prune first?
• * Bring your show tree into class for discussion on improvements and preparation.

Week 1 – Plant Profile

• Elms

Week 2 – Propagation

• Cuttings & Air Layering
• * Demonstration (How to do an air layer)

Week 3 – Plant Profile

• Pines

Week 4 – Plant Profile

• Figs

Week 5 – Plant Profile

• Junipers

Week 6 – Plant Profile

• Maples

Week 7 – Jins, Shari & Saba Miki

• In other words creating deadwood on your plants
• Techniques used & on what plant material.

Week 8 – Fruiting plants for Bonsai

• Suitable species
• special care and
• how to get the best out of them.

Week 9 – Summer Care

• Watering programmes,
• maintenance,
• positioning of Bonsai
• etc…

Week 1 – Plant Rescue  –  Sacrifice Branches

• How did your trees fare?
• Burnt plants, what to do?
• How to treat plants if they have dried out.

Sacrifice branches

• Are they worthwhile?

Week 2 – Plant Profile

• Lantana

Week 3 – Soes / Companion Plants

• What to use?
• How do you construct them?
• What pots do you use?

Week 4 – Rock Plantings

• What plants are suitable?
• What rock is ideal to use?

Week 5 – Plant Profile

• Jade – Portulacaria afra

Week 6 – Root Expose Style

• Is it easy to achieve?
• How do you start?

Week 7 – Root Over Rock – Let’s check those Root Over Rock

• What’s the best way to uncover them?
• What after care is needed?

Week 8 – Displaying a Bonsai at Home or in an Exhibition

• Equipment for a dig
• Best time to do it
• What to collect and after care required

Week 9 – Collected material

• Equipment for a dig
• Best time to do it
• What to collect and after care required

Week 1 – Autumn Jobs and Trees with Autumn colour

• Autumn Jobs

Week 2 – Plant profile

• Camellia

Week 3 – Australian natives re-visited

Week 4 – Let’s build a rock!!

Week 5 – Tool Maintenance and Refining Pots

Week 6 – Weeping style

• What trees are suitable?

Week 7 – Minature Bonsai

Week 7 – Let’s build a rock!!

Week 8 – Root grafting to improve nebari

Week 9 – Developing trees in the open ground for Bonsai

• How to? What with? How long? Is it practical?

Week 1 – Plant Profile

• Corokia and Serissa

Week 2 – Raffia

• How to prepare it.
• Why use it?
• How to apply it.

Week 3 – Clump Style

Week 4 – Plant Profile

• Japanese Quince and Chinese Quince

Week 5 – Problem Trees

Week 6 – Video night!?!?

Week 7 – Critiquing a Tree

Week 8 – Plant Profile

• Metasequioa & Taxodium

Week 9 – Plant Profile

• Ginkgo biloba

Week 1 – Plant Profile

• Malus (Crabapple)

Week 2 – Grafting

• Approach Graft & Thread Graft

Week 3 – Plant Profile

• Hornbeams

Week 4 – Grafting to Change Plant Varieties

Week 5 – Plant Profile

• Oaks & Liquidambars

Week 6 – Plant Profile

• Azalea Sao Tome and Twisting Trunks

Week 7 – Plant Profile

• Gardenia, Murraya & Crepe Myrtle
• For the garden or for Bonsai?

Week 8 – Miscellaneous Plants for Bonsai

• Wisteria – Boston Ivy – Star Jasmine