Horticulture and gardening. Open to everyone.

Enjoy gardening on a smaller scale. Explore the fascinating world of bonsai.

Find out which varieties of plants are most suitable and how easy it is to create your own bonsai. Learn which containers, soil, materials and equipment to use and how to shape, prune, maintain, style and display your plants.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• identify plants suitable for bonsai
• recognise the defined styles of bonsai
• select appropriate containers, soil and fertiliser for bonsai
• prune and wire a plant to create a bonsai
• repot a bonsai proficiently
• maintain and cultivate a successful bonsai.

Content

• History of bonsai
• Chinese Penjing/Japanese bonsai
• Suitable specimens for bonsai: Australian, Exotic
• Styles of bonsai: informal upright, cascade, etc
• Pots and containers: textures, shapes, sizes, colours
• Soil
• Equipment: tools for potting, wiring and pruning
• Wiring techniques
• Pruning techniques: branches, roots
• Repotting
• Maintenance: light, water, fertiliser
• Pests and disease control

Intended audience

Suitable for anyone interested in creating and successfully maintaining a bonsai.

Prerequisites

None

Delivery style

• Face-to-face, presenter-taught workshop
• Online workshop via the platform Zoom

Delivered in an interactive environment where the creation and maintenance of bonsai is discussed and demonstrated. Bonsai equipment is displayed and various forms of bonsai are presented.

Materials

Course notes are distributed electronically