If you are in Florida in November, come take a safari with Orlando Bonsai to the Melbourne Zoo. We are one of the vendors mentioned in the announcement the Brevard Zoo posted on their web site :

November 17 – 18 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bonsai Weekend, hosted by the Bonsai Society of Brevard, will be held November 17 – 18 in the Nyami Nyami River Lodge. Bonsai is the artistic miniaturization of trees, woody, or semi-woody plants shaped as trees, by growing them in small containers. The art of bonsai became a part of the Japanese culture when China invaded Japan in the 14^th century and its popularity spread to the United States after World War II. The exhibit features more than 60 trees, demonstrations on how to care for bonsai, and vendors will also be on-site selling bonsai trees and related materials. This exhibit is free with Zoo admission and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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We will be there in person selling our wares, admiring the bonsai displayed in the permanent exhibit and enjoying the special bonsai events and, of course, the animals and the zoo. Come join us!

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The weather has been beautiful here for bonsai gardeners.  Well, if you ignore the winds and rain from Hurricane Sandy.  I hope the storm is not too harsh as it goes up the eastern seaboard.  It’s knocked a few bonsai over here but no damage, thankfully.  The temperature was actually cool this evening.  The bonsai seem to be enjoying it too!  Buds and pink flowers abound on my camellia, the Chinese hat plant is in bloom and some of the bougainvillea are still sporting flowers. All of the bonsai know that fall is here and winter is around the corner!

As always, be sure to look for updates on our Facebook page.

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I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that they purchased a tree, or collected one only to find that when they clear away some of the top soil that the tree continued to widen out.  This not only will add height to the tree when planted at the proper soil level, but will add a stronger look for the tree as the nebari width increases. 

A few years ago when I potted up my bouganvillea I had to plant it rather low because I had changed the angle of the tree dramatically.  It showed no surface roots and had no flair.  However this week I decided to repot the tree into a smaller pot to bring attention to the massive trunk.  However when I cleared away the soil the trunk had some great surpises to show me.

The trunk had great flair and roots had developed. In addition I was now able to pot the tree up about 3″ higher.

You can see the old soil line and how much more strength the repot gave the tree.

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At the Central Florida Bonsai Club annual picnic I was fortunate enough to win the Bouganvillea that Rick Jeffrey did a demo on.  This is a nice thick bougy that needs some time to develop.  I can’t help but see a toad shape in the trunk.  So I will need to bring a branch down to just break that look up a bit.  Otherwise I’ll get a plastic eyeball and just call it the toad tree.

New Bougy

I’m sure that this tree will develop quickly, so look for lots of future updates.

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Well the trees are now on display at Epcot for the next 10 weeks.  The show set up went very well and we had a blast doing it.  There are plenty of pictures, but I wanted to post one of my all time favorties taken of my tree by Greg Matthews. 

Paul Pikel Bouganvillea at Epcot 2009

If you get the chance be sure to see the display.  You won’t be disappointed!!

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