Jade Garden

Welcome

WELCOME TO JADE BONSAI GALLERY Geoff Curtis is a Brisbane based Bonsai sculptor with over 20 years experience in creating stunning custom Bonsai. Jade Bonsai Gallery is his way of raising the awareness of Bonsai and to share the joy that they can bring, with his customers.

Our Services At Jade Bonsai Gallery we offer a range of services: u On site Bonsai Gallery with a wide range of plants for purchase u Creation of custom pieces to fit your needs u Holiday care of your Bonsai plants when you go away u Re-potting and pruning service u Expert advice for beginner Bonsai enthusiasts If you are interested in visiting us or would like to some advice, please get in contact.

Why Choose Us? At Jade Bonsai Gallery, we believe in raising awareness of Bonsai and sharing the joy they can bring with our customers.

We do this is by providing you with:

EXPERT ADVICE Our Bonsai Sculptor Geoff Curtis has over 20 years experience in creating stunning Bonsai pieces. He is always on hand to give advice to customers whether they are a novice or experts like himself.

HIGH QUALITY PLANTS & CRAFTSMANSHIP The plants we sell are hand selected to be of the highest quality.

They are either grown from seed or picked out by Geoff himself. He then spends hours meticulously shaping and trimming the plants until they’re perfect.

GREAT SERVICE We are open to public on Saturday’s but are always happy to arrange private viewing if you can’t make it. We also offer extra services such as holiday care and bespoke custom Bonsai made to order. Once you buy your piece, we provide a detailed explanation on how to care for your Bonsai and are always happy to answer any questions that you may have.

The Top 5 Styles While there are many bonsai styles available for bonsai enthusiasts there are five basic bonsai styles. Although there are many variations to the five basic styles, they are the foundation for all other bonsai styles.

Formal Upright Style – Chokkan The most basic of all bonsai styles is the formal upright. It is the easiest and most suitable style for beginners because it requires minimal pruning, less vigorous wiring and experimentation. The formal upright bonsai style is as its name suggests, the tree trunks stands straight with the branches in a horizontal position at the side. Usually, the tree has a conical shape and the longest horizontal branches are at the base tapering off in length higher up the trunk. In choosing a bonsai for the formal upright style,it is important to find one that has a straight trunk and an

even distribution of leaves and branches.

The best option is to select a tree with the biggest branch, which should also be the lowest one starting approximately up at a third of the tree’s height. Any branch that is lower than the one-third position must be pruned because these will divert from the general style. While the aim of the formal upright style is to achieve some balance with the tree, it does not mean that it must be balanced. Several of the most popular species for Chokkan bonsai style are Junipers, Pines and Maples.

Informal Upright Style – Moyogi The Informal Upright style is similar to the formal upright in terms of the arrangement of the branches. The lower branches are longer but they taper off at the top. The difference is in the position of the trunk where the trunk at the top bends somewhat towards the front. The bend gives the notion that the tree is moving and swaying slightly in the wind.

The majority of bonsai trees are usually slanted, which makes the informal upright the most commonly used bonsai style. The slightly bent trunk augments the look of the tree and this makes it the ideal bonsai style for most deciduous trees, though Coniferous or even fruit trees can be used. This style is similar to the formal upright so the biggest and lowest branch should start at about one- third up the height of tree’s trunk and followed by pruning of the foliage. I like Maples and Pomegranates in this style. Japanese White Pine, Black Pine and Beech and Crab Apple are also well suited to the Moyogi style.

Slanting Style – Shakan In the Slanting Style, the trunk has a sharp slant in one direction, with the biggest and lowest branch spreading out in the opposite direction of the trunk. In nature, many trees grow slanted and are sometimes called leaners.Many factors cause trees to have a slight bend.

These factors include the tendency of the tree to grow towards the sunlight or the effect from the wind or gravity. The slanted bonsai style gives the impression that the tree is old and strong. Similar to both formal and informal style, the lowest branch in the slanted style begins one-third up the trunk’s height with the branches usually arranged in sets of three. Species suited to the shakan style include Juniper, Spruce, Olive, and various pine including the Japanese White and Black Pines

Full Cascade Style – Kengai The Full Cascade Style creates a beautiful and distinctive look resembling a tree growing downwards on an embankment or on the face of a cliff. In the cascade style, the trunk begins to grow vertically but changes its position abruptly by turning downwards to touch the bottom of the pot or even below the pot.

To get the cascade style, the pot with the tree is usually placed at the edge of a stand or a table so that the branches can grow down creating a cascading look. In general, all the leaves of the tree are below the edge of the surface of the soil.

Training in the cascade style usually takes a longer time than the slanting because the cascade style requires training that defies nature, i.e. we train the tree to grow downwards while the tree will always want to grow skywards. Many experts deem the most suitable species for the Kengai style are Wisteria, Oak, Ponderosa Pine and Conifers.

Semi-Cascade Style – Han-Kengai The Semi-Cascade style is similar to the full cascade but the bend in the trunk is less dramatic. In this style, the branches fall below the surface of the soil but they never fall below the base of the pot. It is easier to train your bonsai tree in the semi cascade style than the cascade. Though there are many species to suit the Han Kengai style, some of the common species are Juniper, various Pine, Crab Apple, Cherry and Ficus.

GEOFF’S BONSAI JOURNEY Geoff’s Bonsai journey began in 1990, although his interest in Bonsai was much earlier. When a small Lilly-Pilly (Waterhousea species) began growing between the house and a concrete path and produced an interesting shape, Geoff potted the Lilly-Pilly and his Bonsai collection began. He still has the Lilly-Pilly and has shaped and re-shaped it a number of times.

Since 1990 Geoff has spoken to 100’s of people about his passion and has enjoyed attending shows and displays.

He has read many books, and like many beginners killed a great number of plants to get to where he is today. Starting with Figs (mainly Banyan) he then grew an interest in the Desert

Rose (Adenium obesum) as a Bonsai, growing several varieties from seed, as these make an interesting Bonsai. Geoff has now developed a keen interest in shaping various Jade trees (Crassula species), finding the Jade interesting and easy to shape, they look fantastic at any size and are able to be planted in very shallow pots.

The beginning of Jade Bonsai Gallery was born from an ever increasing collection and Geoff’s desire to acquire more trees. Jade Bonsai believes in the raising of awareness of Bonsai and the joy they can bring.

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Great gallery. I’ve had my bonsai from Jade Bonsai for about 5 years and I love it. It was a gift and I can look at it everyday and still enjoy the gift and think of the person who gave it to me. I really recommend getting a gift for someone from them.

Janeene M

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I love Jade Bonsai, the work they did for me was amazing! Geoff took the time to understand exactly what I wanted from my custom piece and worked with me to get a stunning result. I would recommend him to others!

Joe C

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10 Pierce Court, Stretton, Q, 4116 Ph: 0421 376 097 Opening Hours: By appointment – 7 days a week To make an appointment, please give us a call.

If you have any questions, or would like to order a custom piece, please don’t hesitate to message us at

gfjcurtis@gmail.com