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Bonsai is an exquisite art form that has been practiced for over 2,500 years. Commercialised into Western culture with great success by the Japanese, it is not always known that the tradition began in China. Kingston Wang is the owner and operator of Bonsai Environment in Sydney's Hills district and he shared some of his considerable knowledge about the origins of Bonsai with ASSETS.

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The hidden meaning of root can spell trouble for foreigners not familiar with Australian slang but the hidden nature of roots themselves could spell trouble for locals that are unaware of a new legal precedent set recently around root related property damage.

In Goulburn late last year, a homeowner was awarded damages by the NSW Land and Environment Court for cracks that appeared in their home. These cracks were deemed to be related to root activity from trees in a neighbouring property.

What makes the decision to award damages so interesting is that the roots of the trees deemed to have caused the damage had not reached the property in question.  The cracking was the result of a process known as "matric suction".

Matric suction occurs when dry soil draws moisture from surrounding soil.  It is an equalizing force that helps to distribute moisture evenly across a block.  Large trees dry out the soil around them through their roots thereby generating matric suction. The result is the damp soil under nearby houses is leeched of moisture and in reactive soils this creates a sideways movement of water that causes earth shifts. This movement is what the NSW Land and Environment Court ruled was the cause of the cracks to the house in question.

Matric suction can affect an area that is almost twice the height of the tree.  Look around the average neighbourhood and it is going to be very easy to spot potential trouble areas.  If the precedent set in NSW is held up in other states, it could spell liability for many parts of the industry. Damage claims could flow on to those responsible for the maintenance of the offending trees, especially parks and councils and possibly even landscapers who have recommended the placement of trees around a property.

So what is the solution? Tree removals are expensive and unless done by a very reputable firm the outcome is often a dead tree.
The best approach is to find a way to prevent moisture from being leeched from surrounding soils and this is where Root Barrier is an ideal solution.

Root Barrier is a plastic shielding system developed here in Australia that can be readily placed into trenches around the foundation of new buildings or just as easily retrofitted.  It does exactly what it says on the label, it creates a barrier to not just roots, but the matric suction that deep root systems exert on the damp soil underneath buildings.

Prevention is always better than a cure, so if you believe this latest turn of the legal worm could impact your business, come and talk to the ASSETS team about Root Barrier.  It is a cost effective, best practice approach to ensuring the beauty of trees in residential neighbourhoods do not create ugly legal battles in years to come.

Bonsai is an exquisite art form that has been practiced for over 2,500 years. Commercialised into Western culture with great success by the Japanese, it is not always known that the tradition began in China.  Kingston Wang is the owner and operator of Bonsai Environment in Sydney's Hills district and he shared some of his considerable knowledge about the origins of Bonsai with ASSETS.

The gentle art of Bonsai is centuries old. The term itself comprises two Japanese words "bon" meaning tray and "sai" meaning tree, but the practice of growing trees in miniature form actually began in China around 1,000 BC, spreading into Korea and not reaching Japan until the 12th century.

The far older practice of Penjing, (tray scenery) can be pinpointed through existing writings and paintings to at least 600 AD. Penjing involved not only growing individual potted trees and training them into a tiny form, but also depicting entire miniature scenery, rockeries, water scenes and landscapes.

From Penjing came Penzai (tray plant) and it is this form of the art that is believed to have been introduced into Japan by Zen Buddhist monks and eventually flourished throughout the world as Bonsai.
Although the original form of Penzai is less commercialised, it is still practiced and offers miniature plant lovers some fine, beautiful distinctions.  For instance, Penzai tends to be larger than Bonsai and are often cultivated for outdoor display. As Kingston explains "the Chinese art provides more of a free form that explores a wide variety of shapes within each tree species. Pots are more varied in shape and colour, with the whole entity created between tree and tray offered for contemplation."

"The Japanese form of Bonsai is highly trained and places particular value on the species being grown in an idealized form.  Bonsai is usually presented in simple pots so that the contemplation is on the tree itself'."
Adopted in Japan as a way of bringing the natural beauty of the outdoors inside temples and homes, Bonsai tends to foster smaller plant sizes overall.

Highly trained Bonsai is displayed in simple trays and is a most popular interior decoration while the more free flowing form of Penjing may include more elaborate pots and is often larger, making it an ideal inclusion for landscapers.

At Bonsai Environment in Vineyard, Kingston Wang has cultivated and cared for both the Penjing and Bonsai variety of miniatures since 1995. It began as a hobby when Kingston was in search of peace and quiet, creating a passion that then flourished into a business. His love of the art has taken Kingston all over the world to international conventions and exhibits to stay on top of the latest trends and techniques.

Bonsai Environment now spans a five acre propagation farm, 2,000m2 of shade house, over 1000m2 of greenhouse, a beautiful private viewing collection and an impressive warehouse that is home to thousands of pots, tools and accessories ideal for anyone from beginner to master.  Over 10,000 trees are in stock, and the majority of these have been grown from seeds and cuttings taken from original trees.

Kingston explains that Bonsai Environment has sourced products from ASSETS for around 7 years. With so many plants in production, weed mat is invaluable to prevent encroachment on the growing space, along with fertilizers that are important to keep the soil environment healthy for the trees. "We also buy a lot of stakes and specialist tapes that are used when we are training the trees. The team at ASSETS are very good, always helpful and friendly - they take care of me."

Tree stock used in this art form takes 3-4 years to grow from seed, and is usually around 7 years old before being moved into a pot.  Considering how long they take to grow and perfect their form, it is evident that the past 15 years at Bonsai Environment have been invested with a great deal of patience and care.

 

This White Pine is from the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington DC.  It has been in training since 1625. Note the trunk width and the branch spread - it is exquisite.

Certain tree species are used in traditional Penjing and Bonsai such as Black Pines, Cypress, Maple, Fig and Elm, all of which are stocked by Bonsai Environment.  According to Kingston "native Australian trees are a more modern inclusion used for only 40-50 years. We have beautiful examples of how Port Jackson Figs, Morton Bay  Figs Sticky Wattle, Acacia, Callestimon and Banksia can be cultivated in the miniature tradition."

For Kingston, it is a personal pleasure and a professional endeavour to introduce Bonsai and Penjing to the market.  Bonsai Environment holds classes for the uninitiated and the enthusiast alike, with people welcome to drop in for green tea and a chat about their interests or needs.

"Penjing and Bonsai make wonderful additions to any landscape, with larger forms positioned outdoors being reflected and enhanced by the smaller varieties within the home or business environment," says Kingston.

"Once they are formed and established, they need little maintenance.  Regular water, a little fertiliser and pruning twice a year will ensure the trees stay healthy and in form."

This writer is inspired to discover more. There has been a constant debate in our household about planting flowering trees due to the mess involved when the petals fall. Mayhaps I can find a compromise by requesting a few beautiful flowering Penjing for my garden instead!

To find out more about the amazing art of growing 'tray plants' or how to incorporate Penjing into your landscape projects, you can call Bonsai Environment on (02) 9627 6688 and speak to Kingston or Alex.

The Philosophising Farmer
Carbon, Chlorine, Cash & Sacred Cows

We've been contacted again by our mate out on the land in Queensland and it seems he's been having a bit of a chuckle at the carry on down in Canberra. He reckons with all the hoopla created over the big conference in Copenhagen and the political carry-on connected to the whole subject of a carbon emissions trading scheme, it seemed like a good idea to sit back and chew on the subject for a bit. We agree, so we hope you enjoy the second installment of
The Philosophising Farmer.

Did you know that in the time of the dinosaurs the levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen in our atmosphere were many times greater than today?

Carbon exists as part of a continuum of being. It resides within the earth's crust as minerals and organic deposits such as oil and gas. These can be naturally or artificially released through burning, and the carbon in the atmosphere is gases are photo synthetically harvested back into living organisms and finally taken as sediment back to the earth as deposits or released back to the atmosphere as gases.

In the known Universe it is the fourth most common element (by mass) after hydrogen, helium & oxygen. Carbon forms more compounds than any other element with the "organic" compounds being the largest group.

It is this incredible capacity to form literally tens of millions of differing organic compounds that makes carbon so valuable and so dangerous.

In its elemental form carbon creates some unique crystalline forms, known as allotrope. The various allotropes include graphite, diamond and amorphous carbon.

Each of these possesses differing characteristics, for instance, diamond is hard, translucent and a strong thermal conductor but poor electrical conductor while graphite is soft, opaque and a good electrical conductor. Allotropes are strongly resistant to biological reactions and are generally chemically non reactive.

Carbon is also found as mineral deposits and may appear as inorganic salts or as carbonates in limestone and chalk. Many carbon compounds occur through natural chemical or biological reactions but equally as many do not appear to be "naturally" derived. Combined with hydrogen & oxygen and sulphur and many others, carbon forms 'organic' molecules. When carbon forms simple compounds such as oxides, sulphates, cyanides they are generally regarded as 'inorganic 'compounds.

The distribution of carbon compounds throughout the biosphere of earth is constantly changing and evolving over time. Where carbon has been unnaturally combined with other elements, we have managed to create a bit of chemical chaos that has certainly been damaging to the environment.

For instance, chlorine is present as salts of potassium and sodium found coursing through our veins as chlorides and in abundance in the oceans.

Chlorine in combination with carbon as a naturally occurring organic compound is a rarity but some time around World War II the potent effect of chlorine as a weapon was discovered. Chlorine compounds are often extremely effective in killing life, for instance Chlorine gas was used in the trenches.

Synthetically derived combinations of chlorine with carbon were discovered to make even more powerful biological killers, and these were compounds that could not be easily broken down.

Over the past 40 years the complexity of carbon compounds has evolved with alarming speed.  Industry began producing pesticides DDT, BHC Aldrins and other "organochlorines' that were promoted as being real salvation for various sectors, including farming and agriculture.

Over time it became apparent this use of 'organochlorines' was fraught with dangers.
Dioxin was produced accidentally in the synthesis of 2, 4,5T (a defoliant used in Vietnam). The incidence of cancers and other physiological defects continues today as a result of its use.

Today industry continues to synthesize millions of tonnes of organic chlorine compounds like many of the plastics (PVC), bactericides etc. Unknown are the thousands of accidentally made new molecules also produced into the earth's biosphere. It is the long term downstream impact on all organisms including mutations in the microorganism ecosystem that creates the real concern.

These materials are not natural to the biological pathways that have evolved over the last tens of millions of years. Now they have been introduced into the carbon cycle has "Pandora's box" been opened and the lid left open.

In our bid to ramp up production on the land, eliminate competition and enhance the level of convenience in our lives, we have created and released materials that pose a serious long term impact on all living organisms.

I am not sure an Emissions Trading Scheme is going to address these broader issues, but surely one thing is certain.  Slowing the overall rate of pollution has to be a good, whether you agree with climate change being man made or not.  The agenda needs to be broadened to eliminate the idea of carbon as the issue.  It is not the problem; it is merely the sacred cow being set down before the taxation altar.

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