On April 1, 2014,  we had a great visit by Mr. and Mrs. Daniele Mascanzoni of Milan, Italy.  They came on a rainy day  but got to see the newest 360° complex landscape titled THE WORLD OF BONSAI ALOHA!  It had just leafed out and photographs taken for the BCI Magazine article.  They got to sit in on a IWP workshop in progress and learned about our 1:10 Project to plant in shallow containers ten times wider than it is deep and wanted to take one back to Italy.

 

           But they weren't flying back for another two weeks and a special carrying box was made that sealed the treated plant within a polybag (with certification labels), attached to a support filler, and stapled to the bottom of the carton.  The top was made like a hinged cover to allow light to enter but with the certification labels to stay intact.  The 12" 1:10 Project Conversion Kit had its own stamps and went into their suitcase.  They promised to report whether or not they were able to get the plant home safely so I was delighted to receive the following email and photos!

 

NEWS FROM ITALY!

            Hello David,     Maybe you remember that my wife and I visited your center and purchased a 8LS8 Roots bonsai that we intended to bring to Italy. You prepared a suitable package and the plant was kept in it for more than two weeks before we left Hawaii. Back home in Italy I unpacked the plant and it looked to be in pretty good shape (Pictures 1, 2 & 3).

             I gave the plant a couple of weeks to recover after the long trip and then I transferred it to your 12” saucer according to your instructions. Now, a month later, the bonsai looks really nice and shows many new roots as a sign of good health (Pictures 4 & 5).

              I will continue to take care of this plant and hopefully it will grow nice and well. I thank you for all the good advice you gave me and also for sending me your Journal, which I find very interesting.  I hope seeing you soon, maybe next year, if we will succeed to make a new (long) journey to the Big Island.     Best regards,   Daniele

             Fuku-Bonsai gets a lot of international visitors who tend to purchased Big Island visitor guide books and research interesting places to visit.   While some countries will accept our Hawaii certification stamp,  most require an import permit and it's a hassle to internationally ship a single plant.  So some take a chance and they seem to be getting through,  although they hand carry them back at their own risk.  Daniele knew of our trees from having received a pair many years ago when shipping was easy.  He likes the concept of the 1:10 Project shallow saucer-pots and I look forward to future reports and visits.