FBnews7 - November 2003

FBnews Issue No. 7; NOVEMBER 2003
A newsletter for the Fuku-Bonsai Study Group, friends and customers
of the Fuku-Bonsai Cultural Center & Hawaii State Bonsai Repository

Fuku-Bonsai president David Fukumoto with his early Christmas gift from his grand children! It was pay-back time as daughter Joni received such a doll when she was little as a returning trip gift that really scared her!	MAHALO - CHRISTMAS ISSUE! by David W. Fukumoto, president & founder, Fuku-Bonsai THIS TRULY HAS BEEN A TIME OF THANKSGIVING FOR US! In 1989 and 1990 the nursery was decimated by defective Benlate and we struggled to rebuild and survive! We addressed the challenges and now look forward to our day in court! Fortunately Dwarf Schefflera was not affected and we switched over to it as our specialty. After several years and after training hundreds of thousands of plants, we're coming to understand its special characteristics! With the certified export nursery now 30 years old, the "old plant bank" is maturing and we are excited about new and older products. LIVING LOVABLES received a warm introductory reception! They are an integral part of our grand plan to supply the entire package of beginner True Indoor Bonsai workshops in quantity including prepared bonsai stock, resource handbook, pot, soil, etc. We've made improvements to our gift-wrapping and the packing of larger Custom Collection plants. MICRO-LOBSTERS are also proving very successful. I thank our first customers and am pleased with the reports! Improvements continue and original purchasers are invited to contact me for upgrade quotations. We will be testing shipping heat packs but will not ship when low temperatures are near or below freezing. We've made major breakthroughs! EDUCATION! We continue emphasis on teaching featuring Angela Tillman's second bonsai course. We've updated Loredana's page and welcome Kathy and Scott as new correspondents. There are major reports regarding bonsai training of seedlings and advanced rock planting techniques. INTRODUCING MID-PACIFIC BONSAI FOUNDATION. Fuku-Bonsai's credibility is partly due to our sister non-profit foundation. When Hawaiian bonsai trainers pass away, their best bonsai can come here to live and be enjoyed by visitors from throughout the world. The foundation keeps the memorial trees in the public domain. Much of this website reports the Foundation's Bonsai Days on the second Saturday of each month. Everyone is invited. It's been an extremely hectic and satisfying year and I hope you enjoy this information-filled issue. We are very grateful and humbled by all of the support and goodwill that we've received. We send our very best wishes for a happy, healthy, and satisfying holiday season! MAHALO! (Thank you!) ~~~David W. Fukumoto
	THE AMAZING HAWAIIAN MICRO-LOBSTER INTRODUCTORY MINI-BREEDER TANK is an easy-care unit with a "foot-print" less than 6" x 6"! The 5" diameter canister holds about 1/2-gallon of brackish water and a generous number of Micro-Lobsters. It's a complex, portable, enchanting desktop unit that is a sustainable breeding colony! We've made major breakthroughs to create an optimum environment for active Micro-Lobsters to cavort and mesmerize both children and adults! It's the finest product on the market and includes the canister tank with aquascape, bonsai inspired display base, canister light, a background panel, a generous number of Micro-Lobsters, a 16-page Micro-Lobster Breeder Tank Handbook, and a year's supply of Micro-Lobster Premium Breeding Food. The Micro-Lobster home page is posted at: www.fukubonsai.com/micro-lobster.html or www.micro-lobster.com
	MICRO-LOBSTER BASICS (PORTAL PAGE). Information to develop an appreciation of these amazing creatures. Their habitats are disappearing and they may one day become endangered. There's a blunt no-nonsense explanation of Fuku-Bonsai's breakthrough discovery! Increasingly reports are filtering in that Micro-Lobsters have begun to reproduce!
	MICRO-LOBSTER SIX-MONTH REPORT. This report shows our rapid progress over the last six months in the creation of an extraordinary gift item that will captivate youngsters, their grandparents, and everyone in between!

LIVING LOVABLES™!

LIVING LOVABLES are for those who want a small bonsai, or who want to pot and train it into a medium size bonsai. The quality of a workshop result is directly proportional to the quality of the starter workshop plant. With a high-potential starter plant, True Indoor Bonsai Handbook, and a #8 Conversion Kit, there's excellent workshop success! Whether you want small bonsai or want to train medium size bonsai, check out the new Living Lovables!

LIVING LOVABLE!	Meet "HAWAIIAN DRAGON!™" A popular fun bonsai and just one of three distinctive stylings! While very young, we created sharp bends so the plant rises from roots like a playful creature that swirls and twirls! It's one of three stylings and with variations, students in workshop classes will have a greater range of results. "SUMO!" is short and stocky with a lot of low branches. "ROOTS!" is ideal for exposed root and root-over-rock styling. For training as a small bonsai, go to Gift List #2 (It's part of Fuku-Bonsai's Mahalo Mix & Match Special!) For a Living Lovable Workshop Kit, go to Workshop Items
	GIFT-WRAPPING & QUANTITY DISCOUNTS! Each year more of our customers are reserving plants to be gift-wrapped and shipping in quantity to a single address for distribution at Christmas parties, as corporate gifts, or for friends and family. We've improved our gift-wrap presentations!
*Fuku-Bonsai* *Mahalo Mix & Match Special!* (Items are shown on Gift List #1 and Gift List #2)	We sincerely thank you for your patronage! We're delighted that our Hawaiian Lava Plantings have been the most successful bonsai gifts for anyone who can grow houseplants. Because shipping costs are much lower when several are shipped to the same address, we ran a promotion that if 6 plants of any mix were sent to an address, SHIPPING WOULD BE FREE! It was popular and so we're topping it! We put all the small lava plantings on sale, introduced Living Lovables at that same special low price, and created "The Fuku-Bonsai Mahalo Mix & Match Special!" A MIX & MATCH ASSORTMENT OF ANY 6 "HS" SMALL LAVA PLANTINGS AND/OR "LL" LIVING LOVABLES FOR JUST $99.95 INCLUDING SHIPPING WHEN SENT TO ONE ADDRESS! (The lava plantings do not include any container. Add $5 each for 4.8" square x 1.2" melamine dish or for each 7" saucer and gravel needed.) These will make great Christmas gifts or the start of a nice Living Lovable Collection!
	CUSTOM COLLECTION! Fuku-Bonsai's certified export nursery is now 30 years old and increasingly our "old plant bank" matures. High-potential 8 to 25 years old plants are offered to customers who have good growing environments and past success with our plants. The presentation is also an outstanding lesson showing how bonsai develops.
	PACKING A CUSTOM COLLECTION! How does Fuku-Bonsai safely get plants to all parts of the United States safely? How are extra large plants shipped? Here's how!
	SPECIAL COLD WEATHER SHIPPING OPTION Fuku-Bonsai ships to all parts of the United States WHENEVER LOW TEMPERATURES IN THE DESTINATION AREA ARE ABOVE FREEZING AND TEMPERATURES ARE RISING! We are forced to hold back shipments to some areas for months! For those who are willing to pay additional costs and accept "best efforts but no guarantees," this section provides an optional service.
	ANGELA TILLMAN'S SECOND BONSAI COURSE. The first course was outstanding and a summary article has just been published in Bonsai Clubs International's Bonsai Magazine. This second course features exciting new concepts made possible by the Living Lovables and some new teaching ideas!
	LOREDANA'S PAGE. Even with little effort, over the past year there has been progress. Here's an update.
	KATHY'S PAGE. Meet a nice lady who gets amazing growth and who is learning to keep a small bonsai small!
	SCOTT'S PAGE. Here's a young man beginning with a small lava planting and a #17 Conversion Kit who is creating a large bonsai!
	MID-PACIFIC BONSAI FOUNDATION HOME PAGE. This home page for a website within a website will be complete with portal pages, periodic newsletter, and information about the memorial bonsai in the Foundation's Hawaii State Bonsai Repository. The Foundation was originally formed in 1986 by Fuku-Bonsai stockholders to keep donated memorial bonsai in the public domain. Now, members of Fuku-Bonsai staff are the strongest members and leaders!
*MID-PACIFIC BONSAI FOUNDATION* *NEWSLETTERS*	MPBF NEWSLETTER #1. Each issue of FBnews will include a Foundation newsletter of most recent events, scheduled activities, and feature articles about memorial bonsai in the Foundation's Hawaii State Bonsai Repository.
	ALOHA HAM! All who live on the Big Island of Hawaii appreciate it being a special place. Throughout our period of difficulty, we received the quiet support of the community and many individuals. One such individual is Isamu "Ham" Kaneshiro who is a repository of knowledge about bonsai, the Hawaii-Okinawa bonsai connection, and the Hawaiian Okinawan community. This article is the result of several lengthy interviews!
	TRAINING SEEDLINGS PORTAL PAGE! A gift of seeds from India began a project to design new seedling training concepts with the assistance of Jerry Meislik of Montana and Jim Smith of Florida. This provides the background and ends with the first summary report. Future reports will update our progress.
	ADVANCED "WIRE-LADDER" TECHNIQUES - PART I. A vertical cliff is an exciting challenge to replicate in bonsai! The technique was developed in the early 1980's to consistently and successfully plant on sheer vertical surfaces. Includes a step-by-step rock planting sequence.
	ADVANCED "WIRE-LADDER" TECHNIQUES - PART II. This follow-up section includes an explanatory diagram and the "recipe" for creating FUKU-BONSAI'S "ORGANIC BONDING COMPOUND."

FUKU-BONSAI CULTURAL CENTER & HAWAII STATE BONSAI REPOSITORY
PO Box 6000 (Olaa Road), Kurtistown, Hawaii 96760
Phone (808) 982-9880; FAX (808) 982-9883; URL: www.fukubonsai.com

*** Go to Premier October 15, 2001 issue of FBnews
*** Go to the previous FBnews #6 (September 2003)
*** Go to Fuku-Bonsai Home Page

FBnews is a free periodic newsletter for the members of the Fuku-Bonsai Study Group and the friends and customers of the Fuku-Bonsai Cultural Center & Hawaii State Bonsai Repository. It includes current sales and articles of interest to those growing True Indoor Bonsai™ or any other form of artistic pot plant. To receive email notification of new issues, send an email to sales@fukubonsai.com with your name, city and state. There is no fee, but donations to the non-profit Mid-Pacific Bonsai Foundation are gratefully accepted.