Fuku-Bonsai president David Fukumoto
with the two newest exposed root trees in the Podocarpus collection. All podocarpus are
being trained to explain Chinese penjing styling concepts that have influenced the
creation of True Indoor Bonsai styling.
- For the story, go to:
- www.fukubonsai.com/2a2e.html
For those just
getting interested, we've improved our OPAE-ULA DESKTOP UTOPIA unit and
now have it as a special for $49.95 +$12.50 shipping to any part of the US! Micro-Lobsters
are only shippable in warmer weather so it's a great time to order now!
___________________
- OPAE-ULA DESKTOP UTOPIA IS THE
PREMIUM HAWAIIAN CHRISTMAS
- 2004 GIFT!
|
- MAHALO CHRISTMAS ISSUE!
- by David W. Fukumoto, president & founder,
Fuku-Bonsai
ALOHA & MAHALO! In the past few years, our product line
has been evolving and improving and I'm delighted that more customers are training True
Indoor Bonsai . . . and the best source of information is our website
portal section that is half-way down our home page titled: "TRAINING TRUE INDOOR BONSAI!"
This issue includes some meaty articles for our increasingly more
knowledgeable customers. Whether you want to become a bonsai expert or a casual
hobbyist, the information will give you a stronger insight into how high-quality bonsai
are trained.
Our Living Lovable line which could have been called "prepared bonsai stock for high
quality small bonsai!" Knowledgeable bonsai growers appreciate them and as more
experienced traditional outdoor bonsai growers are being called upon to teach beginner
classes they are increasingly recommending and ordering them for workshops!
Living Lovables also make great high-success Christmas gives and the MAHALO-MIX-AND-MATCH SPECIAL II
continues with a choice of five various items for $100 including delivery! That's a
very attractive $20 each! But order early for best selection as these will clearly
sell out! Living Lovable workshops produce great small bonsai! A larger selection of
#8 size Living Sculpture workshops produce great medium size bonsai. And the new #17
size Living Sculpture is proving popular and a great value for those who want higher
quality larger bonsai!
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We're making extraordinary progress with our second
specialty: THE AMAZING HAWAIIAN MICRO-LOBSTER
introduced last year! The Micro-Lobster website is growing rapidly and
while known mostly in Hawaii, the number of units shipped to all parts of the United
States is steadily increasing with very few system crashes to date! Two of
these crashes happened when the owner went on a month-long vacations, asked someone to
feed, and came back to a GREEN tank! It's better not to feed at all rather than
have someone overfeed them. DO NOT OVER-FEED!
Two other crashes resulted when customers added items to our units. Our
units are fully balanced and complete and the addition of live coral, lava
rocks, any form of metal, or other objects may upset the balance and cause
the units to crash.
We're learning more. Added website information in all areas include Hawaiian legends,
anatomy, photography, reproduction updates and more! The Micro-Lobster website
will be the outstanding resource of this specialty! We believe that as this amazing creature becomes more known, that they
will bring enchantment and peace to a stress-filled lifestyle. We're delighted that more
are taking advantage of our $25 discount and donating Educational Breeder Tanks to
educational institutions!
Opae-ula was once mainly known only in Hawaii and most "Mainlanders" learned of
it through word-of-mouth and as gifts from our Hawaii customers sending to their Mainland
friends, who are in turn are sending to their friends! The very high level of
successful survey reports coming back is very satisfying. We will allow promotion to
continue to build by word-of-mouth and thank you!
MAHALO! (Thank you!) ~~~David W. Fukumoto |
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"LESSON #4: CREATING PREPARED
BONSAI STOCK!" As our customers increasingly become more
knowledgeable and want to create bonsai with trees not generally available as prepared
bonsai stock, they have no choice but to prepare the materials themselves.
This article explains how to do it and why. It gives an insight into why
Fuku-Bonsai's Living Lovables and Living Sculpture are ideal for workshops! |
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"LESSON #5: CREATING TRUE INDOOR
BONSAI POTTING MEDIA!" Fuku-Bonsai provides a unique high-quality
3-component potting media that is ideal. But it's costly due to being very labor
intensive and with cost of shipping higher than the materials. If you're going to
expand your bonsai hobby or plan to give group workshops, it may be desirable to lower
your costs by putting together potting media using less costly materials that are
available in bulk in your area. Here's how to do it. |
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PENJING STYLING
CONCEPTS; Training Podocarpus in the Chinese Manner! True Indoor Bonsai
utilizes a number of concepts that originate out of Chinese penjing and tropical
bonsai. Most learned through Japanese bonsai that tend to replicated codified styles
that are primarily single-apex tier-branched pine tree structures. But how do you
create artistic pot plants when the trees don't have pine tree characteristics? |
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KATHY'S PAGE. Kathy first
contacted us in 2002 and I was impressed with her great plant growth. But she wanted
to learn how to control that growth and having a healthy plant but keeping it small
too. Here's the latest photos she sent and the photos tell it all! |
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STATUS REPORT: TRAINING
"MAHALO!" (Part II). In May 2004, Jerry Meislik was the guest
trainer of a high-potential ficus bonsai stock in the Hawaii State Bonsai Repository
memorial bonsai collection. This report shows how much the tree has grown. In the
next issue, Jerry will guide the next phase of training. |
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"MAHALO MIX & MATCH SPECIAL
II" Fuku-Bonsai is committed to becoming the major
source and resource for those interested in high success easy-care True Indoor Bonsai.
Usually a first-time customer will cautiously and prudently purchase a single smaller item
and these are very costly to ship. As a way of saying "MAHALO" to our
repeat customers, the special is for FIVE PLANTS AT AN AVERAGE OF $20 EACH INCLUDING
SHIPPING! Five gift items or the start of a collection! Great for workshops,
the start of a mame bonsai collection, or as the basis for high-quality larger bonsai! |
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|
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- ADDITIONS TO THE MICRO-LOBSTER
WEBSITE
- There has
been a huge amount of activity regarding Micro-Lobsters and we are in heavy contact with
researchers, old-timers, and members of our growing Micro-Lobster Team. Almost all
parts of the Micro-Lobster website has been modified! MICRO-LOBSTER BASICS (PORTAL PAGE).
|
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ANATOMY OF
MICRO-LOBSTERS! Close relatives of lobsters, crayfish, and shrimp,
Micro-Lobsters share many anatomical features, but also have significant
differences! |
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ANCHIALINE PONDS &
OPAE-ULA! A photo gallery of pristine anchialine ponds and opae-ula.
The great majority of these rare eco-systems are found on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Opae-ula are unique creatures that require extremely tiny amounts of oxygen and food and
they've adapted to these unique environments. An understanding of the anchialine
ponds are necessary to appreciate the amazing Hawaiian Micro-Lobsters! |
|
AN INTRODUCTION TO
EPIGEAL &
HYPOGEAL OPAE-ULA HABITATS. Opae-ula are creatures of the water table
under and around the anchialine ponds. They spend most of their lives in the
subterranean lava openings and primarily appear in the ponds to feed. Understanding of
their habitats will give insights into their amazing survivability capabilities! |
|
METABETAEUS! In
healthy anchialine ponds, there are usually one of these predators for every 100 opae-ula.
They are larger, more active, and have large claws! |
CRASH! |
HOW
TO CRASH A MICRO-LOBSTER UNIT! (Or how to prevent crashes!) No one
really wants to crash a unit and see all Micro-Lobsters die! Most can be prevented
and this no-nonsense section has significant information whether you purchased our units
or those made by others.
|
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CARRIE'S PAGE 4! Carrie has been
amongst our most astute Micro-Lobster Team observers who's sharing her experiments.
She spotted young juveniles emerging in an earlier report and now has spotted a berried
female (bottom center in photo) whose eggs have now hatched into larvae! |
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SAM GON'S PAGE.
Sam is a highly respected opae-ula old-timer and has been doing captive breeding in his
office for a number of years! He explains and provides details in this significant
report! |
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GUY INOUYE'S PAGE.
Guy's the newest member of the Micro-Lobster Team who's sharing his observations of the
BT-2 Educational Breeder Tank compared to the smaller opae-ula unit that started off his
interest as his hobby takes a giant leap! |
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OPAE-ULA EGG & LARVAE
RECOMMENDATIONS. As more and more reports of reproduction come in, this
page summarizes and brings together the various suggestions and practices by those who
have been successful! |
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THE LEGEND OF WAINAPANAPA! Opae-ula
has figured into native Hawaiian legends and this is amongst the most known where
"water turns into blood." It features an extraordinary photo! |
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THE STORY BEHIND THE NEW "OPAE-ULA
DESKTOP UTOPIA!" We are delighted that we were able to
introduce a smaller entry-level Micro-Lobster product at a more affordable price. The cost
of a 1-quart unit is obviously lower than a 1/2-gallon unit with twice as many
Micro-Lobsters. But we also eliminated the canister light, background panel, and handbook.
We believe these tradeoffs will allow more people to be able to experience the amazing
Hawaiian Micro-Lobsters. This is the story of a year-long effort to improve our technology
to make this smaller unit possible. |
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DEVELOPING AN EDUCATIONAL PACKAGE
& DISCOUNT. The Educational Breeder Tank is our pride and joy and we
believe it represents our best value! It allows a large number of Micro-Lobsters
(30+) that are much more active in swimming laps and filter-feeding. We're not sure
why. With just a 5.5" x 5.5" x 12" tall, it's a great size for any desk to
relieve stress, relax your mind, and refresh your spirit! Students become interested
and learning begins! To support and encourage the use of this unit as a teaching
tool, Fuku-Bonsai is offering a $25 educational discount to teachers, schools, and those
donating the unit to teachers or schools! |