YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN THE 2014 BEGINNER STUDY GROUP! Click this link for more information.
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ISSUE #14. FEBRUARY 2014
2014 GREETINGS FROM MICHAEL IMAINO
President, Mid-Pacific Bonsai Foundation
Aloha to the members of the Mid-Pacific
Bonsai Foundation and readers of the Journal of Tropical and
True Indoor Bonsai. It's already time to issue the
February issue! Boy, does time fly and I'm a month late in
welcoming you to the second year of publishing the Journal!
Besides being hectic here, my other excuses are that I've been
out a bit and working like crazy to improve the center and
exhibits.
Last year was really a banner year for us! We emerge from
a 25-year long battle for survival and, with increasing
confidence, we are rebuilding to a higher standard. The road to
Fuku-Bonsai is now a beautiful wide avenue and visitors no
longer park a half mile away because they fear their rental cars
will get stuck in the deep pot holes! In the past year
we've rebuilt all of the signage that guide visitors to the
center.
New display benches are being built to last and include a coated
metal covering that protects the heavy wood frame from rotting
and weather-proof materials under each leg to lift the display
benches off the often wet ground. Some large specimen display
stands have built-in turntables to allow turning to view all
sides. Some old nursery benches with roof iron surfaces lasted
over 30 years. The new design that includes non-rusting
aluminum bench panels are expected to last over 50 years!
The Foundation plays a very quiet behind the scenes role but is
increasingly involved in the center operations and strategic
plans. Nursery production and marketing is increasing.
The Foundation activities expand right along side as we provide
the support that makes many of the Journal articles possible.
So it is very humbling, gratifying and exciting to receive new
memberships, renewals, and generous donations that make it
possible for us to assist with a growing list of projects with
larger scale projects joining the list.
It's wonderful that more members are visiting, taking workshops,
and joining the Beginner and Fast-Track Study Groups. In
appreciation, we are developing some very high-value products
that will be available only to them. Vice-president Edison Yadao
enjoys conducting the workshops and I get to do a few, too.
On behalf of the officers and staff, I send New Years greetings
and request your continuing support!
~~~ Michael S. Imaino, MPBF president
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Fuku-Bonsai and Mid-Pacific Bonsai Foundation has partnered
to co-sponsor the Fuku-Bonsai Cultural Center and Hawaii State
Bonsai Repository, the
www.fukubonsai.com website, and the Journal of
Tropical & True Indoor Bonsai. As such it is the first large
scale national resource of an extensive amount of information,
as a supplier of high-potential True Indoor Bonsai plants and
supplies, and a source of personalized assistance for members
and customers. We are focused on building the capabilities
to be able to supply and support the Tropical and True Indoor
Bonsai community now and for future generations! Please
join us!
The Journal editorial team has come up with an exceptional issue
that covers a full range of subjects! As the
readership and study group enlarges, the senior members
are offering to assist new members of the Beginner Study Group
and as they graduate, they're invited to be a part of the active
Fast-Track Study Group who are individually taking on more
complex challenges while helping each other. There are more
Fuku-Bonsai articles than usual in this issue. That's
because several articles were written specifically to provide
various members of the study group with information that may be
needed in their projects and these are being shared with all of
the readers of the Journal.
~~~David, Journal editor (david.f@fukubonsai.com)
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MY ROOT-OVER-ROCK ADVENTURES - PART I By Jerry Meislik, Journal contributing editor (Whitefish, Montana). This is the first article on ROR (root-over-rock) creation. I start with Brassaia and Dwarf Schefflera. Both grow as epiphytes and show extreme durability and aggressive roots systems that easily tolerate being grown over rocks. |
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AN INTRODUCTION TO 360° COMPLEX LANDSCAPES By Ryan Chang, Journal contributing editor (Waipahu, Hawaii) The Fast-Track Study Group is moving into rock sculpturing and 360° landscape designs. I've done a few practice smaller versions, but this is the first decent sized 360° landscape that I’m doing on my own. |
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THE ROCK ISSUE By Jay Boryczko, Journal contributing editor (Farmington Hills, Michigan) Skills that one acquires in workshop I also apply to workshop II however, with a twist. That twist is taking left-over pieces from rock carvings and assembling them with your tree(s) to create larger scenes that are more interesting. |
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UPDATE: HAWAIIAN SPINNING PORPOISE! The tree was created as a tropical version of that famous Simpaku Juniper in Japan named "Dragon Flying Through the Clouds" which is about the same size as our version which is just 31 years old but already impressive and in need of a display pot. |
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A RADICAL HAWAIIAN DRAGON LESSON! One of Fuku-Bonsai's oldest Dwarf Schefflera Hawaiian Dragons was originally a natural epiphyte growing out of a tree. When collected it had long roots that reached the ground and the roots were formed into an exciting pattern. The tree was collected about 2000 with a then estimated age of about 10 years old. So the bonsai is about 24 years old and in training about 14 years. |
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AN UPDATE ON MICHAEL'S TREE - PART VI Michael's Port Jackson Fig (Ficus rubiginosa) was started from seed in 1983, the same year that Michael joined Fuku-Bonsai. It's been the subject of several classes as we trained our staff |
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LESSON #14: BASIC ROOT-OVER-ROCK! Fuku-Bonsai's Hawaiian Lava Plantings are ideal gift bonsai for anyone, anywhere who can grow houseplants. They have both good and bad features. the plants grow very slowly. If you want to learn to train and develop bonsai you would have better results by learning and training ROOT-OVER-ROCK bonsai in which the roots grow into media in a pot. This is a lesson of the basic principles of ROOT-OVER-ROCK. |
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LESSON #15: MULTI-ROCK POTLESS ARRANGEMENT! This idea began to show that two rocks can be held together at the base with concrete so you could plant a bonsai between them and the arrangement could look like it's a single rock with a tree on it (even though it's really between the two rocks). Here's how it was done. |
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HYPERTUFA; A PRELIMINARY REPORT By George McLean, Journal contributing writer (Kalispell, Montana) Like concrete, hypertufa uses Portland cement as one of its ingredients. But the other two are not sand and gravel but peat moss and Perlite (or vermiculite). |
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AN ALMOST ONE
YEAR UPDATE By Russ Mann, Journal
contributing writer (Polson, Montana)
Now I
start my Record of Personal Bonsai, MY BONSAI! I am committed to
doing this right, in the correct way, with true bonsai spirit,
with the Spirit of Aloha! I read many articles on the
Fuku-Bonsai website, then called and spoke with David Fukumoto.
He suggested I start with the “workshop 1”, so I did . . .
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A FAMILY CHRISTMAS WORKSHOP! By Carole Tingley, Journal contributing writer (Apex, North Carolina) I was expecting a house full of guests over the Christmas holidays. For a fun activity, I decided to do a bonsai family workshop to let all the participants prepare their first bonsai. I was ordering some plants for myself, so I included in my order a set of eight introductory workshop packages to share with my guests. The shipment arrived about two weeks ahead of time to make sure it didn’t get caught in a winter weather delay. |
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OUR FIRST IWP & PIWP! By Neill & Fely Sams (Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii) On January 19, 2014 we hosted the Sams who were on the Big Island to participate in nursery organizational activities. A previous meeting indicated a very compatible win-win situation was possible. The Sams own and operate Orchid Alley Kauai and are also growers, niche marketers, shippers, and love to teach. They are interested in making bonsai a major second product line! |
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MAILBAG & FEBRUARY 2014 MONTH-LONG SPECIAL CUSTOM COLLECTION SALE! Custom Collection is the cream of our crop --- our largest, oldest, and best value products including some in training since the 1970's! The photo at left is one of our best plants that recently sold. There are others to choose from with more information at www.fukubonsai.com/3a2b.html Our mailbag features an older customer tree that we're assisting in training. |
