Hawaii's premier certified bonsai nursery is
completing a 25-year long battle for survival and
invites everyone to visit and help bonsai to become
a major Big Island economic and visitor industry
activity. We were the first export nursery in 1973
and always "sold-out." We incorporated in 1985 with
over 200 mostly Big Island stockholders to build the
17-acre Kona Fuku-Bonsai Center at a former quarry
in upper Keauhou-Kona. Unfortunately, defective
DuPont Benlate fungicide sprayed in 1989 caused over
$30 million of damages.
The center opened to critical acclaim and surviving
bonsai quickly sold out. Without that income the
center was doomed and in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy when
DuPont agreed to settle in 1994. When creditors and
the court agreed, our only choice was to accept or
be liquidated. Fuku-Bonsai insisted on paying
creditors 100% + interest and bankruptcy was
canceled. The Kona center closed, was lost, and is
now becoming the Animal Community Center of the Hawaii
Island Humane Society. We
retrenched to the Kurtistown nursery, learned
DuPont misrepresented information to the bankruptcy
court, and sued DuPont for fraud.
DuPont used their massive resources to delay, make
multiple appeals, and run up legal costs. On the
eve of the first DuPont fraud trial, they settled
after losing 10 years of all court rulings. DuPont
was sanctioned with multi-million dollar court fines
for their fraudulent activities but escaped and paid
only a tiny fraction of damages that they caused.
The total net proceeds from the 1994 Benlate product
liability and the 2007 DuPont fraud settlements
after taxes and legal costs were less than 10% of
our losses. Life is not fair.
Fuku-Bonsai survived while many of the 5,000+ others
who filed DuPont lawsuits are no longer in
business. We were helped by 100+ Fuku-Bonsai
Promotional Partners that includes hotels, resorts,
bed & breakfasts, and Big Island businesses who
created traffic when we could not afford
advertising! Benlate contamination residue prevents
growing our original crop and we've totally
reinvented the company. Our True Indoor Bonsai™ is
now the most successful gift bonsai for anyone,
anywhere who can grow houseplants and the certified
plants can go to all parts of the United States.
Our Introductory Workshop Package is the easiest and
most successful way to learn (or teach) bonsai.
Fuku-Bonsai partnered with the 501(3)(c) Mid-Pacific
Bonsai Foundation to co-sponsor the Fuku-Bonsai
Cultural Center & Hawaii State Bonsai Repository in
Kurtistown, the
www.fukubonsai.com
website, to co-publish the monthly email
Journal of Tropical & True Indoor Bonsai,
and to continue our commitment of bonsai support for
future generations.
We invite Big Island residents and visitors to the
Fuku-Bonsai Cultural Center to enjoy the
internationally acclaimed bonsai collection, to
select from the largest inventory of gift bonsai, or
to take a bonsai workshop. We are asking all other
hotels, resorts, bed & breakfasts, and Big Island
businesses to become Fuku-Bonsai Promotional
Partners to get the word out as we move into the
next phase toward "MAKING THE BIG ISLAND AN
INTERNATIONAL BONSAI MECCA!"
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Since we began publishing the Journal of Tropical
& True Indoor Bonsai in January of 2013, a
solid record of True Indoor Bonsai has been
documented and I thank all who have participated in
our Beginner and Fast-Track Study Groups and those
who assisted in sending information and photographs
for the articles.
By now, it is very clear that Dwarf Schefflera is
the fastest developing of all trees grown as bonsai.
It can be trained into more styles than any other
tree. It is the most durable and most successful
gift bonsai for anyone, anywhere who can grow
houseplants. And
since Dwarf Schefflera is the ideal houseplant with
superior bonsai traits and because houseplants are
the same everywhere.
Dwarf Scheff is already one of the most popular
bonsai plants in the world. It is destined to
be the most popular and Fuku-Bonsai is committed to
becoming the primary source of educational
information and source for the highest potential
prepared stock with exciting character within one
inch of the soil line and a compact complex root
system within 1/2" of that soil line.
FUKU-BONSAI IS FULLY COMMITTED TO CUSTOMER SUCCESS!
I'm amazed that our trees has survived so long in
impossible conditions with erratic care. I'm
really pleased that long-time owners are making
commitments to try to give the plants better care
and are improving their growing environments. We
really want our plants to thrive and bring joy and
this has been amongst the most pleasant result of
publishing the Journal of Tropical & True Indoor
Bonsai!
I recognize that a relatively small percentage of
those who are interested and like bonsai actually
have enough time to commit to learning to grow them.
So I appreciate those who join our Beginner and
Fast-Track Study Groups and welcome the new members
as we continue to build our Tropical and True Indoor
Bonsai community! Please email me if there are
questions, if you need a special gift, or you want
to join us!
