AN ADVANCED WORKSHOP AT

THE FUKU-BONSAI CULTURAL CENTER

                 Phil Bill of Oakland, California first visited in 2004, then in the Spring of 2005, in February and again in October of 2006. (He's introduced at www.fukubonsai.com/3a2j.html .) His business brings him to the Big Island and he talks about moving to the Big Island one day.  He's quite a sales guy and in February 2006 we worked on a Premium Keiki Bonsai Workshop Stock plant and moved it into a half-flat.  He talked me into boarding the plant here and on his October visit we worked on the tree to move it into a high potential "Roots" design. He was here for a short time on Friday, February 2, 2007 and we worked on the tree again.  When he learned an advanced workshop was scheduled the next day, he shifted his schedule to be here.

                 Ron Davis of Montana is another past workshop participant with a lot of enthusiasm and a rapidly building skill level.  He's a quiet almost shy very likable guy . . .  a nice thoughtful person who is very perceptive.  He was introduced in the Fall 2006 issue of FBnews with an article titled:  SUSHI, ETC. posted at www.fukubonsai.com/4c3e.html. He's kept me informed via email and said he was sending a parcel post parcel for the Saturday, February 17 Bonsai Day Workshop.  He also brought a CD of photos that will be SUSHI II, ETC. to be posted at www.fukubonsai.com/4c3e1.html.

                 These two guys just need some confidence!  They're tentative in their pruning as they try to remember all the principles and guidelines that may often seem to conflict.  When I was at that stage my break-through came at the home of the late Haruo "Papa" Kaneshiro of Honolulu.   He invited Ted Tsukiyama, Mike Uyeno, and me to an informal workshop on the subject of Ironwoods one Saturday morning.  He had collected a number from the fabled eroded clay hills of Kahuku in the "early days" when very little bonsai knowledge existed and while techniques to successfully collect were still being developed. 

                Papa lined up several of his younger Ironwood bonsai and gave a general class on how to prune to shape and demonstrated.  THEN HE ASKED EACH OF US TO FINISH THEM!  Then he brought out aged Ironwood bonsai, made a quick demonstration AND AGAIN ASKED EACH OF US TO FINISH REFINEMENT PRUNING OF THEM!  If Papa was nervous, he did not show it.  He was confident we could do it and the trust and praise started my current confidence level.

                The key was Papa's statement that you really can't make a mistake!  In nature a storm may break what could have been the most important branch and the tree adjusts. That's part of bonsai training. So today, when I have confidence in people like Ron and Phil, I allow them to prune older trees.  This is  "Pruning Confidence Workshop" pretty much followed the principles laid out in "Lesson #3: Pruning."

	Here's Ron on the left and Phil on the right as they get ready to work on the large Dwarf Schefflera. This bonsai was begun about 1977 when two pretrained Dwarf Schefflera were rock-planted.  The rock is a "monument-type" about 10"  wide at the base and about 28" tall.  The container is a round fiberglass pot 34" in diameter and 3.5" tall. Prior to rock-planting, the rock was stabilized into an upright position with a cement base about 18" in diameter. Although the tree has been trimmed several times it had not been repotted for about 8-10 years. There was need for a lot of refinement.
	My best trees are attractive from all sides as I follow Papa's philosophy. In my early days, I read every bonsai book that I could lay my hands on and there was a lot of discussion on how bonsai should have a front and a back.  Papa said that the front is the side facing you.  But as you walk around, another side faces you. So make all sides attractive and interesting.  Makes sense!  I like to use round pots with a turn-table mechanism so the tree can be rotated for even growth.
	The left side was facing the light and the right side was backed up against bushes.  Note that more aerial roots will grow on the shady side that has more humidity.
	With the large rock, this bonsai is HEAVY and the turn-table had jammed a while back. It hadn't been turned for over a year.  This side was facing the bushes didn't get much sun so the growth is facing away. With more humidity, more aerial roots are growing on this side.
	To allow Ron and Phil to get a better understanding I asked them to cut off and remove all leaves so we could study the structure.  They started from the lower branches and worked their way up.  As they did so, they could easily see that the lowest branches were the longest and branches become shorter as they near the top.
	From this side it is difficult to see any of the rock due to the large number of roots.  There are only two rock-planted trees. The lower one has several branches that face outwards in different directions.  The upper tree has a few branches that form the mid-section of the crown and a bit of trunk that grows over the top of the rock.
	From this angle there is a better view of the rock. The rock leans forward a bit and aerial roots have dropped all the way down to the pot.
	The first part of the class was to determine the "shin" or primary apex point.  To find it follow the largest dominant trunk up until the last previous cut.  The new growth is long as it had not been trimmed for a while.  If the growth is facing up, add two branch diameters.  Ron is shown marking the shin with red surveyor plastic tape. If there is more than one apex, imagine a "theoretical central overall apex point"
	Then find the ends of the major low branches. If the ends are pointing up, trim off short. If pointing flat or a bit downwards, mark the end point at 3-4 branch thickness if you're still trying to lengthen the branch.  Phil is shown marking the end of one low branch.  Ron and Phil then marked the ends of each of the low branches.
	With yardsticks connect the "shin" to the low branch end points. Use this as a guide to cut the branches and this will produce a strong healthy tropical bonsai crown!  It's really that simple but that's where confidence comes in. If you intellectually believe, then you can prune quickly just following our rule and that's significant.       If you tend to be a decision-maker, once you accept a principle, you train yourself to act.  If you're insecure and question each cut, you'll have a hard time.  Strong decision-makers make good bonsai trainers.
	In no time at all the long branches were shortened.  This really is a straight forward process. When we evaluate new staff,  we don't hire those who cannot learn this principle or who have difficulties making decisions.        Both Ron and Phil run businesses so they are strong decision-makers and had no problem understanding and executing. But then we moved into an area that is very subjective as it requires removing aerial roots!
	The bonsai had been allowed to grow strongly for several years, and although the crown and branches have been pruned from time to time, it had not been repotted for 8 to 10 years.  Note that there's still a lot of refinement work to be done to improve the root system.       Here, there's an abundance of roots being produced and when repotting, we also select the ideal roots, straighten free-falling aerial roots, and remove smaller roots that distract from an ideal design.
	Phil with the tree prior to pruning off the last branch end and shin.  Because this was an educational session, it took us almost two hours to reach this point.  Normally, a Fuku-Bonsai professional staff member would be able to prune to this stage in 10 to 15 minutes. Note that while some roots are straight down, others are at an angle.  The repotting and detailed root training would take several hours.
	Fuku-Bonsai senior plant manager assisted in removing the tree from the pot and beginning the repotting. Note the large heavy root growth.  Because almost all of the foliage growth has been removed, in theory, it would be possible to remove most roots and treat the plant as a rooted cutting and it would still have an excellent chance to recover.  But since we will be removing less than 50% of the roots,  we fully expect a strong recovery.
	There's nothing like getting right into the work to be able to understand the repotting process and Michael gave Ron and Phil a good hands-on class.  Note that the smooth mass in the center of the root ball is the 18" diameter concrete base that provides a sturdy rock base. The Big Island of Hawaii has a lot of earthquakes and such stable bases are necessary.
	Ron got the honor to complete the project and make the last cut!  If you scroll back up to the first and second photo of this series, you can get an idea of the large amount of detailed work that has been done.         This is generally our primary "front."  We like it because it shows the rock nicely with a nice arrangement of free falling vertical roots.
	In less than a quarter turn counter clockwise the crown a different appearance. As you look at the tree from slightly different views, the appearance changes.  It is interesting and attractive from all angles and this is the common characteristic of masterpiece standard bonsai.       The entire rock planting uses a 28" tall rock and is overall 36" tall with the tree about 8" taller than the rock. The rock is about 10" wide and weighs about 75 pounds or more.
	Another quarter turn and the rock is almost not seen at all and from this side the mass of roots dominate.  Note that during repotting, some of the roots were not long enough when potted straight.  In one case, a nail with a wire was anchored below a short root and the wire connected to the root. Sphagnum moss was wrapped around to provide some supplemental moisture to help the root extend down.  In other cases, aluminum foil cylinders filled with media and sphagnum moss was used.
	Another quarter turn shows the structure of the two plants.  The lower tree is what appears to be the two lowest branches on the left.  The upper tree has long right side branches, a trunk that hugs the rock as it develop a double apex that appears over the top of the rock.  Note that the free falling aerial roots on the right side are thickening and heavy wire holds them vertical.
	An additional quarter turn and the very dense mat of roots contrast with the free falling aerial roots.  The vertical free-falling roots are part of "Rainforest Banyan" styling that is the most difficult form of tropical bonsai.      This tree is one of our most successful efforts and it photographs well from all angles.  Overall photos are interesting but details are also!

                Bonsai are never complete and each grower may have a different philosophy.  Some have only a few bonsai and want to maintain them so they are all always at their best!  Hawaii's Papa Kaneshiro and California's John Naka followed this route.  In Japan, there are some very large impressive bonsai collections that were purchased by very wealthy individuals. They have the means to have an army of professional gardeners to maintain these trees.  Sometimes trees that are constantly been trimmed will weaken and will benefit from being placed in a larger pot for a period of unrestricted growth and this will revitalize them. 

                Fuku-Bonsai is a working bonsai nursery know for its ability to train and create a wide range of styling and character.  To do so, trees must be growing vigorously at all times and allowed to overgrown before pruning back heavily.  Besides being more cost-effective in using labor more efficiently, allowing trees to overgrow thickens trunks and branches.  So there's always a lot of work to be done here.  For those who have taken our workshops in the past and need additional coaching, write or call ahead and we may be able to arrange an advanced workshop.

                    CALL AHEAD AND COME LEARN WITH US!  ~~~David

 

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      ( This article was part of FBnews #14; Spring 2007.  To receive free FBnews email notice, send your name, city, state and email address to sales@www.fukubonsai.com and request being placed on the mailing list. )

FUKU-BONSAI CULTURAL CENTER & HAWAII STATE BONSAI REPOSITORY

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