Big Island Bonsai

Adam and I had a lovely relaxing long veterans day weekend on the Big Island of Hawaii. On our very last day, we decided to stop by what looked like an interesting tidbit, the Fuku Bonsai state bonsai repository and store. After driving down the dirt road in Kurtistown, we were amazed to arrive and see hundreds of bonsai plants, including many banyans, pine, and others.

After browsing for a while, we were greeted by Mr. Fukumoto himself. He was extremely friendly, and after chatting with him for a while, he introduced us to the dwarf schefflera plant. His philosophy is that everyone should be able to have success and to enjoy bonsai, for if this is the case, then more people will be happy, pursuing the hobby, growing plants and perhaps even promoting world peace. He had found this plant to be one of the best houseplants for growth indoors, in the tropics but even also on the mainland where they experience winter. The Fuku Bonsai staff take 2-4 years to cultivate a perfectly charactered specimen of a tree. They chop the leaves and growth down; 95% of plants will die this way. However, those that live are showing themselves to by excellent material for bonsai. We were very impressed and excited with the operation and decided to take the introductory workshop in creating bonsai. We were treated to an individualized lesson. As a teacher, I was impressed with Fuku Bonsai's teaching philosophy: beginners should teach other beginners; also, students need to try by themselves to be able to learn. We observed the steps to choosing and planting a dwarf schefflera that had developed good character. They we tried by ourselves. It seems that my strength is in choosing the plant, and Adam was strong in the planting. We are each going for a different style of Bonsai. Mine is the sumo: short and fat.

Adam's is roots--the roots are covered in tin foil and stuffed with soil; after about six months he can open it up and the roots will be showing.

This is a delicate art and I am so excited to train my bonsai plant. As Mr. Fukumoto insisted, so I follow his instructions: look at your bonsai every day and smile!
When we got home, Adam was so excited by the lesson that he tried to apply it to his ficus. We found this plant in Manoa about a year ago, and it has grown quite large despite an initial desire to bonsai the plant. Adam followed the steps that we learned in class at Fuku Bonsai. My only fear is that this is such an extreme measure to take on a plant that hasn't been trained at all. Only time will tell what happens.

Alula, Take 2

As you may recall, I have had a long struggle growing Alula. The last post I gave mentioned that the dying Alula was coming back to life. Sadly, it was just the last burst of energy before an utter and complete death. The Alula was over watered and could not come back; the entire trunk was rotten and it collapsed upon itself. 

However, I remain undeterred, and as such, decided to try again. I went to a local native plant nursery and picked up two new Alulas.

 

They are both quite lovely, and one of them has two conjoined plants in the same planter.

 

 I boldly replanted one of them into a larger pot, and after a few months, it has grown and grown! I experimented with various locations for the plants, comparing their progress in differing environments. What I learned is that they seem to prosper outside in the shade, being watered for about 20 seconds per week. Even though the variety I have now is not the critically endangered one, I still treasure these plants highly and can't help but smile every time I see them.