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‘I work with
the tree and
follow its way’
Astoria man practices the
refined hobby of bonsai
Story and photos by
DWIGHT CASWELL
The Japanese art of bonsai
goes back some 1,500 years.
Miniature trees are shaped
and grown to recreate nature
in small containers for both
meditation and the personal
satisfaction of the artist.
Astoria man Tyson Spaan
became part of that tradition
20 years ago and now has a
miniature forest of almost 50
trees on the deck of his house.
For Spaan it began not in the
distant past, but with Mr. Miy-
agi’s Little Trees — the bonsai
shop in “Karate Kid, Part III.”
“I got hooked when I was a
kid,” he says. “It was my very
first sight of one.” He next saw
a bonsai in a small nursery
with a section devoted to the
miniature trees, and his future
was fixed: “I started dreaming.
I knew for sure that I had to
get one. I had to be with bonsai
trees.”
It was only a dream for
several years, because he
didn’t know how to go about
training a tree to a small pot.
On his first attempt, at the age
of 12, Spaan tried to create
a tree like those he had seen
in the nursery, but eventually
the tree died. Another attempt
made that year still survives in
his collection.
Bonsai trees need close
attention and consistent water-
ing, something that’s difficult
if you’re going to high school,
so Spaan’s hobby was on hia-
tus for those years. Then, about
the age of 20, bonsai trees
became something that, if not
quite an obsession, “required
an endless amount of work.”
Spaan began collecting
books about bonsai and
absorbing every word. He
subscribed to Bonsai Focus
magazine. He takes a work-
shop every year or two, each
time getting a starter tree and
training from a bonsai master.
“In 12 years I’ve gone from
knowing nearly nothing to
what I know now,” he says.
Despite Spaan’s study of
the subject, his expertise has
been gained primarily from
practice. “I learn a lot each
season,” he says. “It’s a slow
road, but a good one. I’ve been
improving every season and so
have the trees.”
Spaan mixes the soil from
components he orders on the
internet, a major portion of
which is Japanese Akadama
soil, which promotes water
retention and root growth.
All of his trees are repotted
every spring (“a chance to
root prune”), and new growth
is pinched (“to keep things
in trim”). During summer
there is some trimming and a
lot of watering. Fall is a time
to “catch up with pruning,”
Spaan says, “and it’s a great
Astoria man Tyson Spaan has almost 50 bonsai trees.
TYSON SPAAN NOW HAS A MINIATURE
FOREST OF ALMOST 50 BONSAI TREES
ON THE DECK OF HIS HOUSE.
time to wire the trees, espe-
cially deciduous trees, because
you can see what you’re doing
with the branches.”
The wiring of trees is often
misunderstood by those new
to bonsai.
“Every tree has at least
some wiring at the beginning,”
Spaan says. “Then I remove
the wire, and the tree is formed
with pruning.”
He seeks a natural look: “I
work with the tree and follow
its way and try to make it even
more beautiful,” he says.
The trees are what it is
all about for Spaan. “It’s a
personal love of nature that
compels me to do it, to keep
them thriving.” He points to
one of his bonsai, “Look at
how happy this tree is.”
Tyson Spaan prunes an American larch tree in the bonsai tradition at his home in Astoria.