U.S.A.
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
April 21, 2014
Bonsai: The haiku of the tree world
By Katherine Roth
The Associated Press
N
EW YORK — Many people have a bonsai story: a
first bonsai, a struggling bonsai. And many of
these stories do not end happily, at least for the
bonsai.
But the very best bonsai stories are about passion and
beauty and transformation.
“A dewdrop hanging for a split-second — that is bonsai,”
said Julian Velasco, the curator of the Brooklyn Botanic
Garden’s bonsai collection and C.V. Starr Bonsai
Museum. “It’s very Zen-like. It’s awesome.”
For Velasco, who nurtures over 350 bonsai trees at the
botanic garden — one of the largest and oldest bonsai
collections on public display outside Japan — it all started
with a bonsai he purchased as a young man at a street fair
in San Francisco.
“Pretty quickly ... I knew it would be a lifelong path,” he
said.
Bonsai is horticulture, art, philosophy, and even a way
of life in the form of a single tree, lovingly pruned and
trained to exist in a small pot so that it reflects the majesty
of the natural environment, he explained.
“When you see the Grand Canyon or Yosemite, you are
taking in the emotion of the place as much as the visual
image,” and bonsai is about that emotion, he said. It is the
haiku of the tree world.
Luckily for beginners, who have not yet attained a level
of oneness with their new bonsai, learning to nurture a
bonsai has never been easier. Expert help, once found only
in Japan or China, is now more readily available at bonsai
clubs and shops around the world. The American Bonsai
Society lists bonsai clubs across the United States and
Canada, and Bonsai Clubs International lists clubs
worldwide.
“Most U.S. states now have at least a couple of bonsai
societies, and interest seems to be growing,” said David
Bogan of Evansville, Indiana, who is on the board of the
American Bonsai Society.
“About 30 years ago a friend brought a bonsai for me
from Hawaii, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Now my
wife and I have hundreds of bonsai,” he said. “Bonsai are a
long-term commitment, though, and most take at least a
decade to create. Some can hardly go a day without some
kind of care. It’s almost like having a pet.”
Bonsai, Japanese for “planted in a tray,” originated in
China around 200 C.E., and the art spread several
hundred years later to Japan. The art of bonsai was
introduced to the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th
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centuries, and at least one of the bonsai at the Brooklyn
Botanic Garden is more than 200 years old.
Although Velasco said the ultimate goal is to “open your
heart to the tree,” he has a few more practical tips for
novices.
The first is to choose a variety of tree suited to your
environment. Bonsai are trees or shrubs, and most
varieties should be grown outside, where they require a
period of dormancy in winter.
For most people, however, who want to grow their
bonsai indoors or keep them outdoors only in warmer
months, tropical varieties like the ficus or Australian
brush cherry, with its interesting flower and bark, are
good choices. Both are sturdy enough to endure a few
beginners’ mistakes, do well indoors, and can be kept
outside so long as temperatures are above 60º Fahrenheit.
Another good option, particularly for people with access
to an outdoor growing space, is Chinese elm, which is
adaptable and can also be grown indoors.
The next step along the continuum of hardiness is
junipers, particularly Chinese and procumbens varieties.
Small varieties of azaleas, which are sturdy with nice
leaves and flowers, are also popular among bonsai
enthusiasts, Velasco said.
Outdoor bonsai are delicate, however, and need to be
protected once temperatures reach 20º F and colder.
“Most people will bury just the pot part of the bonsai in
soil and mulch up against a house or fence to protect it
PASSION AND BEAUTY. Pictured are two distinct styles of bon-
sai — an Acer buergerianum in root over rock (left photo) and a Malus
slant-style bonsai in spring (right photo). Bonsai is horticulture, art,
philosophy, and even a way of life in the form of a single tree, lovingly
pruned and trained to exist in a small pot so that it reflects the majesty
of the natural environment, according to Julian Velasco, the curator of the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s bonsai collection, one of the largest and oldest
outside Japan. (AP Photos/Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
from drying winds. Burying the pot evens out the
temperature for the roots so there are no sudden drops or
super hard freezes,” Velasco said.
Another strategy is burying just the pot part of the
bonsai under a bench in the winter, and covering the
bench with some clear plastic.
In addition to selecting the right variety, beginners
need to understand bonsai stress and watering, Velasco
said.
“A lot of times people bring home a bonsai and it drops
its leaves and looks unwell. It’s just stressed out. It needs
time to adjust, and a little patience,” he explained.
“Monitor the water very carefully. Without leaves it
won’t need as much water. Hold off on water until the soil
dries out. And little by little, when you hold off on water,
buds will start to appear. And as that starts to happen, the
need for water will start to increase.”
Many bonsai growers keep the tip of a chopstick deep in
the soil toward the back of the pot as a moisture gauge.
“If the chopstick is moist you don’t need to water. But
you never want the roots in the pot to get completely dry.
Water it only when it’s almost dry,” Velasco said.
Water from the top down and make sure the water
drains out of the bottom of the pot.
As for pruning, allow the tree to grow five to seven
leaves before pruning it back by about two leaves of the
new growth, Velasco said.
“Only prune what’s actively growing. Trees need to
grow to be happy and healthy,” he said.
“If you’re on top of your game, the tree will repay you by
being healthy and beautiful. Just try to appreciate what
the bonsai is trying to express to you.”
Manny Pacquiao back on top after Bradley win
Continued from page one
like he had the power he usually has.
It was a little bit slower than he
seemed in the past. I don’t know why,
because in the dressing room, he was
on fire.”
Bradley, still classy after his first
career defeat, gave a mixed review of
Pacquiao’s
physical
skills
in
comparison to their first fight.
“He still has the real sharp snap on
his punches,” Bradley said. “(But) I
believe in the first fight, his punching
power was way harder. I was able to
take it. He went for the knockout, he
definitely did.”
Pacquiao still beat up one of the
world’s best boxers with relative ease,
and his next bout in the fall will be
among the biggest happenings in
sports. His mostly likely opponent is a
fifth meeting with Juan Manuel
Marquez, who fights Mike Alvarado
on May 17.
But Pacquiao and promoter Bob
Arum still hold out hope of a fight
with Floyd Mayweather Jr., even
while the distance between the two
fighters appears to grow, both inside
the ring and out.
“It’s really hard to talk about that,”
Pacquiao said. “It’s been how many
years we’re talking about that? How
many years, days, months we’re
talking about that? The line is open
24 hours. If he’s awake and he wants
to fight, the fight will be.”
Arum became nearly apoplectic
when asked about the possibility of a
Pacquiao-Mayweather
bout,
claiming Pacquiao has already
agreed to all of the unbeaten
Mayweather’s previously stated
conditions.
“The only people that can make
Floyd Mayweather fight Manny is the
public,” Arum said before urging fans
to boycott Mayweather’s bout against
Marcos Maidana on May 3.
While Pacquiao reaffirmed his
pound-for-pound stardom, Bradley
raised his profile again despite his
first career defeat.
It’s tough to remember Bradley
was considered a boring fighter just
four fights ago. Although he’s not an
HBO pay-per-view star, he’ll likely
have his choice of intriguing
opponents for his next bout — maybe
Brandon Rios, or a rematch with
Provodnikov.
Bradley’s decision to load up and
wait for a knockout blow against
Pacquiao was roundly debated by
fans, but Bradley’s ring charisma and
heart should raise his stature.
“That was the only way I was going
to win the fight,” Bradley said. “I
knew the rounds were going to be
close. Pacquiao knows how to land
punches. I was shooting for the
knockout, too.”
Across the Philippines, large
numbers of Filipinos, including army
soldiers, jumped in joy, threw
punches in the air, and applauded
after watching Pacquiao beat Bradley
on
giant
screens
in
public
gymnasiums and town plazas,
emptying usually traffic-choked
streets.
“Everybody is celebrating here,”
said Ricardo Salazar, a jobless polio
victim on a wheelchair who watched
the bout at a gymnasium in Manila’s
Tondo slum district. “I had no doubt
he will win and even if he lost, it
wouldn’t matter because he’ll always
be my idol.”
Presidential spokesman Herminio
Coloma Jr. said Pacquiao’s victory
reflected the Philippines’ struggle to
bounce back after a series of natural
disasters last year, including a
monster typhoon that killed more
than 6,000 people.
“When he comes home, he will feel
the tight embrace of nearly 100
million Filipinos who idolize and love
him,” Coloma said.
Associated Press writer Jim Gomez
in Manila contributed to this report.