A Beginner's Workshop with one of Fuku-Bonsai's 'True Indoor Bonsai(tm)'
kits
I don't normally do this type of workshop any more but, I was asked to open
my mind and perform and review a workshop package distributed by
Fuku-Bonsai. I must say that I was
impressed by the correspondence I exchanged with David Fukumoto (Fuku-Bonsai
founder) regarding Bonsai philosophy and after completing one of their
workshops I am comfortable in saying that the packages that his company
offers will benefit beginners and experienced Bonsai enthusiasts that desire to have indoor Bonsai.
With that said, lets take a look at the workshop that I participated in.
Click on the picture to see an enlargement of it.
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I received the premium Keiki Bonsai Workshop package and the
picture to the left shows what is included. Materials included are: A Dwarf Keiki Schefflera over rock that has a well developed root system, a pot, wire and planting media, and a pamphlet that does a good job of relating basic information that every Bonsai enthusiast needs to know. |
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The first step in the process is preparing the pot by running the wire used to anchor you tree through the bottom pot. This of course is an easy step for a beginner and keep in mind that the pamphlet they provide does walk you through the workshop step by step. |
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After running the wire you then begin added the potting media to the pot. This made very easy by the way it packaged. As you can see media is divided into parts and the pamphlet describes when to use each part. |
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As I mentioned the planting media is separated into three parts. First you'll add the coarsest material as I've done here. |
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Once you'd finished putting the coarse media into the pot you need to add the medium coarse media, filling the bottom 1/3 of the pot. |
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Finally, you place the tree into the pot and wire it down to
hold the tree firmly into place (using the wires previously run though the
holes in the bottom of the pot). Once you finish the wiring, you pour the remaining planting media into the pot. Tip: You can use an ice pick to gently create a path to run the wire underneath the roots to make the wire less visible. |
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Now your ready for the final step which is submerging the
pot in a pan (2" of water in the pan is enough) of water for 30 minutes. This ensures that the media is
thoroughly moist and it's recommended that this watering process be
done weekly. However, the time frame between waterings will vary so make
sure check the tree every few days to make sure it doesn't get to dry.
As you can see this workshop is very easy to perform and should be enjoyable to anyone that wants to work with Bonsai. |
Special Thanks to David Fukumoto of Fuku-Bonsai for giving me the opportunity to work with one of his kits and stop back to this page in future to follow the tree's progress. Want to know more about indoor Bonsai and the kits available? Click here and visit the Fuku-Bonsai web site.
Need a care guide? Be sure to check out the
two links on my resource page.
