Classes...and classes of students.

I recently had the opportunity? privilege? good fortune to be part of the teaching team for a three session series of classes  put on by Franklin Park Conservatory.  What ever PR person who came up with the course title they used-Bonsai Demystified-ought to get a bonus or an extra day off, I thought it was catchy and worked well. Not sure how accurate it was, because there is a fair amount of mystification attached to Bonsai and in three sessions totaling 7.5 hours I am not sure how much of that can be pruned away.  But Dan, Tom and I did our best, and the audience was appreciative. Folks had a good time, felt they learned allot, they liked the three session set up better than if it had been jammed into one day, which is the way that Columbus Bonsai Society has handled their intro classes of late.

Probably the best message contained in student feed back was that they enjoyed themselves.  Learning should never be a chore, so having a good time while you absorb new knowledge is probably the best way to do it.  For my part I have to admit that I enjoyed myself as well. Obviously, bonsai is a subject that I have devoted a fair amount of time to over the last two decades or so, so having the chance to talk with and spend time around people with that same interest is for me time well spent. I might even say that I'll miss having that time reserved and approved for a little wee tree activity!

I can't say that I have a crystal ball, but I can guess with reasonable assurance which of these students will succeed in their new endeavor and likely be still involved six months or a year or more down the road, and whose empty bonsai pot and pruning shears will join the duty golf clubs, unread fly fishing manual and unused stationary bike in the storage room. Obviously everyone who signed up for the class had an interest, and had some will power to back up that interest-they paid tuition and blocked out the time to be sure they could be there.

Bonsai is a two pronged discipline;to be proficient,  a practitioner of the ancient art will have to master horticulture and design.  Twenty years on, I am confident that my green thumb goes all the way to the wrist at least, but am still working to perfect my grasp of the spatial relationships that come with the design side of the equation.  My personal feeling at this stage is that the design part of it is the easier to fake-fake it till you make it?-my following formulae and copying good examples a novice bonsaist can produce acceptable trees. But lack of plant knowledge, and what's more important the knack of knowing what's needed,when needed is rally a crippling handicap for a would be bonsai artist.

That's why I think I can tell, out of this class of 18,who will do well and who may not.  For example, there was a dear sweet older couple who both took the course. The missus confessed that she had one or two bonsais that she killed and she wanted to learn how to keep them alive now.  When pressed about what sort of plants the late bonsai were, and how she took care of them, she really couldn't provide any answers, beyond what the man who sold them told her. So she watered once a week whether the tree needed it or not, placed on a coffee table far away from any light and took no steps to increase her quantity of information about plant care in general or this specific plant in particular.

At the end of the course this was the student who would still ask "How often would you water that?" after any new plant species was mentioned.  The point that ""It depends, on these factors..." had been mentioned multiple times.  It was gratifying to know that many of the other students wee on to this "It depends" conundrum. In fact, I think that is what makes bonsai such a challenge and can explain the fairly high failure rate/drop out quotient.  Bonsai is juggling-there are several balls in the air at one time, and the inability give a short, definitive answer to so many "Wow do I..." or "When do I ..." questions can be frustrating. One of our students did burst out in frustration, that it all seemed impossible to absorb and remember.  But it only takes reminding yourself how many other disciplines you have learned to boost your confidence.   Cooking from scratch, building a structure with out a blue print, operating a car or a fancy camera or even a so called smart phone-they seem impossible but I know folks who can do any of them, some more than one!

In trying to give advice and helpful tips to these new students, I found that being too specific wasn't really a help. Specifics are usually best absorbed mid-way through the learning process. First steps can be more general. I came up with what I'll call the Big Eight Steps to Bonsai Success.

Steps to Bonsai Success
1. Books and tutorial videos are great ways to begin, but consider the source. Real experienced practitioners in your immediate locality are even better.
2. Having more than one bonsai means you can share the love and won't kill a single tree with kindness. But it is possible to have too many.
3.See as much real, in person bonsai as you can. Look at it from all angles. The design principles of what is pleasing and what is not will penetrate.
4. Use plants that are native to your area when possible, or proven hardy. Save the challenge for exotic or 'oddball' stock for later.
5. Fertilize more often than you think you need to, fertilize less strongly than you think you need to.
6.Never trust Mother Nature to water for you.
7. Use of good cultural practices, sanitation and hygiene will prevent many disease and pest problems.
8.Accepting that there are no hard and fast schedules, and that bonsai success depends on actions and decisions based on observation, experience and knowledge means that you are beginning the transition from novice to practitioner.

Though I would not say one is more important than any other, I think number 8 comes close.