1° Livello, 3a sessione

It’s pre-summer and I had the third session of the Bonsai University in Italy.

This third session (3a sessione) was held in May the 18-19 from 9:30-17:00 and the topic were:
Theories:
cutting and pruning, watering and fertilization
the botanical point of view of Bonsai
diseased and their treatment

Practice:
maintenance work of project 1 and 2: pruning and fertilization for the summer

At the same time Crespi held the 2nd edition of his Satzuki Bonsai Festival and in this occasion some of the most famous Bonsai artist was Guest for demonstration and workshops. More in a following post.

Pre-summer is in general already very hot in Italy, so I was expecting a really hot week-end. Luckily for us the weather was lousy; can you imagine how hot it could be in a greenhouse with no air conditioning! We had rain, again. And cold, again. How long do we have to wait for the nice weather, Europe is still waiting!
The session was, as usual, really interesting and informative. Master Kajiwara is always endeavours to explain the best way possible. He wants to be sure everybody understands his explications.
We had lots of theory: botanic, fertilization, cutting and pruning but for the most of us the best part was watering. It’s seems an easy task but is not. Water is for a bonsai much more than a liquid element, it’s perspiration and also transpiration. The doses of water are very important as well. We learned that a bonsai has to be watered three times in the morning and depending on the weather conditions or by checking the forecast it can be one, two or three times. Off course every plant is different and every country is different, just as every garden or balcony is different, so in order to archive the best watering dose for your plant, everybody has to make they own experience and find the best possible recipe for his own.
Not an easy task but manageable.

Have a nice day

…love, Melanie!!