THE FIRST school in Southeast Asia established for the propagation and development of bonsai plants was launched Jan. 6 in the MMSU Batac campus.

Augusto Rustia, president of the Philippine Bonsai Society, said their members, around 20 of whom were present during the launch, were happy that “something like this has been put up in MMSU so that students and private entrepreneurs will be taught and provided hands-on training on how to propagate and raise aesthetic tiny trees for commercial purposes.” He said this will not only be a boost to agriculture but also to the tourism industry.

MMSU President Miriam E. Pascua expressed hope that the first 15 enrollees will be given profitable livelihood in the next few years. The Bonsai School occupies the old Agrometeorological Building located south of the university nursery which consists of one classroom and a spacious yard for laboratory purposes. Including the apparatus and materials, the refurbished building cost more than P100,000.

During the launch, Ilocos Norte Governor Imee R. Marcos expressed support for the Bonsai School because of the bright prospects of bonsai plants in local and global markets. She said the province of Ilocos Norte also wants to help MMSU develop plant entrepreneurs who will display their creative products in national and global exhibits.

“Bonsai gardening is a billion dollar industry, that is why I am responding to this challenge posed by MMSU to create and develop aesthetic plants from our less-attended plants in Ilocos Norte,” the governor said as she assured that the province will soon produce high quality bonsai plants in the next few years.

Meanwhile, Prof. Amy Liang, president of the Bonsai Friendship Federation in Taiwan who graced the, said her group wants to help young bonsai entrepreneurs in Ilocos Norte identify which available forest trees in the province are excellent species for bonsai.

“I’m sure there are so many forest areas in the province where we can get as many materials as we can,” Liang said adding that her team is happy that Governor Marcos is allowing the exploration of several forest areas in Ilocos Norte which are rich sources of high value trees, including agoho, camuning, tamarind, guava, duhat, bougainvilla, carmona, bugnay, and kamatsile, among others.

Bonsai or tray gardening is the art of growing trees and plants kept small in a shallow clay pot. Through skilled pruning, a bonsai raiser can create an aesthetic shape and the illusion of age.

The art of bonsai originated 2,000 years ago in China, where it was called Penzai and, later on, Hanzi. The art was brought to Japan some 700 years ago and was called bonsai. This unique style of tray gardening is intended for outdoor display.

A bonsai is not a genetically dwarfed plant. It is kept small by shaping its canopy and pruning its roots. It is claimed that a properly maintained bonsai can outlive a full size tree of the same species. However, a bonsai plant needs much care because it can die if improperly maintained.

In the art of bonsai, a sense of aesthetics, care, and patience come together to produce a beautifully tiny plant. The plant, the shaping and surface of the soil, and the selected container come together to express “heaven and earth” in one shallow container.