Bonsai lover a passionate tree trimmer
ELLENTON - Tom Zivic is a mechanic leading a double life. By day he designs power transformers at GE Energy in Palmetto. In his free time, he's busy shaping miniature juniper, pine and fur bonsai trees.
Bonsai - Zivic is quick to inform customers it's pronounced 'bone sigh' - is the ancient oriental art of growing dwarfed, ornamentally shaped trees and shrubs in small pots or trays. Zivic calls the mini-trees 'a replication of nature with a reduction of size.' He's been a bonsai enthusiast for the past 10 years.
'It's a tree in a tray, or anything you can put in a pot,' he said. 'It started with one tree, then two, then 20 and now I have 1,000.'
His hobby began in 1995, when he was building shelves for a friend's bonsai trees. As he learned more about the trees, Zivic took a keen interest and turned his hobby into a part-time job.
Zivic uses copper wire, light weights and pruning shears to shape and mold the trees into an attractive miniature.
'If you make a mistake, it will grow back. That's the good thing,' Zivic said. 'But you just have to be patient.'
Each weekend from Thanksgiving to Christmas, Zivic sets up shop next to Manatee Mattress on 60th Avenue East with about 100 trees representing 15 different varieties. On a typical day, he sells between 30 and 40 trees for $20 to $40 each. He said the price is a fraction of the cost to grow the trees, which take between three and 10 years before they are ready to be sold.
Some trees he won't sell, like the 12-inch Chinese Elm that could be as old as 60. A Fukien Tea tree, about 40 years old, is also off-limits.
"I'm sharing the hobby with people," Zivic said. "Most people know me as free and cheap," he said, referring to neighbors to whom he offers free clippings and advise.
He offers budding bonsai enthusiasts six tips for growing a successful tree: water once a day, fertilize, rotate, weed, re-pot and trim. It was too much for one prospective buyer Friday. She walked away.
"There's no niche for bonsai shaping around here, whatsoever," Zivic said. "It's pretty much a whimsical thing when someone buys one."
Zivic is a member of the Sho Fu Bonsai Society in Sarasota. Later this month he will learn whether his forest of 23 black olive trees is judged among the world's 100 finest bonsais by the Taikanten World Bonsai Contest in Japan.
Recently Zivic turned down a whopping $5,000 for the cherished forest. It was an easy decision, he said.
"These trees are a hobby and a passion," Zivic said. "It's not a business."
Bonsai - Zivic is quick to inform customers it's pronounced 'bone sigh' - is the ancient oriental art of growing dwarfed, ornamentally shaped trees and shrubs in small pots or trays. Zivic calls the mini-trees 'a replication of nature with a reduction of size.' He's been a bonsai enthusiast for the past 10 years.
'It's a tree in a tray, or anything you can put in a pot,' he said. 'It started with one tree, then two, then 20 and now I have 1,000.'
His hobby began in 1995, when he was building shelves for a friend's bonsai trees. As he learned more about the trees, Zivic took a keen interest and turned his hobby into a part-time job.
Zivic uses copper wire, light weights and pruning shears to shape and mold the trees into an attractive miniature.
'If you make a mistake, it will grow back. That's the good thing,' Zivic said. 'But you just have to be patient.'
Each weekend from Thanksgiving to Christmas, Zivic sets up shop next to Manatee Mattress on 60th Avenue East with about 100 trees representing 15 different varieties. On a typical day, he sells between 30 and 40 trees for $20 to $40 each. He said the price is a fraction of the cost to grow the trees, which take between three and 10 years before they are ready to be sold.
Some trees he won't sell, like the 12-inch Chinese Elm that could be as old as 60. A Fukien Tea tree, about 40 years old, is also off-limits.
"I'm sharing the hobby with people," Zivic said. "Most people know me as free and cheap," he said, referring to neighbors to whom he offers free clippings and advise.
He offers budding bonsai enthusiasts six tips for growing a successful tree: water once a day, fertilize, rotate, weed, re-pot and trim. It was too much for one prospective buyer Friday. She walked away.
"There's no niche for bonsai shaping around here, whatsoever," Zivic said. "It's pretty much a whimsical thing when someone buys one."
Zivic is a member of the Sho Fu Bonsai Society in Sarasota. Later this month he will learn whether his forest of 23 black olive trees is judged among the world's 100 finest bonsais by the Taikanten World Bonsai Contest in Japan.
Recently Zivic turned down a whopping $5,000 for the cherished forest. It was an easy decision, he said.
"These trees are a hobby and a passion," Zivic said. "It's not a business."
Technorati TAGS:
posted by Davor Novakovic @ Tuesday, November 29, 2005
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home