Rod Hockings became serious about bonsai growing five years ago after he began caring for his mother’s plant, which she had won back in 1975.
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He now has over 50 bonsai and the number is increasing.
Mr Hockings said he has always loved horticulture and bonsai is a mixture of gardening and art.
“You’re growing something but you’re also designing something which is artistic,” he said.
In the Hastings Bonsai Group there are currently about 30 members.
Mr Hockings said that people have a fascination with bonsai for a number of reasons.
“If a bonsai is done well, you can look at it and see an old tree,” he said.
“Also there seems to be a bit of an obsession about miniatures.”
Mr Hoskings said that bonsai can be really old but only those which are well cared for.
He said one bonsai in Japan is believed to be about 800-years-old.
Bonsai never stop growing and require constant pruning of roots and branches to maintain them.
“You do that with most of them every year,” Mr Hockings said.
Bonsai can be grown from seeds and from cuttings of other trees or plants.
Mr Hockings tends to produce his bonsai from plants which are already 30 years old.
He said that bonsai are often not judged by their age, instead for their appearance.
Bonsai are compared Mr Hockings said according to their root structure, taper in the stem, branch positioning, how the branches divide and style.
Mr Hockings said he finds the hobby to be very zen and he often loses track of time when caring for his plants.
“There’s no past, there’s no future, you’re just doing what you’re doing right there and then,” he said.
The hobby, Mr Hockings said is becoming more popular, whereas in Japan its attraction is declining.
Mr Hockings said that a lot of people kill bonsai due to neglect.
“They need to be watered because they are in such small pots, so they need to be watered really regularly,” he said.
The Hastings Bonsai Group meet at 10am on the first Saturday of every month at the Rotary Hall on Hastings River Drive.
Members often bring in plants to show others and explain what they do to maintain them.
People can also receive advice on how best to care for their bonsai.
To find out more information people can email rodhockings@hotmail.com or call 0427 515 937.
