Alan Pandur has a passion for bonsai trees — as demonstrated by his stall at the Dandenong Show last weekend.IT WAS a Japanese duo that took first and second in the Melbourne Cup and at last weekend’s Dandenong Show it was another Japanese favourite capturing people’s attention.
Alan Pandur, from Cranbourne, was keen to share his passion for bonsai trees and so he set up a stall that resembled a “bonsai forest” – at least 20 plants on display.
The 42-year-old has been into bonsai trees for 11 years, and said he fell into the hobby by accident.
“I was unemployed at the time and was offered a job at a local nursery,” he said.
The nursery gave Mr Pandur the task of caring for its bonsai trees.
“It was a challenge I couldn’t say no to,” he said with a smile.
And producing bonsai trees is still an activity Mr Pandur can’t say no to.
Even though he has spent 11 years learning the art, Mr Pandur considers himself a beginner, with the average bonsai requiring 18 years of care before it is fully-grown.
The main attraction of bonsai trees, according to Mr Pandur, is a purist’s pursuit to grow the “perfect” tree, by manipulating how the trunk grows.
“It’s all about the trunk,” he said. “The more movement in the trunk, the better.”
Some trees were propagated with seeds, others by cuttings, he said.
But once the bonsai had grown to its ideal size, all that was required was frequent watering and a once-a-year manicure, Mr Pandur said.
