Being passionate about bonsai, Mr. Dau Thanh Tung has pursued a unique coconut bonsai tree, creating a mascot of 12 animals, especially a cat-shaped coconut bonsai.
For many months, Mr. Dau Thanh Tung (43 years old, living in Binh Chanh district) has been busy preparing 200-300 coconut bonsai to promptly supply the market during the Lunar New Year. According to Mr. Tung, although the sales volume was quite slow compared to the same period last year, the reaction of buyers was still very positive.
In the land of about 50m2 behind the garden, Mr. Tung struggled to water the plants and take care of many finished bonsai trees, waiting to be shipped. A product usually takes about 6-8 months to complete. All stages are done completely by hand.
First of all, Mr. Tung chooses good coconut varieties, incubating for 4-6 months. Most of the time, he uses coconut grown in his home garden or bought at reputable establishments.
“Selected coconuts are not necessarily rare or expensive. Coconuts are usually red Siamese, Pink Siamese, Tam Quan, Green Siamese… Which, Siamese pink and Tam Quan are the two most popular ones, because of its eye-catching appearance and standard shape”, the owner of the farm confided.
In order for the coconut to grow well, and giving the desired shape, the owner of the coconut farm often pays attention to the great speed of the tree to handle the bib. He used a dried coconut that was split in half, and continued to germinate to make the tree larger. Every 5-7 days, Mr. Tung took advantage of pulling the bib once.
After that, Mr. Tung will use another desiccated coconut, hollow inside, keeping the coconut shell for shaping. Usually, the owner of the coconut farm will carve the animal’s parts first, then polish it, use glue to attach it to the shell and add some decorative accessories.
“Every stage is very important, but the hardest part is shaping the animal to have a soul,” Tung said.
This year, besides developing the 12 zodiac coconut bonsai, Mr. Tung focuses on the cat-shaped coconut bonsai in which the female cat is identified by the pink bow on her head.
Previously, Mr. Tung often made bonsai in the shape of a lying cat. But due to the coming year of the Rabbit, Tung created the mascot of a sitting cat, a cat holding a Tet holiday, and a couplet to bring luck to the owner.
“People often think of coconut as a large tree, with fruit on high, that can now be planted in pots, displayed on tea tables, desks. In addition, this tree is also easy to care for, keeping its durability for a long time. If there is no time, the owner can water the plants, 4-5 days is still okay,” Tung shared.
There is nearly a month left until the Lunar New Year, but since October, Mr. Tung has received a series of wholesale and retail orders from all over the province and city. Customers are not only people who like to play bonsai, but also look for bonsai for the purpose of giving as gifts, bringing a New Year’s message with lots of fortune.
On average, the price of coconut bonsai ranges from 500,000 to 2 million VND/pot, depending on the size and meticulousness. In particular, the most expensive coconut bonsai in Mr. Tung’s garden is the ornamental coconut tree, which has nearly 1m long roots.
It is known that Mr. Tung has been taking care of coconut bonsai for more than 3 years. Previously, because he loved bonsai, he tried growing coconut bonsai and found it effective. Without going to school or learning a trade from anyone, Mr. Tung himself searched, watched videos, books and newspapers to imitate. At first, many models were not beautiful, the coconut seed did not come, Mr. Tung had to give up many products.
After many efforts, he successfully created the first coconut bonsai pot, posted it on social networks and received many compliments from friends and relatives. Seeing the positive effect, he developed the 12 zodiac coconut bonsai product line, the business also became better. From 2-3 pots, now Tung’s garden has more than hundreds of bonsai pots.
Not only the Lunar New Year, but these animal-shaped coconut bonsai are also still popular with customers all year round. In particular, the peak is from about 20 December until the Lunar New Year. Mr. Tung often brings to Tet market in Binh Loi commune (Binh Chanh district) to sell. To date, he has sold nearly 200 bonsai pots, in the peak months of Tet alone. It is expected that the number of buyers will continue to increase in the next few days.
According (Dan Tri)