Rosemary

Sebastiano Villante | Italy, Sicily

Designed by Sebastiano Villante

Style: Shakan
Height: 70cm
Container: Tokoname Japan

About the tree: Rosemary is a very “touchy” plant that needs to be carefully cultivated in pots. Let’s start from the harvest, the best period has been established, which is in October and November or from February to March. At least this can be stated with certainty in southern Italy. The substrate used for potting is formed by 80% of Pumice and 20% of peat, with a grain size of 4-5 mm. It is essential to place the harvested and repotted plant in a place not subject to drafts and try to spray several times a day.
After a year of collection, the design and styling process for this Rosemary specimen begins. After a careful study of the lymphatic vein, some pieces of deadwood are removed to highlight the sinuousness of the trunk hidden by some inactive lymphatic veins. The next step is to clean and protect the dead part of the trunk with the help of fire and then applying the liquid jin, the rosemary wood is very porous which makes it particularly delicate, in fact with the continuous watering you risk causing it to rot.
Top: November 2016, the Rosemary is repotted in preparation for the UBI (Unione Bonsaiisti Italiani) national exhibition in Jesi in 2017.
In this step, very delicate wiring was carried out using only aluminum wire, the primary structure was positioned, and all secondary shoots were left free, to reinforce the main structure more and more. In the following steps, we worked to achieve a conical and mature branching. Regular interventions have been applied, carried out in the months from March to June, to prune all flowering buds to stimulate the production of new and healthy needles.