Growing bonsai on terraces ideal for aficionados in Vietnam megacity

In recent years, more bonsai devotees in Ho Chi Minh City have taken to growing miniature plants on their terraces to cope with the city’s shrinking living space due to overcrowding.

The practice provides bonsai aficionados with both a space-saving option and rewarding, novel experiences.

The 40m² terrace on 59-year-old Nguyen Thanh Cong’s house in an alley in Tan Phu District has been home to roughly 100 bonsai pots of various sizes and shapes since 2011.

On his terrace, Cong places large bonsai on a platform and needs a step ladder to stand on while pruning or watering the plants.

He puts smaller pots on shelves on the lower part of the terrace.

Cong also makes the most of his small space by placing a palm-sized bonsai between every two large pots.

“My previous house didn’t have a terrace, so I had to place my beloved bonsai on shelves tied to the roof. Taking care of them was thus a real challenge. It’s much easier here with my bonsai grown on the terrace,” Cong shared.

Meanwhile, 45-year-old Nguyen Huou’s terrace at his Go Vap District house boasts roughly 15,000 pots of different types of bonsai, including “tung,” “linh sam,” and “mai chieu thuy.”

As Huou keeps cultivating new plants, he has found that his 140m² terrace, which is considered quite spacious for urban bonsai enthusiasts, is still not big enough to indulge in his pastoral passion.

Even those with terraces as small as 20m² can still arrange their bonsai properly.

Phan Thanh Dong, 43, of District 10, and Man Duc Huy, 51, of Tan Phu District, boast dozens of pots on their 20m² terraces.

According to Ngo Ty, head of Tan Phu District’s Bonsai Subdivision, more than 20 of the group’s members grow their bonsai on terraces.

Several others have also adopted the practice, but have not joined the association.

Ty has grown bonsai on his terrace for three years now.

Followers of the practice can also be found in such districts as 8, 10, 11, Binh Tan, Go Vap, and Tan Binh.

Most enthusiasts are intellectuals, retired or business people, who consider bonsai cultivation an elegant pastime rather than a profit-making business.

Meanwhile, some combine their passion with business and consider the plants a product.

According to Thai Van Thien, an instructor at Thanh Tam Bonsai Vocational Art Training Center in District 12, bonsai terrace growing is also a form of ‘urban agriculture,’ as growers produce a large amount of items of economical value in a limited area.

They can earn quite a lot of value by properly tapping into the resource.

Dong, another terrace bonsai grower, said that he has bought some saplings for several million dong apiece (VND1 million ~ US$47), and they will fetch prices ten times higher than that after one or two years.

Several other growers also say that they have sold some bonsai for millions of dong each.

The plants’ value depends on the shape of its trunk, roots and branches, as well as its age.

A plastic pot containing a “linh sam” as high as 10cm and has not been shaped can fetch VND800,000 ($38).

Extra caretaking

Growing bonsai on terraces requires considerably more care and involves more risks compared to growing them in conventional gardens.

Cong, a bonsai grower, said one of his pots once fell onto his neighbor’s roof, and he had to pay for the damage and “rescue” his plant.

To avert such risks, growers typically tie their pots to the platforms or shelves, or even glue them with silicon.

Some also choose to grow them in plastic containers for safety reasons.

Bonsai buffs also come up with inventive ways to secure their plants, such as strings, levers or homemade “elevators” to move pots which are too large to be carried on stairs.

They also take meticulous care of their plants, especially in helping them cope with the elements.

During sunny months, Dong constantly changes the positions of his pots to make sure that saplings are not exposed to excessive heat while still receiving enough sunlight.

Saplings typically need sunlight for three hours each day.

Cong added that pots also need to be arranged far enough apart from each other to avoid the spread of pests or diseases.

Gardeners also wrap the leafless plants’ trunks with used T-shirts or sacks to minimize their exposure to sunlight and heat.

Some also make nets to shield their plants from excessive draughts or heat.

Ty, the head of the Tan Phu Bonsai Subdivision, noted that the height of the plants should not exceed those of the walls surrounding them, as wind will cause dehydration.

He added that bricks on the floors of terraces have to be water-proof to cope with regular plant watering. Leaves should also be cleared up frequently to avoid sewage clogging.

Bonsai typically need to be watered once or twice in the morning and afternoon.

However, on excessively sunny days, growers also water their plants at noon, mostly spraying water over the floor, walls and around the pots.

They also attach small water containers to the pots so that water will drip over the plants.

Busy people can also install automatic watering systems.

Despite the large amount of care, energy and time required by bonsai, terrace gardeners say that their efforts are worth it, as the lush plants provide themselves and their family with ideal places to unwind, as well as stunning spectacles to admire.

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