The convict discovered a passion for life: isolated from the world, he created a collection of trees

“When I am asked if I can donate any bonsai, I offer a one-year-old bouquet that I don’t want because it’s a tiny plant. They are my pets. It is not up to the hand to give a plant that has been cherished for several years to someone who will not take care of it and kill it. A lot of time was spent with each bonsai, they talked, ”V. Šidagis does not hide, although the road to a bonsai specialist was not easy and fast.

“I spent ten years in Lukiškės prison, on asphalt, where there was no greenery. When I came to Pravieniškės, every bush delighted my eyes. Eleven years ago, I found a maple seed in a walk in the yard and planted it in a vase, ”V. Šidagis remembers his way to the bonsai world, telling about it in the show. Delphi theme.

He says he first planted the tree in a simple pot, in the ground. However, he later became interested in how to properly grow these miniature trees. It turned out that no one grows them in the soil, and in their pot only 10-15%.

The rest is lava pebbles and acadam clay. (Akadam is a granular clay of volcanic origin found only in Japan. Unlike other similar materials, it retains moisture longer, making it ideal for growing water-intensive plants – ed.

Until then, it was not related to agriculture. However, he emphasizes that a sense of responsibility has emerged alongside the plants.

The area where the convicts lived was small, and the man, seeing a tree sprouting from the seed, which had probably been cut down by someone, moved it into a flowerpot. Thus formed a collection in which part of the plants 8-10 years. How many there are, the bonsai grower himself no longer counts.

“All plants are grown from seed. After the first ones, I started to be interested in other trees, such as chestnuts, ”admits V. Šidagis, who does not have the opportunity to look for interesting trees in nature, as other masters do.

Some plants die in the winter because they spend the cold time of year outdoors, preferably under snow. If its less, Virgil buries them, as is the case in nature.

Man also tried to grow exotic plants – sequoia, baobab, but they died. Another plant that he tried to grow but “didn’t have a relationship” is oak. The king of the trees did not give up and did not cling to the pot.

“The smaller the pot, the slower the plant grows. When planted in a larger one expands. The shape is given by twisting the wires. I take care of the plants every day. I couldn’t go anywhere. I am attached to them as children or pets. Can’t trust another person to water. Watering is usually detrimental. When it is necessary to pour, the acadam clay, which turns white, shows, ”teaches V. Šidagis and explains how the soil is prepared: the ground – 30 percent. 50 percent – Akadam, and what is left is lava pebbles.

In the beginning, a bonsai grower did not have such luxuries as Japanese clay or lava pebbles and used red broken brick. He exchanged clay for gravel. Later, the administration of the correctional facility allowed the purchase of special equipment. Some of the pots were also made by himself – cast from cement in food packaging. Fertilize with a simple flower fertilizer, but dilute them considerably so as not to burn the roots.

“If you have normal tools, it is not worth playing with their substitutes. Plants grow better, roots do not rot, ”explains V. Šidagis and notices that when a person receives a bonsai gift or buys, he does not appreciate that it is planted in peat or other soil and the untransplanted plant dies.