Bonsai Session with Mody Manglicmot

Puffing hard and perspiring from a thirty-minute walk in a muggy hot afternoon, I arrived at the Quezon City Hall Orchidarium Park just in time to catch Mr. Mody Manglicmot's lecture at the Philippine Orchid Society's 2008 Mid-Year Garden Show.

Mr. Manglicmot was wearing a loose cotton shirt over khaki walking shorts and jogging shoes, which was so appropriate for the weather that afternoon. Even his lecture was so casual and laid-back, that I hesitate to call the whole affair a "lecture".

He brought along three bonsai plants which, during the course of his talk, he proceeded to trim and wire as he touched on the various techniques in bonsai.

He considers his bonsai plants almost like his children, that he rarely gives them away nor sells them. He recalls one time when he was forced to sell one plant. One day, an unassuming plain-dressed man appeared at his house and looked around his bonsai collection.

The man asked him the price of one particular specimen and he quoted an inordinately high price, thinking that the man couldn't afford it. The man replied: "okay, do you deliver?", then proceeded to give his address, which was located in a swanky subdivision in Makati. Mr. Manglicmot's only consolation was that his plant was in good hands, because the buyer turned out to have an extensive collection of bonsai and other expensive plants in his garden in Makati.

He said we are so lucky to have so many plant materials to use for bonsai, that even foreigners like the Taiwanese come here to get specimens for their collections.

He lamented the unscrupulous practice of some traders who dig out wild plants which they haphazardly put into bonsai containers and sell immediately in plant tiangges (flea markets), aware that the plants they sell are not yet established and have a small chance of surviving.

Although organic fertilizers are the "vogue" among his peers, he still prefers to use the usual farm fertilizers (urea, 14-14-14) at half-strength for his plants, making sure however that the potting medium has a lot of rich compost.

To end his talk, he invited everyone to join him every Saturday morning at his bonsai demonstration garden inside the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City where participants can bring along their bonsai specimens for assessment and friendly critique. He joked that the entrance fee is any food you can bring to share as potluck style among themselves.

Here is a man who has pursued his passion for almost half a century, but still fired up with the zeal to perfect his craft and share his expertise on bonsai with others.