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

“When they ask me if I can donate a bonsai, I offer a one-year bouquet that I don’t want because it is a tiny plant. They are my pets. It does not depend on the hand to give a plant that has been prized for several years to someone who will not take care of it and will kill it. They spent a lot of time with each bonsai, they talked ”, V. Šidagis is not hiding, although the path to a bonsai specialist was not easy and fast.

“I spent ten years in Lukiškė prison, on asphalt, where there was no vegetation. When I got to Pravieniškės, every bush delighted my eyes. Eleven years ago, I found a maple seed in a yard and planted it in a vase ”, recalls V. Šidagis his way into the world of bonsai, telling about it in the program. Delphi theme.

He says that 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 ground, and in their pot only 10-15%.

The rest are lava pebbles and acadam clay. (Akadam is a volcanic granular clay 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 prisoners lived was small, and the man, seeing a tree sprouting from the seed, which someone had probably cut down, moved it to a flowerpot. Thus he formed a collection in which he starts from the plants of 8 to 10 years. How many there are, the bonsai grower himself no longer counts.

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

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

The man also tried to grow exotic plants – redwoods, baobabs, but they died. Another plant that he tried to grow but “didn’t make a relationship” is oak. The king of the trees did not give up and did not cling to the flowerpot.

“The smaller the pot, the slower the plant grows. When planted in a larger one, it expands. The shape is given by twisting the wires. I take care of the plants every day. I couldn’t go anywhere. I love them as children or as pets. I can’t trust someone else to water. Irrigation is often detrimental. When it is necessary to pour, the acadam clay, which turns white, is noticeable ”, teaches V. Šidagis and explains how the soil is prepared: the soil – 30 percent. 50 percent – Akadam, and what’s left are pebbles of lava.

In the beginning, a bonsai grower had no frills like Japanese clay or lava pebbles and used broken red brick. He swapped clay for gravel. Later, the correctional administration allowed the purchase of special equipment. Some of the pots were also made by himself: cast with cement in food containers. Fertilize with a simple flower fertilizer, but dilute it considerably so as not to burn the roots.

“If you have normal tools, it’s not worth playing with your substitutes. The plants grow better, the roots do not rot, ”explains V. Šidagis, noting that when a person receives a bonsai as a gift or purchase, they do not realize that it is planted in peat or other soil and the non-transplanted plant dies.

Another nuance: plants do not like when their location is changed. Bonsai are formed by twisting the trunk with wire. However, it must be spiralized to allow nutrients to flow through the trunk. When pruning, it is important to have a vision of what the plant will look like in a few years, where it will grow.

“There were serious and badly cut errors. I am self-taught and the biggest mistake is watering. With plants and songs. You can talk to them about everything, it happens, they feed ”, admits V. Šidagis.

A plant, if grown from seed, takes at least 15 years to be fully formed and transported to the exhibition.

“The trees made sense to me while I was here. You have something to take care of, to talk about, to talk about. It cannot be ruled out that working with plants will be my specialty even after my release, ”says V. Šidagis.

In the prison he also cultivates a small garden.