When the ground thaws this spring, John Ramsdell will head out into the Maine woods looking for trees – ones he can dig up, bring home and turn into small, sculptural bonsai shaped with wires along their branches.
The centuries-old Japanese art of bonsai is commonly practiced with warm-weather species that can thrive indoors, often meticulously shaped and tended for years. It aims to reproduce the look and beauty of large, ancient trees in miniature.
Ramsdell raises and sells tropical species, too, in the greenhouse he and a friend built onto the side of his Verona Island home. But he’s also specialized in adapting the techniques to native trees by working across 13 species of native evergreens. In all, he cares for several hundred trees, a pursuit that’s therapeutic for him.
Bonsai was a beacon for Ramsdell in a difficult time. Facing a major health problem as a 20-year-old in 1971, he saw one of the trees at a nursery and was struck by it immediately.
“Johnny, you’re still in there,” he heard. “Hold on.”
He resolved to learn the art, mostly teaching himself from books, and it became a major influence in his recovery. One of Ramsdell’s early efforts was with a spruce tree, a species whose light and airy look fascinated him on childhood trips to Maine but didn’t grow near his home in Massachusetts.
The white spruce remains a favorite to work with, but he also creates bonsai from Maine pines, firs and maples.
The white spruce remains a favorite to work with, but he also creates bonsai from Maine pines, firs and maples.
He shapes their branches however it strikes him in the moment. Once in the pot, their growth will slow, and as the years pass he’ll pinch off new growth to keep the trees small and hold their shape. They can live for decades – Ramsdell just sold his oldest tree, which he’d kept with him since 1971.
Sometimes, to create the bigger trees he likes working with, he’ll return them to the ground for seven years so the trunk can size up.
“I always say they have a presence,” he said of the larger trees. “They leave an impact on the viewer.”
Since retiring from the family business at Bucksport’s NAPA auto parts store nine years ago, he’s grown a business selling the trees from his home as Maine Bonsai.
A number of tropical species easy for beginners to keep alive are priced starting at $5; Ramsdell wants to offer reasonable prices to help spread the art form.
Many of the trees are unfinished, a “blank canvas” for the customer to take home and develop. They’ll keep the shaping wire on for about a year; watering them consistently is another key.
As the years go on, Ramsdell said, he just enjoys working with the trees more and more.
“It gives you something to look forward to,” he said.
