The Bonsai Way: A Westerville Enthusiast Explains the Art of This Ancient Craft

When Mark Passerrello moved to Columbus in 1989, he enrolled in a beginner bonsai class at the now-closed Burwell’s nursery in Whitehall. And while his first bonsai attempt failed, a common occurrence among bonsai rookies, his new hobby took root. “I stuck with it,” says Passerrello, who now grows 35 finished bonsai trees and dozens of starts along rustic tables in his Westerville backyard. 

Over three decades, he’s learned to accept bonsai tree losses as simply part of the journey. “I’ve picked up the Buddhist mentality of not being attached to things,” Passerrello says. “No matter how much attention and care you give to them, sometimes they have minds of their own and don’t stay with you.” 

Yet his persistence has paid off as several impressive bonsai trees stand statuesque on tabletops outside his home. “I have a couple trees that have been with me since the beginning,” says Passerrello during a September tour. 

He points to a 30-year-old Green Island ficus and shares how it is a cutting from an earlier bonsai. Its three branches stretch sideways from a gnarly trunk and sprout shiny green leaves.  

Another bonsai, a juniper tree, appears windswept, with its asymmetrically angled trunk and tufts of evergreen needles. Nearby is an intriguing elephant bush with its thick trunk and rounded, succulentlike leaves. Passerrello explains how elephants help propagate the trees in their native South Africa by dropping leaflets as they messily eat from the 30-foot trees. The leaflets then fall and root in the soil below. “It’s a fascinating plant, and I recommend it to new hobbyists, since it’s so easy to buy and grow.” 

Passerrello grows other bonsai trees from seed or collects as saplings, including elm sprouts dug from his own backyard, crabapples from seeds collected at Schiller Park and gingkos from seeds gathered beneath a tree at President James Garfield’s tomb in Cleveland. He gathered volunteer hawthorn saplings years ago at his son’s preschool, then arranged them like a miniature forest in a narrow pot.  

He explains bonsai is a centuries old craft meaning “bon” for container and “sai” for planting, hence potted plants. “The Japanese started bonsai and used trees they found around them,” he says. “Now, it’s on all continents with hobbyists using indigenous plants from all over.”  

Through careful pruning, wiring and shaping, bonsai enthusiasts transform trees into living sculptures, mimicking nature in miniature form. While many focus on the art of bonsai, Passerrello says the key to success is understanding how the trees grow. “You can fake the design techniques, just like faking a song, but you can’t fake the growing part,” he says. 

Passerrello’s own plant interests started at a young age growing giant pumpkins and watermelons in a corner of his family’s garden. At the time, he also was intrigued by Japanese culture sparked by the Shogun miniseries of the 1980s. 

“Bonsai sort of was the perfect combo,” Passerrello says. At first, he ordered ficus bonsai trees through mail-order companies and overwintered them indoors. Later, he found success growing more cold-hardy trees from saplings and seeds he collected nearby.  

The Columbus Bonsai Society opened more doors to his education. He overcame the intimidating welcome of the older male membership at his first meeting and became active in the meetings, workshops and social events. 

“A lot of times, bonsai can be time alone in your own backyard,” he says, explaining the value of the club’s gatherings. “It’s a quiet and contemplative activity.” 

Indeed, bonsai care is a solitary, daily routine, especially with watering chores in the heat of summer. “[Bonsai] are not like a philodendron that you set in a corner and water once a week,” he says. “They are more like a dog or cat and require you to keep an eye on them.” 

In winter, Passerrello leaves the hardy ones like junipers and elms outdoors, mulched along the shady, north side of his house. He brings tropical ones like the ficus and elephant bush indoors to grow under lights in his basement. Other subtropicals like crepe myrtle and pomegranate trees are also brought indoors to grow near sunny windows.  

In spring, he repots the trees before moving them back outdoors for the summer. He explains the trees actively grow above and below the ground, so he trims shoots and roots before repotting in the same pot with fresh soil. “Sometimes a bonsai’s whole life is in the same pot, since you’re continually renewing root systems,” he says. 

In recent years, Passerrello started making his own bonsai pots when a friend introduced him to the craft. Like bonsai, Passerrello appreciates pottery’s variables and unexpected outcomes. 

“You never know what is going to come out of the kiln,” he says, explaining the temperatures and timing can vary pottery’s glaze colors. He now sells a variety of hand-built pots at bonsai shows. “It’s more money for more plants,” he says about his pottery side gig, named Ancient Art Bonsai. 

Today, Passerrello enjoys sharing his bonsai knowledge as president of the Columbus Bonsai Society and welcomes high schoolers and college students in addition to its older members. He fields many beginners’ questions with a frequent response: “It depends.”  

“There’s no set recipe for bonsai—each is different,” Passerrello says. “There aren’t a lot of absolutes in bonsai.”  

Nonetheless, he encourages members to accept the challenges he finds both invigorating and daunting. “Working with living, ephemeral material to make art that is lasting sometimes seems like a fool's errand but is always worth it,” he says. 

Getting Started With Bonsai

Selecting plants: Begin with multiples of less expensive trees. “You don’t feel so terrible killing a $10 tree than a $200 one,” Passerrello says. For beginners, he suggests a ficus or elephant bush to grow indoors and an elm, crabapple or juniper for outdoors. 

Care tips: Learn the tree’s light, water and nutrient needs. Since bonsai pots are small, check soil moisture regularly with a finger or chopstick. If dry, water the soil thoroughly until it flows from the pot’s bottom hole, then don’t water again until the soil fully dries. 

Shaping the trees: Practice pruning and wiring techniques to mimic a tree’s natural shape. Check out expert lessons at crataegus.com or Herons Bonsai on YouTube. 

Join a group: Attend a Columbus Bonsai Society meeting or event. Learn more at columbusbonsai.org. 

This story is from the March 2024 issue of Columbus Monthly.