Corporate Sponsor
- DASU BONSAI STUDIOS
Sources for pots, plant material and misc
Associations
- American Bonsai Society
Founded in 1967, the national organization publishes a journal and maintains a very informative website.
- International Bonsai Clubs
The website is full of useful bonsai references and information. Of particular note are the following: BONSAI BASICS, PUBLIC BONSAI EXHIBITS, the BONSAI SPECIES GUIDE, and the BCI LIST OF INTERNET BONSAI SITES.
- Mid-America Bonsai Alliance
MABA is an organization made up of local bonsai clubs and societies form nine Midwest U.S. states and Canadian provinces. The IBA is a member club. The alliance holds a convention every other year hosted by the Bonsai Society of Greater Cincinnati..
- National Bonsai Foundation
The NBF is a support organization for the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. The Foundation website provides a wealth of information about the national collection and bonsai events. Of particular note is its COLLECTIONS & EXHIBITS page, which pro
Bonsai Care
- Bonsai 4me
Quite probably the best authoritative quick reference source for bonsai selection and maintenance information on the internet.
- Bonsai Empire
On this website we share information about Bonsai tree care. For background information (styles, history) check the “Origin of Bonsai” section and for techniques check “the Basics” section.
- Index of Bonsai Species
Compiled by Bonsai Clubs International, the site consists of guidelines for the care of tree species as compiled from postings on various lists and newsgroups and from several bonsai periodicals and standard bonsai reference works. Listed by both botanic
- Pine Bonsai in the Midwest, by Douglas K. Hawley, MD
The author is a member of the Greater Cincinnati Bonsai Society. This article along with a companion article by the same author available on the same MABA articles page, Detailing Your Pine, constitute the scripture of successfully maintaining pine bonsa
Bonsai Clubs
- Bonsai Society of Greater St. Louis
Monthly meetings are held at the Missouri Botanical Garden, home of the largest traditional Japanese Garden in North America. The BSGSL holds the second of its two annual exhibits in collaboration with the Botanical Garden’s annual Labor Day weekend Japa
- Greater Cincinnati Bonsai Society
Founded in 1964, the GCBS is one of the oldest bonsai associations in the country. The website has links to bonsai MONTHLY TIPS, tip sheets.
- Indianapolis Bonsai Club
IBC hosted MABA in 2008.
- Midwest Bonsai Society
The MBS has a close relationship with the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois, where it holds its regular meetings and its shows. Their fall show is perhaps the most significant bonsai event in the Midwest.
- Minnesota Bonsai Society
Priding itself on being one of the largest and most active bonsai societies in the country, this group of our northern neighbors hosts a number of interesting bonsai activities, including two annual bonsai auctions, an annual spring show on Mother’s Day a
- Nebraska Bonsai Society
A bonsai group in the Midwest, founded in 2009, located in Lincoln Nebraska.
- Quad City Bonsai Club
The club serves a membership in the Quad City area straddling the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa and western Illinois defined as Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, Moline/East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois, and surrounding communities.
Bonsai Collections
- Chicago Botanic Garden Bonsai Collection
In 2002 renowned bonsai master Susumu Nakamura donated 19 specimen bonsai from his personal collection to the Chicago Botanic Garden, therewith transforming their bonsai collection into one of the best public collections of bonsai in the world. The colle
- National Arboretum National Bonsai & Penjing Museum Virtual Tour
A virtual tour of the nation’s official bonsai collection. Established in 1976, the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum is the most comprehensive of it’s kind in North America. It is dedicated to the display, education and scholarly study of bonsai and r
Forums
- Will Heath, "The Problem with Bonsai Forums"
At the end there is a section entitled A Review of Internet Bonsai Forums, which is a critically annotated listing of the major internet bonsai forums at the time of writing.
Japanese Gardens
- Anderson Japanese Gardens, Rockford, IL
Rated the best Japanese garden in North America by the Journal of Japanese Gardening. A great visit opportunity in conjunction with the annual Mid-American Bonsai Show held each August at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
- Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Rated number 9 of the top 25 Japanese Gardens in North America by the Journal of Japanese Gardening. A compact dry landscape garden nestled into the campus landscape of this renowned Minnesota liberal arts college.
- Chicago Botanic Garden
Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden — Sansho-en “The garden of three islands”, Glencoe, IL – A stroll garden. A great visit opportunity in conjunction with the annual Mid-America Bonsai Show held each August at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
- Missouri Botanical Garden Japanese Garden
Seiwa-en “Garden of pure, clear harmony and peace”, St. Louis, MO -Rated number 13 of the top 25 Japanese Gardens in North America by the Journal of Japanese Gardening. A wet stroll garden in design, it is the largest traditional Japanese garden in North
- Missouri Botanical Garden Japanese Garden
Seiwa-en “Garden of pure, clear harmony and peace”, St. Louis, MO -Rated number 13 of the top 25 Japanese Gardens in North America by the Journal of Japanese Gardening. A wet stroll garden in design, it is the largest traditional Japanese garden in North
- The University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Japanese Garden
Seisui Tei, Chaska, MN – Rated number 19 of the top 25 Japanese Gardens in North America by the Journal of Japanese Gardening. The Arboretum is part of the Department of Horticultural Science within the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource
Misc
- Lindsay Farr’s World OfBonsaiSeries
These internationally acclaimed downloadable bonsai videos are wonderful short visits to some of the more esoteric aspects of bonsai as it is enjoyed and described by the proprietor of the oldest bonsai garden in Melbourne, Australia.
- Magical Miniature Landscapes
The comprehensive history of bonsai and the related arts. The most comprehensive bonsai history ever attempted, this site continues to evolve.
- Of Bonsai Magazine
Of Bonsai is “an on-line magazine for the examination and discussion of the cultivation, technical design aspects, and artistic principles of bonsai. It is meant to be a place where information concerning bonsai can be freely exchanged in a professional
- The Art of Bonsai Project
An online journal and community for the examination and exploration of the bonsai art form. The masthead makes the claim that “this is the bonsai artist’s home on the Web.”
Sources for pots, plant material and misc
- Art Garage Japanese Book Store
Under the BONSAI, SUISEKI category are listed for sale hard-to-find and truely classic books about bonsai and suiseki in Japan.
- Brussel’s Bonsai Nursery
Olive Branch, MS – The largest bonsai business in North America. Brussel’s hosts an annual Rendezvous every May which has come to rival regular conventions and is characterized by extremely high quality plant material available in the workshops.
- Dasu Bonsai Studios
Kelly, Iowa – Currently the only bonsai business in Iowa; vendor to the Iowa Bonsai Association. Dave Lowman is a potter who makes some superb bonsai pots. See his signature style Special Process stoneware pots.
- Golden Arrow Bonsai
Deadwood, SD – Andrew Smith collects, trains, and sells bonsai specimen material from the Black Hills of the Dakotas and the mountains of the Western United States. His collected trees are unique, having been significantly shaped by nature; many are q
- Sara Rayner’s Bonsai Pottery
Red Wing, Minnesota – Perhaps it is the long cold winters that make good bonsai potters, as two of the best are here in the upper Midwest–Dave Lowman of Dasu and Sara Rayner.
- Telperion Farms
Lyons, Oregon – Located east of Salem, Oregon, on the side of a mountain in the Cascades, Telperion Farms is a tree farm dedicated to growing material specifically for bonsai. It is a source of some of the best bonsai stock in the country and world class
- The Art of Bonsai Project
Suiseki & Viewing Stones
Teachers, Sensei and Prophets
- Ben Oki
Culver City, California – An internationally recognized bonsai artist and a seminal influence in American bonsai, he studied under and then assisted the modern bonsai master John Naka. Very classical bonsai. Pay attention; study photographs of his work.
- Gary Wood Things of Wood
Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Telperion Farms, Oregon – Gary Wood is a talented teacher, grower, bonsai potter, and master mover of great bonsai material around North America. He was judge for the 2007 Iowa State Fair Bonsai Show, and has led workshops for the
- Jerry "Bonsaihunk" Meislik
Whitefish, Montana – Jerry was the judge for the 2010 Iowa State Fair Bonsai Show as well as the instructor for a very informative workshop on tropical bonsai material for the IBA the same year. A major influence in American bonsai.
- Michael Hagedorn
Portland, Oregon -Michael provided a weekend of bonsai workshops for the IBA in 2007, shortly after returning from his apprenticeship with bonsai master Shinji Suzuki in Nagano, Japan. A star still rising on the American bonsai scene.
