Welcome to the Iowa Bonsai Association's website. IBA was founded in 1979 to promote appreciation and development of bonsai. Meetings are held on the third Saturday of each month from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. You may come and go as your time permits and work on trees or just socialize and observe. See the calendar page for details! We meet at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden.
Join us! Members will enjoy a helpful, supportive atmosphere no matter what your experience level, opportunity to participate in workshops, bonsai shows and collecting trips, access to the association's library of books and a monthly newsletter. If you are interested in becoming a member or would like to get to know more about bonsai, please attend one of our meetings or contact us.
By jenjo on September 1, 2020
Clump style is one of my favorite styles. It can look so different depending on all of the varying tree species you can use. A clump of conifers gives a completely different look than a small grouping of tall elegant Japanese maples or a grouping of five twisting contorted K hornbeams… 2020-09-IBA-Newsletter DOWNLOAD
MORE >>Posted in News & Misc, Newsletter Archive
By jenjo on August 1, 2020
I have kept bonsai trees for roughly 18 years. Like other bonsai hobbyists, I have experienced both the beauty and other rewards that go along with bonsai and I have experienced the disappointments that go hand in hand with those joys…2020-08-IBA-Newsletter DOWNLOAD
MORE >>Posted in News & Misc, Newsletter Archive
By jenjo on July 1, 2020
It has been a tough and strange year in our lives. Work changes. Family changes. Shopping changes. Travel changes. But, our trees don’t know about all of these changes. They just grow. And we care for them and enjoy them…2020-07-IBA-Newsletter DOWNLOAD
MORE >>Posted in News & Misc, Newsletter Archive
By jenjo on June 1, 2020
Bjorn Bjorholm is a well-known top bonsai teacher and personality. He has spent many years in Japan, first as a bonsai apprentice, then as a certified bonsai professional. Bjorn returned to the US… 2020-06-IBA-Newsletter DOWNLOAD
MORE >>Posted in News & Misc, Newsletter Archive
By jenjo on May 1, 2020
Several years ago I came across this older trident forest being sold at a bonsai nursery, and was interested in its relaxed, natural-looking lines. The trunks all looked about the same size… 2020-05-IBA-Newsletter DOWNLOAD
MORE >>Posted in News & Misc, Newsletter Archive
By jenjo on April 1, 2020
Many trees like their roots far away from anything saturated, which is the bottom of the pot. Two in particular, pines and azaleas. And in muddling about the Western bonsai world I’ve been haunted… 2020-04-IBA-Newsletter DOWNLOAD
MORE >>Posted in News & Misc, Newsletter Archive
Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden
909 Robert D Ray Dr, Des Moines, IA