Explore the fascinating world of bonsai, the centuries-old Asian art of dwarfing trees and shrubs grown in pots.
Learn the care and culture of bonsai, including techniques for designing and maintaining these sculptured treasures. Alongside Longwood bonsai grower Matt Turner, and bonsai expert Steve Ittel, watch the creation of a bonsai using a nursery-grown specimen, and discover the tools of the trade for your own bonsai success. You’ll begin your bonsai journey by starting a bonsai of your own—focusing specifically on the design and maintenance including repotting and pruning of a ficus, a tropical bonsai that grows well indoors and thrives in an outdoor setting during summer. Leave this fun and interactive session with a plant to grow and guide for years to come.
Location
Bonsai Workshop in The Potting Shed
Instructor
Matthew Turner, Steve Ittel
Longwood Bonsai Grower Matt Turner joined the team in 2023 to help care for our growing bonsai collection. Turner previously worked at The Hidden Gardens, one of the largest retailers of yamadori (pre-bonsai collected from the wild). He studied with several American and international bonsai artists as they taught and worked on private collections in Chicagoland.
Steve Ittel has been studying and practicing bonsai for more than 30 years. He is a member of the Brandywine Bonsai Society and runs their website. In addition to tending his bonsai collection, he also makes bonsai pottery and works with Longwood's bonsai collection.
