Welcome

Join us! We are a group of bonsai (pronounced bone sigh) enthusiasts who are fascinated with these little trees. We grow them, train them, develop and care for them. The Japanese word bonsai translates to "tree in a pot," but that is really an over simplification. True bonsai have an artistic bent. We want to make the little trees interesting to look at, sometimes copying full size trees, sometimes making fanciful designs.

Bonsai can be decades old, but that's no reason not to get started and have fun now. Many interesting plants can be purchased at local nurseries and home centers, and shaped into something beautiful in a very short period of time.

We meet once or twice a month to educate and demonstrate techniques on the first Tuesday at 10:00 am at the west end of Carbondale. Send an email to sam.hoskins@gmail.com or a text to 618-967-0016 and we'll give you directions. 

Sharing bonsai knowledge.

Bonsai is an art form which uses living plant material as its sculpture medium. The art of Bonsai was developed in China and later imported to Japan where it was further refined and developed. It began to gain popularity in the US and across the western world, shortly after the end of the second World War.

Because it is an art, and not a specific kind of tree, any woody plant that grows anywhere in the world can be trained and shaped in the bonsai style. Bonsai artists tend to use plant material which already has a natural dwarf growing habit. Although plants grown in containers experience some reduction in leaf size, there is nothing that the bonsai artist does which dwarfs or shrinks the plant material they use. By using wire and clippers, the artist can create living miniatures of larger life counterparts, which can reflect a tree growing atop the rugged mountain or in a gentle rolling meadow. Bonsai is the illusion of old age. The objective is not to have a 300 year old specimen, but to use the skills and techniques learned in bonsai and apply them to young specimens, and by so doing, create the illusion that the tree is very ancient. 

You can create a passable bonsai in one afternoon, but like a great wine, bonsai become more beautiful with age. We call bonsai a “living” art not only because we use live plants, but also because the plants grow, develop, change and cycle through the seasons. 

Must Bonsai be old? 

Bonsai is not always a 60, 70 or even 200 year old tree. It can be a 5 to 10 year old tree collected from nature or a nursery container that has been planted in a tray or pot that suggests age and beauty through the artistic effort and skill of the grower. Japanese and Americans today still highly prize aged Bonsai.

How long does it take?

Bonsai varies with the type of tree and the style desired, it can be done in one afternoon or in a lifetime. Some may take fifteen to twenty years to develop while others may take as little as two to three years. If you start with good nursery trained trees or container stock from a bonsai nursery your bonsai will mature faster. 

How long will they last?

Bonsai will outlast their larger life counterparts by many generations. With proper care, bonsai may easily last sixty to seventy years. Many have been know to last several centuries. 

How do you start in Bonsai?

Anyone with the interest, time and a little bit of space can create and enjoy a Bonsai collection. It takes patience, care and attention, but the results are rewarding and it does not take a lifetime to see your results, you can actually create your own bonsai this afternoon!

We recommend several steps for starting in the living art of Bonsai. 

    1. Purchase some nursery stock and just get started!

    2. Read books and literature on bonsai.

    3. Join one of the many regional clubs in the USA or one of the three national associations

    4. Take lessons from a local teacher.

    5. Check out many of the excellent YouTube sites on the internet.. For instance, Herons Bonsai.