Category: Meetings

We’ve got a fun weekend planned for you so let’s go through all the details!

This coming Saturday Young Choe will be with us for a kusamono workshop. Soil will be provided and plants will be available for purchase. Bring your own pots and tools (I’ll have a handful of pots for sale). You are also encouraged to bring an existing kusamono planting or one you made at last years event to show its progress(good or bad) and get tips on annual maintenance. Her presentation will also go into more depth regarding matching kusamono to bonsai for display. The class is free to attend for dues paid members. Saturday 4/25 at 9:30am in the classroom at Rockefeller Park Greenhouse.

On Sunday, Young will lead a kokedama(moss ball) event hosted at Mulberry Creek Herb Farm in Huron. This planting technique wraps the root of the plants in a ball of muck that is then covered in moss and presented as a free standing planting or placed on a tile or shallow tray. While typically used with ornamental flowers, the technique can also be applied to some larger drought tolerant shurbs/trees to create a presentation more similar to bonsai. Young has expressed the desire to pursue this aspect more and hopes some of us will be willing to try it. She encourages those who might have some younger bonsai material that they’re growing to bring it to the event to try out.

Mulberry Creek has a tremendous selection of small plant material available for this event and has offered a 20% discount on plant material for participants. The club will provide the muck material and will try our best to gather enough moss for the event(you’re encouraged to hunt for some as well).

Cost will be $10 for the kokedama event. Location: 3312 Bogart Rd, Huron, OH 44839

The event will start at 10:00am, but you’re encouraged to get there earlier if you want to shop for plants beforehand.

Greetings Everyone!

We may not have said goodbye to the snow for good just yet, but it feels like Spring is right around the corner! I hope everyone is keeping an eye on their trees and getting excited for another season of bonsai! 

We will be kicking things off this Saturday March 28th with a repotting workshop. Especially for those that are newer to bonsai, anyone who would like some help or guidance on repotting should bring their trees and supplies and get assistance from our more experienced members. Can’t decide which pot to use? Lets assess the options together!

*We likely haven’t seen the last of the cold weather so remember that any tree that you repot or that has broken dormancy will need to be protected from cold temps. Ideally, kept above 40degrees F.*

In other news, during our April meeting weekend we will be visited by Young Choe again! Currently our plan is to have a kusamono workshop at our Saturday meeting and then a Kokedama(moss ball) workshop on Sunday hosted at Mulberry Creek Herb Farm in Huron. More details to come once finalized.

And finally, if you just can’t get enough bonsai, I’ve attached the flyer for the MidAtlantic Bonsai Societies Spring Festival which is in central PA April 17-19th.

That’s all for now, hope to see you Saturday!

-Adam Shank

Greetings Everyone!

We made it through the deep freeze but winter is far from over. To prepare for the upcoming bonsai season we’ll be talking about tool maintenance at our upcoming February meeting on Saturday the 28th. Dale Harder will offer instruction on how to sharpen and maintain your bonsai tools. We can also discuss questions you might have about repotting. We will also discuss final plans for our Winter Silhouette Show which is scheduled for Saturday March 7th at Miller Nature Preserve in Avon..

Regarding the Silhouette Show, if you plan to show a tree please email Dan White at cable2001@gmail.com and let him know so he can start keeping count. The venue typically holds about 30 trees. Also, if you need a tag made for your tree, send the details(common name, latin name, time in training and your name) to Cindy at schwind-ropers@sbcglobal.net

And if you plan to help with show set up or tear down, please send Dan an email to let him know. We’ll send out more details about the show soon.

That’s all for now, have a good weekend!

-Adam Shank

Greetings Everyone!

It’s been a rough winter and it’s only just beginning! I hope you and your trees have been staying safe and warm.

Before the repotting and bonsai seasons begin, this is a great time to evaluate and maintain your tools. At our meeting this month, Dale Harder will give us some lessons on tool sharpening and maintenance. If you’d like to bring your tools to work on, Dale recommends a small, fine grit sharpening stone. If you search for “pocket sharpening stone” on Amazon you’ll find plenty of options under $10. 

It’s also time to pay membership dues for 2026. Still just $25. You can bring your dues to the meeting(cash/check) or pay them online through our website.

We’ll be meeting this coming Saturday January 24th at 9:30am in the classroom at Rockefeller Park Greenhouse. 750 E. 88th St. in Cleveland.

See you there and stay warm!

-Adam Shank

Our final meeting of the year is this Saturday! 

As we typically do, we will have discussion about winter care and protection for our trees. So if you’re new to bonsai this year and have questions about how to keep your trees alive through the winter, be sure to join us!

I would also like to have a discussion about “What I Learned This Year”. Come and share a new technique or lesson(good or bad!) that you learned this year so we can all benefit from it and grow in our bonsai practice. 

See you there!

Rockefeller Park Greenhouse Saturday 11/22/25 @ 9:30am in the classroom.

-Adam Shank

Also, at the last meeting Dan White shared that he is offering a winter tree boarding service in his temperature controlled greenhouse. If anyone is interested you can sign up on his website and bring your trees to the meeting to be transported for free.

We have a meeting scheduled this Saturday 10/25 at 9:30am. We’ll be holding a swap meet event so bring along any bonsai related items that need a new home! As usual, we’ll be meeting in the classroom at Rockefeller Park Greenhouse.

Our final meeting this year will be November 22nd where we’ll have a year end recap and discussion on winter bonsai storage.

If you didn’t make it to the National Exhibition in September, here’s a good video tour of the show: National Bonsai 2025

Plus we’re already lining up topics and events for next year!

We have a meeting coming up this Saturday the 27th at 9:30am. Steve Ziebarth will be sharing insights into the design and development of show quality junipers. There will be videos, photos of progressions, live examples and possibly dragons. You won’t want to miss this one! 

And remember that our October meeting(10/25) will be a swap meet style event.

I would also like to congratulate all of the members that represented the Cleveland Bonsai Club at the 9th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition recently. We’re all very lucky to have so many talented artists among our ranks to inspire and share their knowledge with us. I’ve attached photos of their displays to this email. Descriptions below:

1. Cork Bark Pine by Bill Cain

2. Dave Bennett with his Winterhazel

3. Kelley Adkins’ Elm

4. Mel Goldstein’s Frog Stone

5. Harry Clark’s Mountain Stone

6. Les Allen’s Arch Stone

7. Dave Bennett’s Figure Stone

8. Les Allen’s Figure Stone

9. Harry Clark’s Twisted Pomegranate

10. Azalea formerly owned by Mel Goldstein

11. Mel Goldstein and his Shohin Composition

12. Japanese Black Pine formerly owned by Mel Goldstein

We’ve got a meeting coming up this Saturday 8/23 at 9:30am. 

Bring a tree to work on and, as always, your questions to discuss.

We have a meeting scheduled for this coming Saturday, July 26th. No specific agenda or workshops this month. Bring your questions, a tree or your experiences with bonsai to share with the group.

Our meeting this month will focus on Junipers, a ubiquitous and quintessential bonsai subject. Unfortunately, Steve Z will not be able to lead the lesson due to a family emergency. Fortunately, Kelley Adkins was gracious enough to agree to fill in and lead a class session and workshop on the stages of building Juniper bonsai from young material to show worthy bonsai. He will be bringing examples of juniper training at various stages to demonstrate the techniques and their effect. We’ll take some time to discuss the basics of juniper growth and care then have the opportunity to ask some questions. After that we’ll have a group workshop session. If you have a juniper you’d like to make some progress on, you are encouraged to bring it. There should also be some juniper plants available to purchase from some of our members. Be sure to bring your tools and wire. Hopefully the weather is clear and we can expand out onto the patio. 

Looking forward to seeing you there,

-Adam Shank