Welcome!
This is Our 30th Year Serving the Treasure Valley
- Thanks to all our members and elected officials for making this a 1st-Class Bonsai Society
- Thanks to all our members and elected officials for making this a 1st-Class Bonsai Society
Next Event:
2025 Planning Meeting
4 JAN, 2025 ; 5-6:30pm
Members Only Event: Please come join us in planning next year!
More invormation will be emailed to all members
Location: Smoky Mountain Pizzeria & Grill, Parkcenter Blvd, Boise
More invormation will be emailed to all members
Location: Smoky Mountain Pizzeria & Grill, Parkcenter Blvd, Boise
Bedding Down:
As the growing season closes, now is the time to build your winter betds, bed down your trees for the season, read, update documentation, research new techniques to try next season, and mix soil in preparation for spring repotting. Check on winter-beds for moisture through winter.
Seasonal Tips
Early Winter- Refrain from re-potting any outdoor trees.
- Prune fall-blooming bonsai.
- Wire any deciduous, junipers, pines for spring.
- Remove excess moss in winter (harbors insects and disease).
- Water only if dry, and only in early day (to avoid freezing).
- Clean pots of mineral residues.
- Apply lime sulfur to your deciduous trees, before bedding down. More...
Random photos displayed above are from several events in our galleries.
Peruse all our photos on our 'Galleries' Page.
Peruse all our photos on our 'Galleries' Page.
A Bonsai Educational Experience for All
The Boise Bonsai Society (BBS) is a group of dedicated bonsai enthusiasts from the greater Boise, Idaho area. Our goal is to educate both our members and the general public in the art form known as 'Bonsai' (pronounced 'bone-sigh'), the ancient Asian art of growing miniature trees in pots. Our club holds bonsai workshops, collecting trips, and annual shows throughout the year. All levels of ability are welcome!
Recommended Resources
Members: The following are great resources for tools, supplies, and material:'Revitalize Bio-Fungicide': Helps ailing trees recover from winter:
Recommended Books
Recommended Articles/Videos
-
"The first. Best to leave them alone. It's true that flowering weakens a tree a bit. But pine candles are also quite delicate when growing..." (Michael Hagedorn, Crataegus Bonsai, MAY 2016)
-
"Schefflera and Brassaia are two related species of plants both commonly called 'Schefflera'. They are found in nearly every nursery and garden center's indoor foliage area or in the terrarium plant section..." (Jerry Meislik, APR 2016)
-
"There's a storm of confusion around these two techniques, and it's one of those things we don't want to get wrong. Pines take a couple years to get back on track, once off track, and so they make us look at our mistakes for a long time..." (Michael Hagedorn, Crataegus Bonsai, APR 2016)
-
"Pinching or cutting your juniper foliage and needles. Which one is the better method? Traditionally, the technique for pushing back growth in junipers was to pinch the needle tips of the juniper foliage. By doing so, it would push the foliage back so that the branch would not get as long..." (Eastern Leaf, DEC 2015)
-
"The Money Tree (Pachira aquatica) is a plant that has many legends and beliefs originating from China. Although there are many tales and stories as to its beginnings, the most common story is that a truck driver in Taiwan had decided to braid the trunks of five small trees in a single pot. A more legendary tale floats around of a very poor farmer who was very down on his luck and spirit. One day, he found a very curious looking plant with braided trunks..." (Eastern Leaf, DEC 2015)
-
"Fall has just started and the weather may be cooling down in your area. For all trees, the decrease in temperature and season change will start to affect your bonsai tree..." (Eastern Leaf, OCT 2015)
-
"Repotting season is a conflicting time for most bonsai enthusiasts. For some, it's a happy time since some are finally able to pot their finished tree into a bonsai pot. For others, it's doing routine maintenance to ensure the health of the tree..." (Eastern Leaf, OCT 2015)
-
"Repotting your tree is one of the most important things you can do for your bonsai tree..." (Eastern Leaf, OCT 2015)
-
"Preparing your pot is an essential step to repotting your tree. In this tutorial, we'll go over the steps to properly prepare your pot for a new tree..." (Jason Chan, Eastern Leaf, OCT 2015)
-
"1. Water your tree more than once a day...
2. When you water your tree, make a few passes at it..." (Eastern Leaf, AUG 2015)
-
"The clip and grow method is a great way to familiarize yourself with the growth patterns of your tree. For beginners, it's also a great method to train your tree without needing to apply wire to your tree..." (Eastern Leaf, AUG 2015)
-
"To develop ramifications on your black pine bonsai tree you often have to deal with leggy growth..." (Eastern Leaf, JUL 2015)
-
"Wiring is one of the essential techniques for working with your bonsai tree..." (Eastern Leaf, JUL 2015)
-
"The most common issue ... is when new enthusiasts fertilize improperly. E.g. when a tree looks sick or weak, fertilizing it too heavy in hopes that the extra food will save it. Most often this causes the complete opposite result." (Eastern Leaf, JUL 2015)
-
A resource-center of popular articles on tips, techniques, and methods for caring for your trees... (Eastern Leaf, 2016)
Vocabulary Reference
-
Bonsai: (Pronounced 'bone-sigh') The art of growing trees in trays or pots. Derived from 'bon', meaning 'tray' and 'sai', meaning 'tree' (Pessey & Samson, 1992, "Bonsai Basics", p16).
-
Besaki: Beautiful Stone; used in formal display. Viewing Stones offer a story and serve as companions to the Bonsai in formal display.
-
Jin: Deadwood branch.
-
Kusamono: Companion Plant; used in formal display.
-
Mycorrhizal: Fungal associations between plant roots and beneficial fungi. The fungi effectively extend the root area of plants and are extremely important to most plants. Original soil contains this beneificial fungi close to the roots; care should be taken whe repotting, to maintain a good portion of this resource.
-
Nebari: Exposed surface roots, located at the base of the tree.
-
POCD: Partial Outer Canopy Defoliation (specific to Deciduous tree work).
-
Ramification: The training and development of secondary branch structure from the main branches by regular pruning, encouraging thick foliage and pad-development.
-
Schefflera: The 'Indestructable Bonsai'. A popular in-door/tropical species of tree used in Bonsai. 'Dwarf' variety of the full-sized Brassaia.
-
Shari: Deadwood on trunk.
-
Suiseki: Companion Stone; used in formal display. Note, the word 'stone' is used in Bonsai terminology; not 'rock'.
-
Yamadori: Wild trees collected for training as Bonsai.
Other Vocabulary Resources:
