BC Bonsai Society

08/17/2026

We’re excited to have Anton Nijhuis joining us for the BC Bonsai Society meeting on September 3rd.

Anton is a well-known yamadori collector and bonsai artist from Vancouver Island, with years of experience finding, collecting, and developing trees from the wild. He’ll be sharing some of that experience with us and talking about his approach to yamadori.

If you’re interested in native trees, collecting, or just want to learn more about working with yamadori, this should be a great evening.

September 3rd, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Sunnyside Hall
1845 154 Street, Surrey, BC

Members only. If you’re not a member yet, you can join through the BC Bonsai Society.

08/15/2026

Ever wondered why bonsai artists pluck needles on Japanese Black Pine Bonsai? Isn’t picking off needle growth counter-productive to growing a bonsai tree??

It’s all about balancing energy and promoting back budding! Pines naturally direct most of their energy to the top and outer edges of the tree, which can cause lower or inner branches to weaken and die off. By plucking needles on stronger, upper areas and leaving more needles on weaker, lower areas, you shift the tree's hormonal balance and equalize growth across the entire canopy.
Dense patches of old needles also block sunlight and airflow from reaching the interior branches and inner dormant buds. Plucking old needles opens up the canopy so light can reach hidden back-buds, stimulating new interior growth and creating new branches with shorter internodes or greater ramification on existing branches. This is a critical technique for keeping bonsais small and compact!
What’s your experience using this technique?

08/07/2026

No meeting today! We take a break in August. Next meeting in September will feature special guest presenter Anton Nijhuis on Yamadori collection. Stay tuned!

07/01/2026

I hope you all got out to our very successful bonsai show at the start of the month.

We know many of you brought home new trees from the show and sale that you will be styling soon, so at our July meeting John will be giving you some instruction on how to transform raw material with an initial styling.

Check out our blog about the show and sale here: https://www.bcbonsaisociety.org/post/2026-bonsai-show-and-sale

We will also be having a raffle at the meeting, and it will include pottery and other items recently donated to the club. Please bring a donation for the table too, as well as cash to get a ticket. All the proceeds help fund our club activities. First time visitors are ALWAYS welcome check our club out and no fee is required.

What to Bring:
1. Raffle donations
2. Cash for tickets
3. A tree to work or get advice on. Any tree, don’t be shy!
4. A tree looking its best for the show table.

Meeting Details:
Meeting Time: July 2nd at 7pm
Hall Location: 1845 154 Street Surrey, BC V4A 5J

BC Bonsai Society held its highly successful 18th annual show and sale at the Surrey City Hall Saturday, June 13th. Over 400 people attended including Surrey mayor Brenda Locke who said in part: “It was wonderful to see the creativity, skill and dedication that goes into this unique art form and t...

06/23/2026

BC Bonsai Society’s 18th annual Show & Sale was a beautiful day of art, community and learning at Surrey City Hall. Over 50 stunning bonsai and hundreds of visitors joined us to celebrate the creativity and dedication behind this unique art form. Read the full recap and see event photos: https://wix.to/beW78Py

06/19/2026

See the progression of our club Juniper from 2023 to 2026. It has had many a training session with Michael McTeague from Bonsai Harmony, and the talented Kanta Nakajima at our past sale this June.
Goes to show how much a bonsai can change and mature in just 3 years!
Swipe through to see the progression to today.

06/18/2026

The progression of our club's tree from July 2023 to June 2026

06/15/2026

Our 2026 sale and show was a big success! Thanks to everyone for making it a fun and educational day. Thanks to Kanta for doing a live demonstration for everyone and we hope to see you all next year!

06/14/2026

Thank you!

06/05/2026

Congratulations to Linda for winning the special raffle for this crabapple bonsai last night! This specimen was generously donated to us from the Lynn Valley Bonsai Club and part of the funds raised for this was donated to Backpack Buddies. Thank you to all those who participated!