Skip to content

Growing Bonsai From Seed

Discover the art and science of growing bonsai from seed in this hands-on workshop. Led by Ryan Huston of In Vivo Bonsai, who has cultivated generations of Japanese Black Pine from seed, this class offers a rare opportunity to see and work with bonsai trees at multiple stages of development.

The workshop begins with a 30-minute introduction to outdoor bonsai care and styling, followed by guided hands-on sessions in wiring techniques, slip potting, and shaping trees. You’ll gain insight into how to accelerate trunk development, choose branch placements, and create expressive movement- all essential to building strong, beautiful bonsai from the ground up. Whether you’re just beginning or ready to level up your skills, students can choose from two participation tiers based on budget and interest. You’ll also leave with a printed growing guide so you can continue your bonsai journey with confidence at home.

Registration includes 40 Japanese Black Pine seeds, a printed growing guide, a 1–2 year-old seedling for wiring practice, bonsai wire, bonsai soil, and a training pot.

Registration for this program will also get you 50% off a membership to the Columbus Bonsai Society! The Columbus Bonsai Society meets monthly & hosts bonsai workshops and events.

* If interested in a second tier of product & instruction during this program, please call Nicole Tabit (614-715-8156) for registration- limited seats available! Tier 2 includes everything in the registration tier plus a 4–5 year-old prebonsai tree for intermediate wiring and shaping, and an additional training pot, and costs $200 members/$220 non-members

If necessary, please check your spam folder for communications about this class.

Instructor: Ryan Huston Ryan discovered bonsai at a young age here at Franklin Park Conservatory. Over a decade later, he started volunteering at Elandan Gardens in Bremerton, WA for several years to learn the secrets of this hobby more deeply. Now back in Columbus for his graduate studies at OSU, he pursues his bonsai practice and nursery - In Vivo Bonsai - to share the art form and to destress. Feel free to contact him directly at [email protected] if you have any questions regarding the content of this workshop. If you can't make this workshop, check out his website InVivoBonsai.com, which contains free educational articles and lectures on similar aspects of growing bonsai from seed, among other things.