Asia Pacific Gardening

05/31/2026

Another great round of Bonsai For Beginners and Bonsai For Intermediates yesterday! Please welcome all the new bonsai owners to the bonsai community.

If you're wondering if you should ever take a bonsai class, the answer is yes.

If you're wondering if you should choose us as your bonsai class experience, the answer is also yes.

We're the only ones who have a donation based Bonsai Day Care Service. If you travel out of town and you've acquired one of our bonsai trees, you can bring the tree back to us and we'll do the watering and care for you!

Visit www.bonsaiclass.com/schedule to see where you can take one of our courses.

05/29/2026

Our Bonsai For Beginners and Bonsai For Intermediates class is tomorrow 5/30 at our Nursery in Kent!

Only 2 spots left for our Beginners class and a handful left for the Intermediates class. Call us at (253) 872-8556 to get registered! Address is 19122 84th Ave S Kent, WA 98032

Bonsai For Beginners: 11am - 1pm ($120 per person)
Bonsai For Intermediates: 3pm - 5pm ($150 per person)

BONSAI FOR BEGINNERS: This class we will be using 5-6 year old procumbens nana juniper that should be kept outdoors.​

The first hour we will cover a brief history of bonsai and teach you the basic principals to ensure your bonsai thrives. The second hour is the hands on workshop where you will be styling and planting the tree. At the end of the workshop, the new bonsai you created will go home with you!

BONSAI FOR INTERMEDIATES: In this 2 hour class, we will cover information pertaining to the art of wiring such as what type of wires should be used, how to select the right gauges, anchoring wires, application, training, and how to remove.

Participants will have several trees to practice with before wiring the actual Ficus Retusa tree. These trees will be unpruned and untrained and are considered pre-bonsai. After wiring, the participants will then pot the Ficus Retusa into a ceramic bonsai pot. At the end of the class, each participant will take home the Ficus Retusa bonsai that they have created in class. Practice trees available to purchase upon request.

*It is recommended you have taken our beginner's course or have some basic bonsai knowledge prior to taking this course*

05/29/2026

We explain why you shouldn't use a hedge trimmer or large sheers when pruning your Japanese maple. These trees require precision pruning to bring out the beauty of the trees. Keep in mind, this is the FIRST pruning. A Japanese maple with incredible branch movements may take several years for it to show its true potential. These trees are not one and done as you should prune them every year.

Here in the PNW, we see SO many mushroom maples. Most landscapers just use hedge trimmers and prune it into a rounded shape and call it good. The issue with mushroom maples is that it results in thousands of random cuts and creates a massive influx of backbuds at all the wrong places. This results in a very thick and full canopy on the outside and as a result, it blocks a ton of sunlight for the inside of the tree. This is why mushroom maples have SO many dead branches on the inside every single year. Eventually, you'll end up with a maple that has very long and leggy branches and only leaves on the outside; No layers or strong branch characteristics on the inside.

Use the right tools, have the proper patience, and in 5-10 years, your maple tree will become the ones you see all across Asia.

05/25/2026

Extremely honored to receive this award from the Puget Sound Bonsai Association!

If you're a bonsai enthusiast in the greater Seattle area, there is an amazing bonsai club waiting for you. This bonsai club gives you the rare opportunity to get one on one hands on experience with some of the best bonsai and penjing masters around the world.

Check out the Puget Sound Bonsai Association at https://www.pugetsoundbonsai.org/.

05/25/2026

We were nominated for best garden center in Kent! This is the nomination period and the three garden centers with the most nominations go on to the next round. You can vote once every 24 hour period. You don't even need to register or create an account. Show some love for the art of bonsai and send us to the top!

Official 2026 Community Voting Awards Platform for Kent, WA. Where the community votes for their favorites every year.

05/22/2026

Yesterday, we hosted a private team building Bonsai For Beginners class for BECU. Every single participant has NEVER tried bonsai before and they all had so much fun.

Remember, every single bonsai we put on the market comes with a LIFETIME courtesy Bonsai Day Care service. If you travel out of town, simply bring the bonsai back to us and we'll water and care for your tree when you're gone. It's that simple.

If you're looking to book a private bonsai class with us, let us know and we can connect!

Please welcome all the new bonsai owners to the bonsai community!

05/19/2026

A look behind some of the amazing demonstrations you can expect from joining the Puget Sound Bonsai Association (PSBA).

A few weeks back, Mr. Che (Zhao Che) and his daughter Cindy visited the Seattle area and did several one-on-one workshops with PSBA members. On his final day, he did a live demonstration for the entire club with two different trees showcasing his techniques from the Lingnan school of penjing.

05/15/2026

Our Bonsai For Beginners and Bonsai For Intermediates is happening at the end of May at our nursery in Kent! All of our trees come with a courtesy donation-based Bonsai Day Care service. If you travel out of town and need someone to water your bonsai, simply bring it back to us at our nursery in Kent and we'll take care of your bonsai tree for you!

The beginner class we will be using 5-6 year old procumbens nana juniper trees that should be kept outdoors.​

The first hour we will cover a brief history of bonsai and teach you the basic principals to ensure your bonsai thrives. The second hour is the hands on workshop where you will be styling and planting the tree. At the end of the workshop, the new bonsai you created will go home with you!​​

The intermediate class we will be using an 8 year old ficus retusa tree. We will cover information pertaining to the art of wiring such as what type of wires should be used, how to select the right gauges, anchoring wires, application, training, and how to remove.

Participants will have several trees to practice with before wiring the actual Ficus Retusa tree. These trees will be unpruned and untrained and are considered pre-bonsai. After wiring, the participants will then pot the Ficus Retusa into a ceramic bonsai pot. At the end of the class, each participant will take home the Ficus Retusa bonsai that they have created in class. Practice trees available to purchase upon request.

05/15/2026

Don't mushroom your maple! You can prune your own maple with our techniques. It's not exactly difficult, it just takes time.

Don't mushroom your maple! The second you take a hedge trimmer to your maple, it becomes an uncontrolled mess. New shoots will back bud all over the place an...

05/13/2026

Always a great time teaching our Bonsai For Beginners classes at Glasswing in Seattle. All the trees you create in our bonsai classes come with a lifetime courtesy Bonsai Day Care service. If you travel out of town and need someone to water your bonsai, simply bring it back to us at our nursery in Kent and we'll take care of that for you.

We have our upcoming Bonsai For Beginners and Bonsai For Intermediates classes at our nursery in Kent on May 30th. Visit our class schedule at www.bonsaiclass.com to see more and how to register.