Washington County Master Gardeners to present program on Bonsai trees

The Washington County Master Gardeners will present a new garden information program this month: “Bonsai—Getting Started, Care and Shaping” will be presented on Tuesday, June 22, at 6:30 p.m. at the Washington County Extension meeting room. The public is invited to attend this free program.

Cat Nelson, a long-time bonsai aficionado, will share her hands-on tips and information on how to get started creating your own bonsai plants, an ancient technique of growing small trees in containers to mimic the shape and scale of full-size trees.

“I currently have a mulberry, a Russian elm, and an Eastern red cedar, all dug out of the wild, that I’m cultivating as bonsai,” said Nelson. She will bringing bonsai from her own collection for the presentation, demonstrating tools and techniques and answering questions about the “nuts and bolts” of working with bonsai.

Nelson has been interested in bonsai since her youth and has been actively growing them for over 15 years. Before moving to Iowa she was active in numerous bonsai clubs, including a stint as president of the Midwest Bonsai Society of Chicago. She was a volunteer working on the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Bonsai Collection, a past secretary of the American Bonsai Society, an author of one ABS booklet and several articles for the ABS Journal. She has exhibited trees in numerous bonsai shows around the country and does presentations for both bonsai and non-bonsai groups.

In addition to tending to her bonsai collection and related activities, Nelson is the facility manager for the Washington Community Center.

For more information on the program on the Washington County Master Gardner group, contact the Extension Office at 319-653-4811.