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Bonsai Winnipeg 2025 Nursery Stock Challenge

What is this?

Let's showcase the potential of affordable, locally sourced nursery stock as bonsai. We encourage everyone (beginners, intermediate, and advanced Bonsai Winnipeg members) to participate so we can demonstrate that a variety of species, styles, and techniques work well for transforming nursery stock into bonsai.

Who should participate?

All Bonsai Winnipeg members.

Why are we doing this?

This is an opportunity to share your journey and work as a club by selecting and styling a bonsai from locally available nursery stock. Participants will purchase a modestly priced nursery tree or plant, style it as a bonsai, and present their work at a future meeting.

Guidelines:

• The nursery stock should cost $100 or less (could be a $99 mugo pine, or a $5 half-dead ficus on the clearance rack)
• The material must be purchased locally
• Do not repot—this is a styling activity only
• You may style your tree:
• Independently
• With guidance from online resources, books, or magazines
• With advice from other members
• With a more experienced bonsai artist
• Acknowledge any contributions from others.
• Take many before, after, and progress photos to be shared on the Bonsai Winnipeg website.

When are we doing this?

• Purchase your nursery stock any time between now and early May
• Bring your unstyled tree to the May meeting for an initial showcase
• Style the tree throughout spring and summer
• Present your styled tree at the September meeting

Details - How and where can I pull this off?

At Bonsai Winnipeg meetings at the Caboto Centre on the second Thursday of each month (summer meetings are mostly bring a tree workshop meetings) and in the comfort of your own back yard.
1 - May meeting:
• (6:30–7:00 PM, before the meeting starts) bring your unstyled nursery stock for display
• (During the meeting) share details about where you purchased it, its cost, and your initial styling ideas
2 - Spring & summer:
• Style your tree at home or at meetings (while documenting its transformation with photos)
• Do not repot; the tree should remain in its nursery container.

3 - September meeting

• Bring the results of your first year’s achievement and discuss future plans

• If you like, sketch out where you think this tree will be in 5 years

• There will be a prize for the most inventive and transformative works created

This is gonna be a lot of fun folks. As an initiative, this will be great to follow up on in future years and see where all of these specimens have gone. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone accomplishes, and how we all pull together to offer advice and help to newer members with options for their bonsai. Also, can’t wait to see what folks find scouring the clearance aisles of the local nurseries and box stores.

RAFFLE PRIZES—TREES, BONSAI POTS AND MORE.

Do you have something bonsai-related you no longer need that you can donate to the club? Please bring them. Raffles are a fun way to acquire new items and also help raise funds for the club.



GUESTS ARE WELCOME!

Come to a meeting and meet new friends who share your interests.