Kifu Bonsai open house blends sales, lessons and community gathering
Hundreds of bonsai trees, 50% off stock and Bob Mahler’s instruction turned Kifu’s June 20 open house into a sales floor, classroom and club meet-up.
Kifu Bonsai’s annual open house brought discounted trees, tools and instruction to 9140 Janes Lane in East Greenville, Pennsylvania, on June 20, with doors open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors could walk through hundreds of bonsai trees, browse pots and supplies, and tour the nursery’s 2,000-square-foot koi showroom while getting face time with Bonsai Master Bob Mahler.
The draw was not just the sale rack. Kifu marked everything in stock down 10% to 50%, which made the event useful for different kinds of buyers at once. Newer growers could pick up a tree, a pot and the basic supplies needed to get started. More experienced hands could inspect stock for future work, compare material, and look for pieces with better trunk movement, taper or nebari than what usually sits on the retail bench. The open house format gave people room to ask questions before they spent money, which is often the difference between a purchase that sits untouched and one that becomes a real project.
That educational side fits Mahler’s background. He began apprenticing under Chase Rosade at age 15, studied for four years in Tochigi-Ken, Japan, under Susumu Sudo, then spent 11 years as curator of bonsai at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden after returning to the United States in 1994. He founded Kifu Bonsai in 2017 and is listed as vice president of the Pennsylvania Bonsai Society.
The open house also sat inside a bigger teaching calendar. Kifu offered private bonsai instruction from June 15 through June 30, with sessions customized to a student’s interests and experience. Kifu’s broader schedule also pointed toward later appearances, including the inaugural Longwood Gardens Bonsai Festival from June 24 through June 29 in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Longwood’s festival included regional clubs from the Tri-State Area, a juried display, demonstrations, lectures, an auction and awards, with participating clubs named as the Bonsai Society of the Lehigh Valley, Brandywine Bonsai Society, Deep Cut Bonsai Society, New Jersey Bonsai Societies, Pennsylvania Bonsai Society and Susquehanna Bonsai Club.
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