Prairie State Bonsai Society prepares trees for August show

Phil Malhiot used the Prairie State Bonsai Society’s July 8 working session at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn to walk members through the last-mile work that turns a bonsai into a show entry: cleaning, pot choice, moss application, wiring touch-ups and the display decisions that make a tree read as finished. The club said the timing mattered because its annual August exhibition at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle was only weeks away, with judging set to fall to guest artist Peter Chan.

The evening was built as a working session, not a lecture. PSBS asked members to bring their trees, tools and wire, then split the night into two parts, with the first half covering show-prep basics and the rest reserved for tree evaluation and hands-on help from experienced members. That format matched the job in front of the club, which has been pushing members to get entries ready for display and judging before the first weekend in August.

Malhiot gave the session extra weight. A longtime club member and former president, he has more than 40 years of professional bonsai experience and multiple awards to his name, and he brought a full display of his own trees, handmade pots and accent plants. He also had items available at half price, turning the meeting into a practical stop for members still making final choices on containers and companion pieces. For show prep, those details matter as much as branch structure: a tree can be wired well and still fall flat if the pot is too heavy, the moss looks pasted on, or the accent pulls attention away from the main composition.

Those choices will play out again when PSBS opens what it calls its premier bonsai exhibition of the year on August 1 and 2 at The Morton Arboretum. The club has eight workshops tied to the event, with 60 Peter Chan workshop slots already sold out. One Japanese maple workshop seat remained open, the dawn redwood workshop was sold out, and kids’ workshops on juniper and Chinese elm were still available. Chan, who has been in bonsai since 1967, will judge the trees on display.

The July meeting made the point plainly: the August show does not start when the doors open at The Morton Arboretum. It starts with the cleaning cloth, the last wire adjustment and the decision about which pot, moss and accent plant will carry a tree across the finish line.