In this bonsai workshop with Peter Chan, 2026 Prairie State Bonsai Society guest artist, students will learn to style and wire their own cedar elm bonsai tree to take home.
Ulmus crassifolia is a member of the elm family, Ulmaceae. Its natural range is East Texas into Northern Louisiana and Southern Arkansas. It’s a primary species, growing to heights of 80’. The trees have small, compound leaves. The bark of cedar elm is light brown and furrowed into broad, scaly ridges. It takes at least a decade before bark begins to form.
The trees presented in this workshop are yamadori (collected) trees from an 800-acre cattle ranch outside Houston, Texas. They are in 3-gallon nursery pots.
This bonsai workshop will focus on initial styling and wiring of the cedar elm tree. Care instructions will be included. This is an intermediate- to advanced-level workshop.
This program meets in person at The Morton Arboretum and is presented by Prairie State Bonsai Society in conjunction with the Arboretum’s Destination Asia Festival and Bonsai Show on Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2.
Instructors: Peter Chan and Jennifer Price
Age: 16 and older
Course number: V122
Instructors
Peter Chan, 2026 Prairie State Bonsai Society guest artist
Peter Chan is an internationally acclaimed bonsai master, educator, and the founder of Herons Bonsai, Britain’s premier bonsai nursery. Chan began practicing bonsai in the late 1960s and turned his passion into a full-time profession when he established Herons Bonsai in 1986.
Over the decades, he has introduced thousands of people to the art of bonsai through demonstrations, workshops, books, and educational media. He now has the largest following on YouTube for bonsai, with over half a million subscribers and over 75 million views.
Chan has won 21 Gold Medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and has authored several widely read bonsai books, including The Bonsai Bible and Bonsai: The Art of Growing and Keeping Miniature Trees. He has a unique teaching style which takes the mystique out of bonsai, making it accessible to enthusiasts at all levels.
Chan’s demonstrations, workshops, and online educational videos have inspired a global community of bonsai practitioners and helped bring the art of bonsai to a much wider audience.
Jennifer Price
Jennifer discovered bonsai after retiring from the stage as a professional ballerina. She appreciates the line and form within bonsai and the ability to use a tree’s natural flow of movement.
She has studied with both American and European bonsai artists such as Mauro Stemberger and Ryan Neil, and currently studies with Michael Hagadorn. In 2015 she began her apprenticeship with Walter Pall and has taught throughout the United States as well as worldwide, representing America twice in Shanghai, China as well as in South Africa and Australia.
Price continues to teach and lecture at numerous symposiums and workshops, traveling extensively as a professional bonsai artist. She is a longtime member and past officer of the Prairie State Bonsai Society and is happy to be able to help her hometown bonsai society.
What to Know
Bonsai materials and supplies are included in the workshop cost.
Students are asked to bring in the tools they have on hand. Additional tools will be provided in class by the Prairie State Bonsai Society.
This is an intermediate- to advanced-level workshop.
Material selection is by lottery drawing.
See Education Program Policies for information about cancellations, refunds, and scholarships.
Program Schedule
Saturday, August 1, 2026, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Thornhill Education Center (parking lot P-21), West Side
