Bonsai Tree Class

Create your own miniature tree masterpiece in this hands-on bonsai workshop in the East Village.



2 hours Location East Village Class size 1 to 20 (public classes), 10 to 70   $200 ($300 per class surcharge applies for private classes)

Bonsai is the ancient Japanese art of cultivating miniature trees in containers, and in this NYC class, you’ll learn how to create your very own bonsai. This is an art form that helps connect you to nature and strengthens your spirit.
Bonsai can be a symbolic mirror image of the grower. With an open heart and mind, you can start your own journey of personal growth through the art of bonsai taught by Bonsai Master Julian Velasco. You will learn the artistic, philosophical, horticultural, and technical processes of designing, planting and maintaining your own bonsai.
You will develop and take home a sub-tropical bonsai that is perfect for indoor apartment growing! With Julian’s guidance and supervision, you will learn how to prune, shape, maintain and repot your bonsai. All of the Bonsai tools will be available for use during the class.
Whether you’re looking for a relaxing new hobby, a creative team-building activity, or a unique birthday experience, this bonsai class offers a hands-on, memorable way to connect with nature and your creativity in Manhattan. You’ll leave with a beautiful bonsai tree ready to brighten your home or office.

Upcoming dates for Bonsai Tree Class

Times are New York time. Dates and prices as of 14 Nov 2026, 6:53pm; availability and price are confirmed live when booking on this page.

1 upcoming date between 6 Dec 2026 and 6 Dec 2026.

  • Sun, Dec 6 2026, 11am-1pm
What you'll get
Bonsai tree.
Read more details   
Knowledge required
Perfect for beginners!
Suitable for

This class is great for individuals and couples as well as for a date idea, team building activity, Christmas party, birthday or bachelorette party.

This experience would also be a fun gift for her, gift for mom, Xmas gift or gift for couples.

Location

RESOBOX - 91 East 3rd Street, New York, NY 10003

This venue is within walking distance of 2 Av and Bleecker St stations

Your teacher can also travel within 8 miles of East Village, to a venue of your choice for a private class.

Bonsai Tree Class location
Verified reviews

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Recent reviews of Bonsai Tree Class

  • 5/5 from Ania Temkib, attended Sep 2026: Great instructor and explanation! Highly recommend!!!
  • 5/5 from Pam Shively, attended Aug 2026: Excellent class. The instructor was amazing!! His interpretive dance of plants was wonderful!!!
  • 5/5 from Matthew Chang, attended Jul 2026: Julian is an expert in his craft and great teacher willing to answer any questions. The time was enjoyable and flew by very quickly!
  • 5/5 from Catherine Strobel, attended Jun 2026: Great class, wonderful and patient teacher, and a lot of fun to do!!
  • 5/5 from Erin Laruffa, attended Jun 2026: I highly recommend this class. While this class wasn’t specifically for kids, we took our 8-year-old who’s very interested in bonsai and he loved it. The instructor Julian was very patient without overly explaining things.
  • 5/5 from Anna C Boisvert, attended Apr 2026: Julian was awesome! He was so knowledgeble about bonsai and very hands on during the class.
  • 5/5 from Julian Domanico, attended Apr 2026: The instructor was very thorough and detailed while also being extremely helpful. Although I knew a bit about bonsai prior to the class, I still learned a lot, which will be helpful in maintaining the tree that we worked on as well as my other plants at home. I definitely recommend taking this class if you are either a beginner or someone with familiarity to bonsai.
  • 5/5 from Bobby Ianev, attended Feb 2026: Great class and the instructor was very knowledgeable.
  • 5/5 from Michael A Giannotti, attended Aug 2025: Julian was great - he have super interesting context about bonsai and kept our group engaged. He is super passionate about the art - super fun group activity and can't wait to care for my tree!
  • 5/5 from Victor Wong, attended Jun 2025: Julian was extremely knowledgeable and clearly passionate about his bonsai craft. His enthusiasm was contagious. He went around and made at least two passes with each individual to ensure each bonsai was well-trimmed and well-groomed to take home.
  • 5/5 from Emily Cen, attended Jun 2025: Julien was great and so knowledgeable! Loved that he gave individual attention even with such a big class.
  • 5/5 from Kelly Bringas, attended May 2025: Great class! Instructor was very knowledgeable, and did a great job teaching us how to care for our Bonsai's.
  • 5/5 from Allison Weisenfeld, attended Nov 2024: We LOVED this class! The teacher was informative and funny. I loved how he took his time to explain each aspect of care. We came home with such a cute little bonsai and we can’t wait to take care of it!
  • 5/5 from Mr. Toby Phillippe, attended Nov 2024: Really fun. The theory and tips at the beginning were really helpful.
  • 5/5 from Tanya Matveyeva, attended Nov 2024: Great way to spend a Saturday morning and you take home a beautiful bonsai. I wish there was a little more science included in the instructions, but overall I think Julian gave a great little summary of the main principles. I liked the class a lot. The bonsai trees are prepped for bonsai and you do repotting and a little bit of pruning to get a hang of it. Julian made sure he gave a personalized assistance to everyone with their bonsai. One suggestion is to give some information up front on further reading/groups/resources to those who might be interested in taking it further. All and all—recommended!
  • 5/5 from Braden Purcell, attended Oct 2024: The bonsai course had great instructors and was a great experience. The whole team had a wonderful time. Thank you!
  • 5/5 from Sara Stieglitz, attended Aug 2024: Class was a lot of fun Learned so much about bonsai trees Teacher was great
  • 5/5 from Yolanda Zhang, attended Aug 2024: I had a very delightful session learning about bonsai. The teacher was incredibly knowledgeable and shared fascinating insights about the art and care of bonsai.
  • 5/5 from Ryan McManus, attended Jul 2024: Excellent instructor, fun, clear, lots of individual attention, hands on, highly recommended to anyone starting out.
  • 5/5 from Amanda Parsels, attended Jun 2024: Great class! I found it very fun and formative, and I would definitely recommend it.
  • 5/5 from Catherine Wheat, attended May 2024: The class was great! We learned a lot about bonsai care. The first part of the class was a lot of background and necessary information about our new bonsai, I would recommend bringing a notebook or having your notes app ready. The second part of class was "finding the tree" and pruning the bonsai. The instructor had great, clear steps to take to help find the shape and style of our trees. Then, of course, you go home with your brand new bonsai in a bonsai pot with a drip tray. I highly recommend this class to anyone with any interest. I knew very little about bonsais, other than that I thought they were cool. And I walked out full of knowledge and ready to continue learning about them. The instructor was kind, knowledgeable, and patient. It was clear he was passionate about the topic. Overall a fantastic class and worth the price.
  • 4/5 from Beth Mart, attended May 2024: Bonsai class Teacher was very knowledgeable and explained everything so well. He taught us how to care for our bonsai as well. I wish the hands on part of the class was longer as the lecture part was an hour and 15 min. Only other comment, I wish there was a sink to was our hands after working with the soil
  • 5/5 from Cynthia Pian, attended Mar 2024: Perfect date activity. The instructor was very knowledgeable anout bonsai and explained care, maintenance and how it grows. Had an Awesome experience…
  • 5/5 from Simone Paci, attended Mar 2024: Julian was amazing! His teaching is engaging and insightful. You will come out with a beautiful bonsai, a deeper understanding of plants in general and an appreciation for this wonderful form of art at the intersection of horticulture, design, and philosophy!
  • 5/5 from Isabel Valencia Zuñiga, attended Mar 2024: Great instructor—very helpful and knowledgeable. Im super happy with my little bonsai! Great Sunday plan!
  • 5/5 from Brandon Bowman, attended Feb 2024: Great class. Our instructor was incredibly knowledgeable and personable. I would recommend this class to anyone who has an interest in bonsai!
  • 5/5 from Inki Kim, attended Jul 2023: Great teacher that was patient and explained everything thoroughly. Helped me appreciated the art of growing and taking care of bonsai trees.
  • 5/5 from Carol Meylan, attended Jan 2023: Trimming a bonsai is challenging work and Julian really helped de-mystify the process. The two hours flew by - a very fun class.
Your teacher
Julian Velasco

Julian Velasco

5.0 (28)

Julian Velasco is a bonsai professional and former curator of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum’s world-famous collection of over 300 bonsai for over 10 years. Julian has designed, developed and maintained some of the best bonsai in the US. Along with solo bonsai art shows, Julian has had his bonsai art commissioned for film, museums, designers, architects, and of cores privet bonsai collectors.




Your host

Resobox
Resobox

4.9 (172)

RESOBOX is a Japanese cultural center located in New York City, offering a variety of Japanese cultural classes and events at its venue and online.
The center serves as a gathering place for individuals who are knowledgeable about, committed to, and influenced by Japanese culture. It enables them to create innovative art through collaboration and disseminate their creations to a global audience.
The founders of RESOBOX believe that by supporting these artists as our instructors and partners, a truly innovative and sophisticated Japanese culture can evolve, resonating with individuals around the world.

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