There are eighteen bonsai clubs meeting regularly around New Zealand. Almost all of them welcome complete beginners, and joining one is far and away the fastest way to improve. You get to put your hands on other people’s trees, borrow tools before you commit to buying them, and have someone experienced tell you honestly what is wrong with your juniper.
Meeting times and venues change, so check with the club before making a trip. If your club is missing, or anything here is out of date, let us know and it will be fixed.
North Island
Eastern Bonsai Club
Auckland
Meets: 6:30pm to 9:30pm, third Thursday of the month (not December)
Where: 47 Aviemore Drive, Highland Park
Hamilton Bonsai Club
Waikato
Meets: 2:00pm, second Sunday of the month
Where: Melville Community Hall, 84 Ohaupo Road, Melville
Bay of Plenty Bonsai Society
Bay of Plenty
Meets: 1:00pm, last Sunday of the month
Where: Legion Frontiersmen Hall, 165 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga
Rotorua Bonsai Club
Rotorua
Meets: 2:00pm, second Sunday of the month
Where: Venue varies, contact the club
Hawke’s Bay Bonsai Society
Hawke’s Bay
Meets: 7:30pm, second Wednesday of the month
Where: Church Hall, 8 Ferry Road, Clive
New Plymouth Bonsai Club
Taranaki
Meets: 1:30pm, last Sunday of the month
Where: Disabled Citizens’ Rooms, 83 Hine Street
Manawatū Bonsai
Manawatū
Meets: 7:00pm, third Tuesday of the month
Where: Community Leisure Centre, 569 Fergusson Street, Palmerston North
Wellington Bonsai Club
Wellington
Meets: 9:30am to 4:00pm, first Sunday of the month (not January)
Where: Hutt Valley Tramping Club rooms, Philip Evans Reserve, Birch Street, Waterloo, Lower Hutt
South Island
Nelson Bonsai Club
Nelson
Meets: 7:30pm, first Monday of the month (not public holidays)
Where: Contact the club for the venue
Blenheim Bonsai Group
Marlborough
Meets: 1:00pm to 3:30pm, second Sunday of the month
Where: Selmes Nursery
Avon Bonsai Society
Canterbury
Meets: 7:00pm, second Monday of the month
Where: The Kiosk, Christchurch Botanic Gardens, Rolleston Avenue
Shiro Bonsai Club
Canterbury
Meets: 4:00pm every Sunday
Where: Kusamono Café, 4/121 Brighton Mall, New Brighton
Bonsai South Canterbury
South Canterbury
Meets: 7:00pm, first Wednesday of the month (not December or January)
Where: Arts Centre, Gleniti Road, Timaru
Otago Bonsai Society
Otago
Meets: 7:30pm, first Tuesday of the month
Where: Mercy Hall, 42 Macandrew Road South, Dunedin
Gore Bonsai Society
Southland
Meets: 1:30pm, third Sunday, February to November (not May or June)
Where: Contact the club for the venue
Club officer names and personal phone numbers are deliberately not published here. Please make contact through each club’s own website or Facebook page, or through the New Zealand Bonsai Association directory.