BISC Launch and Intensives Expanded (read to sign up)

I’m excited to announce the launch of BISC and offerings for a full seasonal intensive structure starting the 2027 calendar year. These intensives will be at the highest level, and with the greatest clarity available in the Southern California region. 

I have extensive experience, both from my time spent as an apprentice at Fujikawa Kouka-en and further refined as a full service bonsai professional the last 5 years in the US. What I offer is not shallow posturing or a guise of mastery, but a holistic body of knowledge grounded in real-world experience and delivered through a precise teaching methodology. 

Almost every client, public collection, and bonsai organization can attest and vouch for me, in my ability to accurately convey knowledge and to facilitate deeper comprehension. My teaching ability is something that I have highly refined over rigorous experience since my apprenticeship days. The bottom of this article will discuss broader intensive goals, but the hard structure will be as follows:

Structure

BISC will follow a quarterly intensive structure and meetings (free only to participants), to tackle seasonal work. The intensive structure will accommodate 5 people per group max, to ensure maximum time value for the participant. Each session will combine a mix of technical white board discussions, live tree case studies, and demonstration and assistance with each participant’s tree. Work will be explained on a horticultural, technical, aesthetic, and philosophical level for deeper understanding. It is recommended that you participate in all 4 quarters to get the most value out of this program. It is BYOT format, but I will have a limited number of my personal trees I will use for educational purposes. 

Each intensive session is for 1 day, but I have 3 available blocks per quarterly work period.

Winter Quarter:

Repotting strategies, pre-season cut and balancing work, grafting, wire work, branch building methodologies.

BISC I – January 23rd

BISC II – January 24th

BISC III – February 24th

First meeting – BISC Q1 March 7th

Spring/Early Summer Quarter:

Developmental deciduous/broadleaf branch and leaf technique, branch building methodologies, advanced pine management strategies, tropical trees, juniper foliage management (as applicable) 

BISC I – June 5th

BISC II – June 12th

BISC III – June 13th 

Second Meeting – BISC Q2 May 22nd

Late Summer Quarter:

More juniper and conifer focused–wiring technique intensive, refinement vs structural wiring, establishing coniferous structure, broadleaf and tropical work still ok 

BISC I – September 18th

BISC II – September 19th

BISC III – October 9th 

Third Meeting – BISC Q3 August 14th 

Fall Quarter:

Revisiting all temperate deciduous and broadleaf material–fall balancing and cuts, fall pine work, juniper foliage management, revisiting technical wire work

BISC I – December 11th

BISC II – December 12th 

BISC III – weekday slot pending

Fourth Meeting – BISC Q4 November 14th 

Cost

Intensives will run from 8 AM – 5 PM. The cost is $225 per participant and lunch is provided. To reserve your slot I will require a 50% deposit per class or you can pay in full. Otherwise, it is a first come first serve basis.

Contact me at julian.tsai96@gmail.com to secure your position.

Location

Current garden location is in Arcadia (LA County, meeting location TBD). Intensive site may update later in 2027, but similar region.

Goals

The goal of BISC is 3 fold. 

1. First is to start cultivating a body of students and practitioners with a deeper understanding of bonsai. My intention is not to create iterations of what my teacher/master said, but for you individually to assign value and understand yourself. BISC will structure clear intentionality where your efforts are aligned with your desired goals. 
2. Second is to start further developing a body of great bonsai in the Southern California community. This is not to say that there isn’t great material already existing, but it is just to deepen that pool and help bring trees to their full potential. I stipulate a soft requirement here, where I would like participants trees to be exhibited. 
3. Thirdly is the cultivation of the bonsai ethos and philosophy. Creating bonsai of course is the primary goal, but in parallel we are cultivating ourselves as individuals. In the participation of BISC, I hope to foster a group with respect for one another, appreciation for the subtleties and philosophy of bonsai, and to share that sentiment in good faith. It’s both from our love of nature and of fellow humans that bonsai has an intersection and can become extraordinarily beautiful. 

Please contact me at julian.tsai96@gmail.com for any questions. Thank you again