Getting it right the first time
Growing bonsai takes time and attention to detail. At Palude bonsai studio, I mostly grow bonsai locally, from seed, cuttings, air-layering and nursery material. At an early stage I want to set a good structure for the future development of the tree as a bonsai.
Setting the stage for you to create beautiful bonsai right from the start.
starting from humble beginnings
I started growing bonsai in 2007, when I was 14 years old. Back then I barely knew what I was doing, which resulted in - you guessed it - a lot of dead trees. I quit the hobby after about 3 years, but my fascination for these small trees never subsided.
Around 2016, I started growing bonsai again. A couple of years older and wiser, I had more success in my endeavours in keeping my trees alive, and eventually they started thriving. I took to reading books on bonsai, learning online and going to exhibitions and workshops. Bonsai became my passion - again - and it's because of this passion I created this website.
In May '24 I competed in the Belgian New Bonsai Talent contest and won. In '25 I will go the European finals of the same contest, and hopefully I can defend my title there as well!
In the Spring of '25, I will also travel to Japan for some time to study at the nursery of Bonsai master Hiramatsu Koji.
Grown locally
The goal of this website is to share some of the things I've learned along the way, and things I'm still figuring out. Hopefully, I can inspire you in some way and vice versa. Bonsai is a collective and living art form, perfected by many people over the course of decades.
I treat every tree - even the smallest one - as a potential masterpiece. By using traditional techniques, I want to make sure that my trees start their lives as bonsai with the best features possible. When you propagate trees from seed, cuttings or layerings, you can enjoy this art form without spending a ton of money. The key is to make a good start.
In the webshop you can buy starters trees that I've grown myself. By offering locally sourced pre-bonsai with great potential, I want to make this living art form accessible to a broad audience.
