Iowa Bonsai Association

Category: Clubs Also called: IBA; Iowa Bonsai; Greater Des Moines Bonsai Association (former name); Iowa Bonsai Association (Des Moines, IA); iabonsai.org Last checked: 2026-10-09

What it is

The Iowa Bonsai Association (IBA) is a non-profit bonsai club for Iowa, based in Des Moines. Its home and Membership pages say it was founded in 1979 “to promote appreciation and development of bonsai.” It meets on the third Saturday of each month (except December), 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, 909 Robert D. Ray Drive, Des Moines. The Membership page says you “may come and go as your time permits and work on trees or just socialize and observe,” and that visitors are always welcome. Dues are $25 a year for an individual and $35 for a household. It is not a commercial nursery and not a botanic-garden tuition class series.

Who it’s for

Central Iowa bonsai growers at every level. That includes beginners who want hands-on help with their first trees at an open Saturday work session, intermediate growers who want visiting-artist workshops and collecting trips, and experienced members who want to show trees at the Iowa State Fair and the fall show at Reiman Gardens in Ames. People who want only a one-off ticketed class with no membership should look at Learning listings instead.

Why it’s listed

This is a first-party club site. It prints a founding year, a standing meeting rule with venue and hours, public dollar dues with online join buttons, a dated fall 2026 calendar, a named board of directors and a monthly 2026 newsletter archive. It is not a Facebook-only club and not a scraped directory card.

Club identity (Home, About Us and Membership pages, checked 2026-10-09): founded 1979; a non-profit organization “dedicated to developing horticultural skills, artistic skills, and friendship for the people of Iowa.” Meetings, special events and workshops are open to members and non-members. IBA is a member of the Mid-America Bonsai Alliance (MABA), the American Bonsai Society (ABS), Bonsai Clubs International (BCI) and the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden.
Membership / fees (Membership page): Individual $25/year and Household $35/year, new or renewal, paid online. The About Us page also lists a $100 vendor membership. Benefits listed include monthly meetings with programs, workshops, bonsai shows and collecting trips, access to bonsai material, visiting-artist demonstrations and workshops, the monthly IBA newsletter, and discounts at local merchants and web vendors.
Meeting format (About Us page): a short program in which all members may join the discussion, followed by hands-on work; participants are encouraged to bring trees for help with care and styling. Open board meetings are held quarterly starting in January.
Fall 2026 calendar (Calendar page, checked today):
- Saturday, October 17, 2026, 9:00 AM: IBA Monthly Meeting / Open Discussion, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden; topic winter care.
- Saturday, November 21, 2026, 9:00 AM: IBA Monthly Meeting / Open Discussion, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden; annual auction of donations.
- No December meeting (the club skips December).
Programs and shows (About Us and Exhibits pages): once or twice a year the club sponsors visiting artists (recent names listed: Michael Hagedorn, Andy Smith and Gary Woods), plus internal workshops; members also teach workshops for the Botanical Garden. The club holds a spring show at the Des Moines Botanical Center, a fall show at Iowa State University’s Reiman Gardens in Ames (first October weekend without a home football game) and manages the judged bonsai show at the Iowa State Fair in August. Awards are given at an annual November Awards Banquet.
Public collection: members maintain the Hirsch/Landany Bonsai Collection at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, which the About Us page calls “the only public bonsai exhibit in Iowa.” A club bonsai library is kept at the Botanical Garden’s public library.
Recent activity: monthly 2026 newsletters are posted for April through September (the September 2026 issue is dated September 3, 2026).

Meeting times, fees and event dates above are what the official pages showed on the check date. They can change. Confirm on the live Calendar page before joining or traveling.

Official URL

https://iabonsai.org/

About Us (non-profit, meetings, programs, history): https://iabonsai.org/about-us/
Membership ($25 individual, $35 household): https://iabonsai.org/about-us/membership/
Calendar (Oct 17 and Nov 21, 2026): https://iabonsai.org/calendar/
Oct 17, 2026 monthly meeting (winter care): https://iabonsai.org/calendar/?event_id=40
Board of Directors (contacts): https://iabonsai.org/about-us/board-of-directors/
Exhibits & Competitions: https://iabonsai.org/competition/
September 2026 newsletter: https://iabonsai.org/september-2026-iba-newsletter/

Location

Region: Des Moines and the rest of Iowa.
Meeting venue: Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, 909 Robert D. Ray Drive, Des Moines, Iowa, third Saturday of each month except December, 9:00 AM–1:00 PM.
Contact: the site’s Contact link goes to the Board of Directors page, which lists President Scott Allen (515-480-4437), Vice President Ron Heinen, Treasurer Tim Peterson, Secretary Sara Niemand and board members Jared Wall, Jeff Hagan, David Lowman and Susan Daufeldt (newsletter). No club mailing address is printed.

This is a club meeting identity. It is not a retail nursery showroom and not a botanic-garden tuition desk.

Notes

Category is Clubs. IBA is a member-run non-profit with public dues, a standing monthly meeting and a dated calendar. The workshops its members teach for the Botanical Garden are a separate Learning-type offering and do not move this card.
Founding year differs by page: the home and Membership pages say 1979. The History section on the About Us page says Des Moines-area residents formed the Greater Des Moines Bonsai Association (now IBA) in 1980, with officers named in 1981. This card follows the 1979 date the club prints on its home page and flags the difference.
Dated history text: the History section was last revised in 2013 and still names David Richmond as president. The current Board of Directors page lists Scott Allen as president. The card follows the board page. The History section also describes an Eastern Iowa satellite group in Cedar Rapids; this card does not cite its meeting details because they come only from that older text.
Vendor tier: the About Us page lists a $100 vendor membership, but the Membership page’s join buttons show only the $25 and $35 tiers.
The full September 2026 newsletter opens on Mailchimp; only the excerpt on iabonsai.org is cited here.
The calendar also points to the club’s Facebook events page for more information. That page was not used.
The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden’s own “Bonsai for Beginners” class (taught with IBA) remains a held Learning alternate because its 2026 runs are past. This card is the club, not that class.
Geographic spread: Des Moines IA is the plaza’s first Iowa listing and a new metro. It is away from Thu Louisville KY, Wed Atlanta GA, Tue Hales Corners WI, Mon Indianapolis IN, Fri Sarasota FL, Thu Cleveland OH, Wed Sep 30 Ann Arbor MI, Tue Sep 29 Nashville TN and Mon Sep 28 St. Louis MO club geos.
Listing image: first-party IBA logo saved beside this file as iowa-bonsai-association-logo.png (the site header logo, iabonsai.org/wp-content/uploads/iabonsai-logo.png, 1016×342).
Not affiliated with Bonsai Plaza.
No Bonsai Plaza contact, purchase, booking, or publication action was taken.

FAQ

Q: When and where does the Iowa Bonsai Association meet?
A: The Membership page (checked 2026-10-09) says IBA meets on the third Saturday of each month except December, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, 909 Robert D. Ray Drive, Des Moines. The calendar lists the next meetings on Saturday, October 17, 2026 (winter care) and Saturday, November 21, 2026 (annual auction of donations).

Q: How much does membership cost?
A: The Membership page lists $25 per year for an individual and $35 per year for a household, new or renewal, payable online. The About Us page also mentions a $100 vendor membership.

Q: Can I visit before joining?
A: Yes. The Membership page says “Visitors are always welcome!” and the About Us page says meetings, special events and workshops are open to members and non-members. You can come and go during the 9 AM–1 PM session.

Q: What happens at a meeting?
A: The About Us page says meetings open with a short program that everyone can join, followed by hands-on work. Members are encouraged to bring trees for help with care and styling.

Q: Does the club show its trees in public?
A: Yes. The Exhibits page lists a spring show at the Des Moines Botanical Center, a fall show at Reiman Gardens in Ames and the judged show at the Iowa State Fair in August. Members also maintain the Hirsch/Landany Bonsai Collection at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden.