Curator Workshop with Pedro Morales
Authored by George Haas
On August 25, 2026, at the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt (BGLM) a special workshop for Curator team was held with professional, tropical bonsai expert Pedro Morales of Puerto Rico. Pedro is one of the most influential tropical bonsai masters in the world, known especially for his work in Puerto Rico and across Latin America. Born 1961 in Chicago, he is a Puerto Rican bonsai artist, teacher, exhibitor, and founder of Futago Bonsai, one of the most important tropical bonsai schools in Latin America. His work is widely recognized for elevating tropical species to world class bonsai standards.
Futago Bonsai is a bonsai school (“Jyuku”) and nursery founded by Pedro in 1993, dedicated to developing and teaching techniques for tropical species. It has become a regional hub for bonsai culture in Puerto Rico and Latin America. Futago Bonsai Juyku is a renowned bonsai school and nursery in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. It is widely regarded as one of the most important bonsai schools in Latin America and has even opened chapters in other countries.
Pedro was greeted by Suzanne Muller, Director of BGLM, and BGLM Curator Gordon Deeg at the start of the workshop. About a dozen Curator team volunteers, who care for and maintain the bonsai collection at BGLM, were present. Many brought their personal tropical bonsai trees to the workshop for evaluation and subsequent development.
Pedro immediately began collaborating with individuals and their tropical bonsai. Most of the trees required full defoliation first before any work on development could start. Pedro then provided instructions on removing unwanted branches, shaping the trees, and wiring the branches. Pot sizes were discussed and he recommended adjusting the conventional one inch around the trunk to two inches or more for tropical bonsai. Before and after photographs of the work were recommended.
After lunch, Pedro turned his attention to BGLM Item #387, a large Bougainvillea that had not been repotted since 2019 nor fully defoliated before. Working together, the volunteers quickly removed all of its leaves. Pedro then took over the steps of styling the tree. He wanted to create a more rounded apex, a soft natural look. Then moved to refine the branches, creating improved ramification. He wanted to extend lateral branches, to enhance width, balance, and age. By wiring, Pedro cleared spaces between branches, adding negative spaces to create depth, allow light to the interior, and highlight the trunk and overall structure. And finally, expose more of the strong trunk features. As the foliage grows, it will create a refined silhouette with clear spaces, extended branches, and smooth, rounded apex.
