Indianapolis Zoo’s Hilbert Conservatory hosts bonsai tree exhibit

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Zoo is inviting visitors to see a new botanical exhibit.

People can check out a bonsai tree exhibit. Bonsai is a Japanese art form that dates back thousands of years. People use cultivating techniques to produce small trees that mimic the shape and scale of full-size trees.

Thanks in big part to a partnership with the Indianapolis Bonsai Club, the limited-time exhibit will feature 25 creations of 15 different species and contain trees from all over the world.

“It’s a snapshot of a nature scene that somebody has meticulously curated and detailed into a pot,” said Scott Sullivan, the zoo’s curator of horticulture.

According to zoo officials, bonsai trees have not been displayed in Indianapolis since 2009. Sullivan makes a case for visitors to experience the exhibit for themselves.

“Just showing people something unique that you wouldn’t be able to see anywhere in Indianapolis,” he said.

The exhibit will run though Nov. 30 at the Indianapolis Zoo’s Hilbert Conservatory.