Meet Bob Mahler, Japanese-Trained Bonsai Artist

Robert “Bob” Mahler discovered his passion for bonsai early in life. By the age of fifteen, Bob was apprenticing under the direction of bonsai artist Chase Rosade of Rosade Bonsai Studios in New Hope, Pennsylvania. From there, he traveled to Tochigi-Ken, Japan, where he would spend the next four years under the exclusive direction of world-renowned bonsai artist Susumo Sudo.

Bob returned to the States in 1993. For the following eleven years, he served as the curator of bonsai at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, New York.

Bob opened Kifu Bonsai in 2017 and continues to consult for horticultural institutions. As president of the Pennsylvania Bonsai Society, he oversees the bonsai exhibit at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s annual Philadelphia Flower Show.

Bob’s personal favorites are Japanese White Pines, Satsuki Azaleas, and Japanese Flowering Apricots. Bob resides in a small farming community north of Philadelphia with his wife Jesseca and their dogs.

Attend a Class or Study Privately

Learn from Bob in an upcoming workshop at Kifu Bonsai. Or, contact Bob for information about private instruction, lectures, and club demos & workshops. On-location services available.

Collection Maintenance

Interested in on-location collection maintenance? Need design assistance or have questions about bonsai health? If it has to do with bonsai, Bob can help.