CITY ARTS : A Bonsai Bonus

Come by the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo this weekend and learn how to decorate and shape your own bonsai tree.

Members of the Ai Fu Kai Bonsai Club will offer workshops Saturday and June 5 on the traditional Japanese art form.

The first 40 visitors at each session will receive a one-gallon-size bonsai--which translated means “tray or platter plant,” museum officials said.

To keep the tree’s height at an average of three feet, growers often prune its roots and trim its leaves, watering only small amounts daily, said Chris Komai, museum spokesman. “What you (will eventually) have are trees that are 100 years old that are no taller than 3 feet,” Komai said. “They are truly miniature trees.”

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Bonsai workshops, Japanese American National Museum, 369 E. 1st St., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and June 5, followed by one-hour advanced bonsai seminars; free to museum members, $4 for non-members; (213) 625-0414.