People often ask David Kuntz if he’s a tree hugger.

Seems like a natural question for a man with more than 500 bonsai trees, ranging in height from 3 inches to 7 feet tall.

“I’m not really, but there’s something about sitting in a bonsai garden,” Kuntz said. “It’s the Zen and relaxation.”

Bonsai is the art of miniaturizing trees, though sometimes professional bonsai artists, like Kuntz, go “overboard,” he says, and grow them big.

Artists take raw trees, sometimes bushes, that are 2 feet tall, and make them look like 200-feet-tall trees.

“With our horticultural techniques, you’re making leaves smaller and making branches and putting them in pots with different colors and aesthetics, and then pairing with plant accents,” Kuntz said. “Every tree is different. You get a different feeling from each tree, just like you get a different feeling from trees in nature.”

Kuntz is such a staunch lover of bonsai that he reinvigorated the defunct Pikes Peak Bonsai Society, which was founded in 1996 but fizzled out during the pandemic. This weekend is the group’s first Pikes Peak Bonsai Show, a competitive show he hopes will become an annual event. It’s Saturday and Sunday at Phelan Gardens.

The free bonsai fête will also feature displays, tours of trees, demonstrations and classes, including the art of kusamono, taught by Kuntz. It’s the Japanese art of planting grasses, wildflowers and mosses in containers to reflect the seasons and natural landscapes, and is often displayed alongside bonsai.

Kuntz has Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and the 1984 film “The Karate Kid” to thank for his two addictions: bonsai and karate. They’re the reason he became a martial artist and opened National Karate Academy of Martial Arts School, where he’s taught hundreds of students for 22 years. His bonsai obsession also goes back two decades.

“I do bonsai all day and teach karate all night,” he said.

He’s not exaggerating about doing bonsai all day. It can be a full-time job for someone who has hundreds to tend and nurture. “The bonsais are like children. They need constant attention,” Kuntz said. “There’s a discipline that comes with this art. This is a living thing you’re taking care of. Some look at it as just a tree, but if you value any life, it’s not just a tree. That’s why we learn horticulture. But you also have to be an artist and know symmetry and asymmetry. It’s simple, but if you want to take it to the highest level it can be complicated.”

Anybody can do bonsai, says Kuntz, who often hears from people who are reluctant to pick up the hobby due to a fear of killing trees, much like many fear killing houseplants.

“I say there’s a tree for everyone out there. Don’t be afraid,” Kuntz said. “Come to a class. Killing a tree is the price of an education. It happens to all of us. Don’t give up. When one tree dies, buy two. Before you know it, your skill level is at a point where you feel good about your art. When you can make people feel a certain way because of your art, that is unique.”