Bonsai Master Class

The art of Bonsai originated in China over 1,000 years ago and has been pursued and developed ever since. Bonsai specimens are ordinary trees and shrubs, crafted by a system of pruning roots and branches and training branches by tying with wire. A single bonsai may only be a foot tall, but looks identical to a full-grown tree. This book is essential to anyone wishing to pursue the ancient art, with invaluable advice to ensure the trees are kept alive and healthy. Bonsai outlines the constant and proper care that will allow the bonsai to blend with its container in a natural and aesthetically pleasing manner. Everything from watering to wiring, placement to pruning, and specialist advice on individual species such as maples and pines is fully explained. Learn about this special oriental art from an acknowledged expert and discover just what makes it such a rewarding hobby.

Join the contemporary artists around the world who are refining and developing the ancient art of bonsai. Find out about state-of-the-art tools invented by Ken Moore. See how Rob Clausen uses latex and fiberglass to create dramatic groupings of trees on a rock base. Explore the breakthrough methods of Singapore’s bonsai masters, with inspiring examples of the results. Covering both basic and advanced techniques and illustrated with step-by-step photographs taken over months, Bonsai Master Class is designed to guide the reader on an artistic journey. It provides expert tips throughout on buying bonsai, seasonal care, horticultural requirements for different climates, and distinctive ways to display the results.

For everyone from beginners to masters, the one essential book to growing, grooming, and caring for your bonsai tree. Bonsai is the ancient craft of carefully regulating the growth and shape of trees in order to produce miniature versions of mature trees. Dating back over one thousand years to ancient Japan, bonsai trees are some of the most beautiful and meticulously looked-after plants in the world, and in recent years bonsai have exploded in popularity in the Western world. Bonsai, written by world-renowned bonsai expert Peter Chan, is the essential compendium for anyone interested in trying out bonsai for the first time or adding more bonsai to their existing collections, detailing everything you need to know about buying and maintaining a magnificent bonsai tree, including: How to pick the right bonsai for you Tools and supplies to ensure your bonsai prospers How to shape your bonsai into different styles How different pots affect the growth of your bonsai And much more! With hundreds of color photographs and easy-to-read directions and explanations on a variety of subjects, Bonsai is the only book you’ll ever need to successfully start and maintain your own beautiful bonsai tree collection.

Take a master class by one of the world's greatest living bonsai masters! Kunio Kobayashi is one the world's most recognized bonsai artists. In this comprehensive book, he presents all the essential techniques needed to plant and maintain the most popular types of bonsai—from pines, cypress and cedar to flowering trees and other beloved varieties, including grasses. Bonsai Master Class is a book for new fans and longtime aficionados alike, showing you how, with the help of human hands, a bonsai tree can evolve and thrive over centuries. This book provides you with all the vital information you need, including: A thorough explanation of the basic bonsai types and styles, and their characteristics Guidance in the art of selecting the right plants, pots and spaces to display your bonsai Tips on getting started including purchasing the plants, assembling the necessary tools and choosing the soils Advice and techniques for planting, repotting, watering, pruning, shaping, wiring and protecting your plants, including a seasonal schedule of tasks for each type of bonsai Detailed lessons for specific bonsai varieties like Japanese cypress, red pine, maple, zelkova, sakura and more! You'll be inspired by Kobayashi's award-winning bonsai ranging from classic types to out-of-the-box originals, showing how this art form is as individual as it is traditional. His book will become your bible as you nurture and cultivate your skills and knowledge of these venerable plants.

In this luxurious cloth bound hardcover with glossy slipcase, renowned botanical photographer Jonathan Singer presents his breathtaking images of the world's most notable bonsai. In Fine Bonsai: Art & Nature, the finest extant achievements in the art of bonsai are seen together for the first time, through the lens of renowned botanical photographer Jonathan Singer. This magnificent volume is the result of an extensive photographic campaign, in the course of which Singer was granted unprecedented access to the most respected public and private collections in Japan and the United States, including the mecca of bonsai, the Omiya Bonsai Village of Saitama, Japan, where photography is normally prohibited. Three hundred stunning full-page images and four lavish gatefolds present bonsai of all types, from quiet representations of nature to bold sculptural forms. The horticultural and aesthetic characteristics of each bonsai are concisely and authoritatively described in the narrative captions by William Valavanis, head of the International Bonsai Arboretum in Rochester, New York. And because the container is considered an integral part of any bonsai—indeed, the literal meaning of “bonsai” is “tray plant”—the book also includes some twenty-five photographs of traditional bonsai containers, with descriptions. A further sequence of twenty-five photographs is devoted to the related art of suiseki, or miniature stone landscapes displayed in the same manner, and often alongside, bonsai. With his groundbreaking first book, Botanica Magnifica, Jonathan Singer established a new style of botanical photography, characterized by an exceptional clarity of detail and richness of color, as well as a painterly chiaroscuro. These qualities are just as evident in the present volume; Singer photographs each bonsai with an artist’s—one might even say a portraitist’s—eye. Whereas most books on bonsai aim to instruct readers on techniques of care and cultivation, Singer’s book takes the reader on a visual journey. His images encompass many different species, from azalea to red maple, as well as a variety of blossoms and fruits. Alluring and serene, Singer's photographs make the experience of leafing through Bonsai not unlike entering a real Japanese garden. Fine Bonsai: Art & Nature not only documents the masterpieces of an ancient horticultural art, but is a masterpiece in itself. A portion of the proceeds of this book will benefit the Japanese Red Cross.

Go beneath the soil with this hand-drawn guide! This book is sure to become your go-to reference for all things bonsai. Beautifully illustrated with details and views a camera simply can't show, Introduction to Bonsai offers a unique and insightful look at these mini ecosystems. This complete guide contains all the information you need to create and maintain your own bonsai: Handy monthly bonsai maintenance schedules detail proper watering, pruning, wiring, transplanting and other upkeep activities throughout the year Leaves, fruits, flowers, and processes are presented up-close to help make growing and upkeep as successful and simple as possible Diagrams show where, how much, and in what direction pruning, wiring, watering and other maintenance should be performed Clear, detailed illustrations of every part of the bonsai ensure that you'll see everything you need to see, exactly as you need to see it--making this a great resource for collectors and enthusiasts at all levels Learn the specific ways to care for more than 40 types of popular bonsai trees, including: Flowering Bonsai--cherry blossom, dogwood, azalea and lilac Fruiting Bonsai--crab apple, persimmon, Chinese quince and burning bush Coniferous and Deciduous Bonsai--maple, Japanese beech, black pine and salt cedar Prepared by the editors of Japan's popular Bonsai Sekai (Bonsai World) magazine,this handbook is designed to make care and maintenance easy for bonsai beginners--from seeds to root systems and from basic watering to your first transplant.

Learn the ins and outs of proper bonsai design and care with this comprehensive Japanese gardening book. Japanese bonsai have long been admired throughout the world while their care and preservation have seemed shrouded in mystery. The Art of Bonsai is, however, a comparatively simple art to learn. Anyone with a love a plants, a little patience and this eminently practical book can create bonsai and keep a finished plant healthy and vigorous for generations. Included in this definitive volume are: Detailed, illustrated instructions on propagation and training Hints for those growing bonsai in a hurry and apartment dwellers Daily and seasonal bonsai care practices Dealing with pests and bonsai troubleshooting How to judge, select and exhibit bonsai Detailed appendices on tools, equipment, soil analyses Data on more than 300 species of plants used in making bonsai This classic work remains an eminently practical book and is the classic guide to bonsai care. It contains the essentials of an art that is one of Japan's most treasured traditions—sculpting beauty in living wood.