Bonsai Secrets

Provides insider secrets to maintaining bonsai.

Provides detailed information about growing bonsai from seedlings or beginner plants and advice on shaping, pruning, training, grafting and re-potting trees. This book shows gardeners how to improvise with any readily-accessible bonsai tools, as well as gardening or even simple workshop tools. Japan's leading bonsai experts offer not only the basics for creating perfect bonsai, but also secret techniques the family has developed over generations of careful work and observation.

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.

This book tells the awe-inspiring stories of bonsai and penjing trees in the collection of the National Arboretum in Washington D.C. It details their valuable role in international diplomacy and as instruments of American presidential influence. It also describes their inclusion in world's fair exhibitions, in Asian-inspired gardens around the country, and as a window onto the extensive cultivation of bonsai in North America today. An extensive first-hand account by Dr. John L. Creech is included about the first extraordinary gift of 53 bonsai from Japan to the U.S. in 1976 which prompted the founding of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. Bonsai & Penjing, Ambassadors of Beauty and Peace describes how Chinese penjing and North American bonsai were later added to the Museum, making its collection the most comprehensive in the world. Stories of individual trees and forest plantings are featured, as are the roles played by the skilled and talented creators of these living art forms—people such as John Naka, Saburo Kato, Yuji Yoshimura, Harry Hirao, and Dr. Yee-Sun Wu. Armchair travelers can experience what a visit to the Museum is like, including the discovery of its remarkable viewing stones. Bonsai & Penjing, Ambassadors of Beauty and Peace will delight anyone intrigued by these living works of art and curious about the stories they bring to life.

1,519 All-Natural, All-Amazing Gardening Secrets is filled with old-time wisdom, ingenious advice, surprising tips and expert tricks for the garden of your dreams. With less time, money and effort you can create a beautiful garden. We’ll show you how plan and design your garden, choose which plants are best for your climate zone, and maintain your dream garden. Here are just a few of the secrets you’ll find in this book: Want greener grass? Add some Epsom salts to a gallon of water and spread it on your lawn. Hoping for juicier tomatoes? Add a spoonful of sugar at just the right time. Trying to keep ants at bay? Make a hot chile and water mash and pour directly into the anthill. • COMPREHENSIVE AND HARDWORKING: This practical guide is loaded with solid hints, informative tips, surprising fixes and ingenious advice to grow the garden and lawn of your dreams. Covering everything from garden planning to design, understanding the zones, annual flowers and perennials, container plants and landscaping shrubs, vegetables, fruits and herbs, lawn care basics and repair, weeds and pests control, soil improvements, garden structures, and so much more. • ALL NATURAL SOLUTIONS: Simple solutions to common garden problems can often be found in your kitchen cabinets or recycling bins. From spritzing slugs with leftover coffee to capturing pesky flies and yellow jackets with simple soda bottle traps, this book brings together hundreds old tried and true ways to grow a better garden naturally without resorting to costly and harmful chemicals.

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.

Unlike their larger relatives, these palm-size trees can be potted, shaped, and pruned in only an hour or two, are easy to manage, and require little space. “A guide for the novice that explains the preparation, watering, weeding and seasonal care of bonsai as well as which pests and diseases may affect the plants....A list of 200 plants presents specifics.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer.