The Complete Book of Bonsai | 9781558591189 | By Harry Tomlinson / Foreword by Elvin McDonald, Brooklyn Botanic Garden

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The Complete Book of Bonsai

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Container Styles: The choice of containers includes wide variation in size, shape, and detail. Any specialist bonsai supplier should be able to offer an attractive range of container styles and sizes. Currently, Japanese manufacturers dominate the world-wide market for good-quality mass-produced and handmade bonsai pots, with potteries in the Tokoname region holding the major market share. It is a relatively recent development that bonsai pots of equal quality have become available from ceramicists in western countries. There is still little scope for mass-produced containers in the west, because the home markets are as yet relatively small, but there are now many designers in countries around the world who are producing interesting handmade bonsai pots and gaining a wide reputation for their products. This ”catalogue” of bonsai pots illustrates a general selection from the range of containers that should be readily available. Many of the styles can be obtained in several sizes and are suited to variations of bonsai style and tree species.

Flowering Cherry: The wild cherries of the Far East have been cultivated and hybridized for generations in Japan, to such an extent that there now exist hundreds of flowering cherries with a single, semi-double or double blossoms, from white through shades of pink to deep red-pink. The exact origins of these hybrids are not always clear, but they are among the loveliest flowering trees in cultivation. The problem is that all the beauty is expended within only one or two weeks in spring, and thereafter the trees appear relatively uninspiring, although there is some interest in the autumn foliage color. Typically, the twigs and leaves of flowering cherries are too coarse to give a refined image in bonsai. An exception to this is Prunus subhirtella Autumnalis, which has delicate twigs, small leaves that color well in autumn, and flushes of white or pale pink, semi-double flowers appearing on bare wood throughout the winter whenever there is a frost-free period. Of the larger hybrids, some are well worth growing, despite their coarseness, for the brief glory of the flowers. One of the most reliable is P.serrulata Kanzan, bearing large double, dark pink flowers that usually conceal the branches completely.

Winter Color: Few trees flower in winter, but Prunus mume is a welcome exception late in the season, especially this colorful cultivar (below) bearing a combination of flower colors in a single plant. The deep red flowers of another cultivar of the same species (above) are as fragrant as they are decorative.

Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum): The Japanese Maple, also native to China and Korea, is one of the classic bonsai subjects. It is an elegant tree which responds well to bonsai cultivation and is extremely rewarding in the range of its attractions--the graceful branch structure, the delicate shape of the five-lobed leaves and the seasonal variation of foliage color. In older specimens, the bark develops beautiful silver coloring. This species has been cultivated in Japan for centuries and there are now over 250 cultivars.

Position: There are three main elements to consider when you decide how to position bonsai. Your choice of location should provide the best conditions for the healthy growth of the trees, with regard to sun or shade, humidity levels, and local climate. It should also allow you a good viewpoint--although you may not be cultivating bonsai for formal display, you should be able to appreciate them fully as you water and groom them day to day. It naturally follows that you also need to choose the best position for working with the bonsai.

The Complete Book of Bonsai
A Practical Guide to Its Art and Cultivation

By Harry Tomlinson / Foreword by Elvin McDonald, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Size: 9 x 11"
Cloth, 224 pages
700 full-color illustrations
Published 1991
ISBN: 978-1-55859-118-9
Out of Stock
Due in: 10/1/2010
$39.95

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Presenting a unique blend of information and ideas, The Complete Book of Bonsai is the most lavish and up-to-date guide to the subject yet published. Harry Tomlinson is an internationally recognized authority on bonsai, and here brings this absorbing discipline within everybodys reach.

"This is the most thorough, lavishly... illustrated book any bonsai enthusiast could wish for, written with clarity and inspiration by one of Europes leading experienced authorities." -- Choice

"The authors passion for his subject is communicated on every page." -- Elle Decor

"The photographs alone are worth the purchase price." -- The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee

CLASSIC STYLES EXPLAINED

The origins and development of bonsai are traced, and the underlying principles of this fascinating art clearly explained. The classic styles are listed and illustrated, together with full descriptions of how they were derived from models in the world. Outstanding examples of plantings in all of the various styles are shown. The types of containers are detailed, and the importance of their use for different trees or styles explained. Advice is given on placing and exhibiting your completed bonsai.

CLEAR STEP-BY-STEP SEQUENCES

There is comprehensive information on how to create a bonsai from a seedling, cutting, or garden center plant. Clear step-by-step sequences take you from the initial raw material through to the finished bonsai, showing the superb results that can be achieved. All the tools and techniques of bonsai are illustrated and explained, and their use described in detail. Maintenance and propagation sections tell you everything you need to know to keep your bonsai beautiful and healthy, or to create your own trees.

DETAILS OF MORE THAN 100 SPECIES

A photographic catalogue of bonsai trees and shrubs lies at the heart of the book, providing the cultivation and styling details of over 100 different species. Each entry is accompanied by an original full-color photograph of at least one outstanding specimen. This section is supplemented by a further compendium of trees and shrubs that can be grown as bonsai, giving a total of over 300 to choose from.

The Complete Book of Bonsai reveals every aspect of the art, with inspirational ideas and practical advice at every turn. Whether you are a beginner who would like to grow just one or two trees, or an experienced enthusiast who wishes to build up a whole collection, it is the essential reference work.

Harry Tomlinson is one of Europes leading bonsai artists and instructors. He has been both studying and practicing the principles of bonsai for almost thirty years, and is an internationally recognized authority on the subject. He has exhibited bonsai and gained awards in Britain and Japan, and has judged the bonsai section at Britains world-famous Chelsea Flower Show. For the past thirteen years the author has been a professional bonsai artist with his own studio, and is a leading bonsai nurseryman. Greenwood Bonsai Studio, which he runs with his wife Christine, is the largest and most complete bonsai nursery in Britain.

Elvin McDonald, who wrote the Foreword, is Director of Special Projects at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

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