What is bonsai? | p. 8 |
Why bonsai? | p. 8 |
Bonsai as an art form | p. 10 |
Creating bonsai | p. 10 |
The first attempts | p. 11 |
Cultivating Bonsai | p. 14 |
Situation | p. 14 |
Overwintering | p. 14 |
Watering | p. 15 |
Soil | p. 15 |
Features of different soil types | p. 16 |
Repotting | p. 16 |
Pruning | p. 18 |
Removing large branches | p. 19 |
Feeding | p. 20 |
Chemical fertilisers | p. 20 |
Organic fertilisers | p. 20 |
The properties and effects of plant nutrients | p. 20 |
Trace elements | p. 23 |
The natural rhythm of growth | p. 24 |
Bonsai styles | p. 26 |
Japanese styles | p. 26 |
Broom | p. 26 |
Upright | p. 26 |
Informal upright | p. 26 |
Formal upright | p. 26 |
Twin-trunk | p. 26 |
Multiple-trunk | p. 28 |
Forest planting | p. 28 |
Raft | p. 28 |
Cascade | p. 28 |
Windswept | p. 28 |
Literati | p. 28 |
What makes a good bonsai? | p. 30 |
Containers | p. 30 |
Soil surface | p. 30 |
Root systems | p. 31 |
Grafting roots | p. 31 |
Encouraging root growth | p. 31 |
Air-layering a new root spread | p. 32 |
Selective root pruning | p. 32 |
Trunk | p. 32 |
Branches | p. 34 |
Leaves | p. 35 |
Flowers and fruit | p. 36 |
Shaping techniques | p. 38 |
Pruning | p. 38 |
Wiring | p. 38 |
Anchoring | p. 38 |
Working with dead wood | p. 38 |
Selective fertilising | p. 39 |
Month-by-month care guide | p. 40 |
Starting a bonsai | p. 44 |
From seed | p. 44 |
From nursery stock | p. 46 |
From a wild sapling | p. 47 |
Which trees are suitable for bonsai? | p. 49 |
Deciduous Trees | p. 50 |
Field maple (Acer campestre) | p. 50 |
Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) and Norway maple (Acer platanoides) | p. 52 |
Montpelier maple (Acer monspessulanum) | p. 56 |
Common alder (Alnus glutinosa) and Grey alder (Alnus incana) | p. 58 |
Silver birch (Betula pendula) and Downy birch (Betula pubescens) | p. 62 |
Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) | p. 66 |
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) | p. 70 |
Walnut (Juglans regia) | p. 72 |
Common beech (Fagus sylvatica) | p. 74 |
Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) | p. 78 |
Common crab apple (Malus sylvestris) | p. 82 |
Wild pear (Pyrus pyraster) | p. 86 |
Common oak (Quercus robur) and Durmast oak (Quercus petraea) | p. 88 |
Rowan or Mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia) | p. 92 |
Small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata) | p. 94 |
Smooth-leaved elm (Ulmus carpinifolia) | p. 98 |
Conifers | p. 102 |
Common juniper (Juniperus communis) | p. 102 |
European larch (Larix decidua) | p. 104 |
Norway spruce (Picea abies) | p. 108 |
Arolla pine or Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra) | p. 112 |
Mountain pine (Pinus mugo) | p. 114 |
Austrian pine (Pinus nigra) | p. 116 |
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) | p. 118 |
Yew (Taxus baccata) | p. 120 |
Shrubs | p. 124 |
Arctic birch (Betula nana) | p. 124 |
Hazel (Coryllus avellana) | p. 126 |
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna and Crataegus laevigata) | p. 128 |
Spindle (Euonymus europaeus) | p. 132 |
Blackthorn/Sloe (Prunus spinosa) | p. 136 |
Willow (Salix spp.) | p. 138 |
Index | p. 142 |
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