Bonsai School The Complete Course in Care, Training & Maintenance

by Coussins, Craig

• ISBN13: 9781402735608
• ISBN10: 140273560X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-28
• Publisher: Sterling

Summary

It's big and beautiful, and the only course you need to cultivate bonsais successfully. From the author of the acclaimed Bonsai for Beginners, this comprehensive, easy-to-follow instructional guide covers the basics and way beyond. One step at a time, he helps gardeners develop the necessary skills to create and maintain a beautifully shaped miniature potted tree. Everything imaginable is here, from choosing a suitable plant to wiring, pruning, and aging techniques, and finally expert tips on care. With its impressively large format, pages brimming with photos of dozens of specimens at different stages of growth, and preferred design techniques from world-famous bonsai artists, this is without a doubt the definitive reference on the subject. PRAISE FOR BONSAI FOR BEGINNERS : "A thoroughly illustrated reference that will captivate and educate newcomers to the art...a wealth of personal insights accompanied by illustrations that are refreshing in their clarity and in the depth of the accompanying explanations."Bonsai Online.

Table of Contents

Introduction	6	(6)
Part 1	12	(30)
Getting into bonsai	12	(6)
Who keeps bonsai?	13	(3)
Frequently asked questions	16	(2)
The origins of bonsai	18	(24)
The evolution of bonsai	19	(3)
Buddhism, meditation, and bonsai	22	(4)
Development of bonsai, by Robert J. Baran (United States)	26	(14)
Bonsai in Vietnam	40	(2)
Part 2	42	(83)
Trees suitable for bonsai	42	(27)
Indoor bonsai	42	(6)
Outdoor bonsai	48	(16)
Shelving and placement	64	(5)
Caring for bonsai	69	(33)
Soils for bonsai	69	(5)
Potting and reporting: a seventeen-point checklist	74	(4)
Watering bonsai	78	(3)
Feeding bonsai	81	(3)
Preventing pests and diseases	84	(5)
Seasonal care	89	(13)
Starter material for bonsai	102	(7)
Propagating from seed, by Gary Field	102	(4)
Cuttings and air layers	106	(2)
Seedlings	108	(1)
Nursery material	108	(1)
Bonsai techniques	109	(16)
Wiring techniques	109	(5)
Pruning techniques	114	(2)
A glossary of techniques	116	(1)
Aging techniques	117	(4)
Some popular bonsai styles	121	(4)
Part 3	125	(99)
Styling from nature	126	(14)
Flat-top, mature-typical styling, by Gary Marchal (United States)	126	(8)
Pyracantha crenulata, by Xiaojian Wang (China)	134	(2)
Design elements for an oak (Quercus), by Kevin Baillie (Wales)	136	(4)
Styling from nursery material	140	(14)
Trident maples (Acer buergerianum) and box (Buxus), by Joe Day (United States)	142	(2)
The ground cypress (Juniperus prostrata), by Shangli Bao (China)	144	(3)
Styling a large juniper (Juniperus chinensis), by Patrizia Capellaro (Italy)	147	(2)
Blue cedar (Cedrus atlantica `Glauca'), by John Hanby (England)	149	(3)
Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora), by Robert Langholm (New Zealand)	152	(2)
Styling from collected material	154	(16)
Styling a yew (Taxus), by Craig Coussins (Scotland)	154	(2)
Styling a mountain juniper (Juniperus sabina), by Valerio Gianotti (Italy)	156	(6)
Forest planting styles	162	(2)
Cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia) planting, by Howard and Sylvia Smith (United States)	164	(3)
Styling an English hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), by Tony Tickle (England)	167	(3)
Rock and landscape plantings	170	(19)
Saikei, by Tony and Frank Mihalic (United States)	170	(6)
A rock-embracing Tree of a Thousand Stars, by Linsheng Zhang (China)	176	(3)
Landscape Hon Non Bo, by Lit Van Phan (United States)	179	(3)
Indigenous landscape planting, by Koos Le Roux (South Africa)	182	(4)
Creating a Chinese landscape, by Craig Coussins (Scotland)	186	(3)
Mini bonsai	189	(13)
Shohin figs, by Jessie Edwards (South Africa)	190	(5)
The biggest trees in the world can be shrunk to bonsai and penjing size	195	(7)
Design class	202	(22)
Carving a Juniperus chensis `San Jose', by Michael Persiano (United States)	202	(4)
Styling a Juniperus chinensis `San Jose', by William Valavanis (United States)	206	(6)
Slanting a Juniperus prostrata, by Salvatore Liporace (Italy)	212	(3)
Refining a yew (Taxus), by Craig Coussins (Scotland)	215	(3)
Refining an American larch (Larix laricina), by Reiner Goebel (Canada)	218	(6)
Part 4	224	(27)
Pots, Pots, Pots	224	(16)
A potter's view, by Allan Harriman (England)	230	(4)
Development of penjing pots in China	234	(6)
Tools, by the Joshua Roth company	240	(5)
Suiseki---viewing stones	245	(1)
Unraveling the secret worlds within stone, by Felix Rivera (United States)	246	(5)
A final word	251	(1)
Index and credits	252