Quality bonsai books from 'The Bonsai Site

Anyone serious about bonsai needs a few good bonsai books to help teach them the basics of bonsai, list preferred species for bonsai with their appropriate care, and take them through some of the more important techniques step by step.

Listed below are books to help you get ahead in bonsai, for both beginners and the more advanced enthusiast.

If not for yourself, a book on bonsai is a great gift idea.

Also see books on Suiseki, Japanese Gardening

Books for Beginners

Click here to order "Bonsai - pocket encyclopedia (RD Home Handbooks)"
Harry Tomlinson
Paperback - 216 pages

Review : This is a book for any beginner at bonsai. It contains information on almost every aspect of bonsai; from growing a single tree from seed to creating a landscape arrangement. It also includes a comprehensive full-colour guide to the identification, growing and training of over 75 bonsai trees and shrubs. Easy-to-follow step-by-step sequences show how to create and shape your own bonsai and keep them healthy. The relationship between shape, scale, composition and colour are clearly analyzed and an inspirational selection of mature bonsai illustrates the classic styles. For quite a reasonable price, this book really does cover a lot - going into things many other books would pass over such as how to use bonsai equipment, types of wire and techniques on wiring, how to make jins and shari, leaf defoliation and watering bonsai.

Click here to see this book on Amazon.com

Click here to order "Bonsai Basics : A Step-By-Step Guide to Growing, Training & General Care"
Christian Pessey
Paperback - 120 pages

Review : A simple, straight-forward guide to bonsai that covers the basics in depth looking at things such as selecting a hardy specimen; the essentials of pruning, wiring, and aging; different bonsai styles; keeping your bonsai healthy through watering, feeding, and preventive treatment for pests and diseases. Also included is a calendar with seasonal checklist to remind you what to do and when. With over 200 full-color photos and drawings, this book provides a good base for beginners to start out with this fascinating hobby.

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Click here to order "101 Essential Tips: Bonsai"
Harry Tomlinson
Paperback

Review : Here is a compact resource which is a handy, easy to read source for beginners. It covers tools, wiring, shaping, and very important tips. Short of a much larger book that covers more tree species, you're not going to get much better information. The "Bonsai A-Z" section includes a page (or two) each on many standard bonsai subjects with a picture. For each species (or in some cases, an entire genus is covered, with one species illustrated) info on care is presented in a sidebar. It covers tools, wiring, shaping, and other important tips, but I do recommend to branch out to more advanced books once you have outlived this one.

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Click here to order "Simon and Schuster's Guide to Bonsai"
Gianfranco Giorgi, Victoria Jahn (Editor)
Paperback - 255 pages

Review : This book acts as a guide to identifying your bonsai, with more than 100 full-color photographs of 150 species of trees. A 'must-have' reference for your bonsai library. Almost all well-known bonsai plants are included, with a picture and general care guidelines for all tree types listed.

Click here to see this book on Amazon.com

Books for the intermediate to advanced enthusiast

Click here to order "The Bonsai Handbook"
David Prescott, Colin Lewis (Editor)
Hardcover - 160 pages

Review : This practical, attractive and well-thought-out handbook covers both indoor and outdoor varieties and is full of practical information about cultivation, propagation and pruning. It is a guide both for newcomers to the art as well as bonsai enthusiasts with some knowledge on the subject. The handbook looks at how to start your own bonsai (from seed, or old, advanced stock), keeping your bonsai alive and well, pruning and wiring, and also has a detailed section on bonsai design. All the essential tools and skills needed are described, and a beautiful photographic compendium displays the top 24 species, both outdoor and indoor. Both David Prescott and Colin Lewis are award winning bonsai experts.

Click here to see this book on Amazon.com

Click here to order "Bonsai Survival Manual : Tree by tree guide to buying, maintaining and problem solving"
Colin Lewis
Paperback - 160 pages

Review : From advice on evaluating and selecting plants, to assessing plant health and troubleshooting, the Bonsai Survival Manual provides the comprehensive information every bonsai gardener needs for success. Includes detailed horticultural profiles of 50 popular commercial varieties, with at-a-glance information on their specific requirements. Also includes details on care of suitable species such as maple, bamboo, hornbeam, hackberry, quince, cypress, cotoneaster, cedar, beech, ficus, juniper, myrtle and pine.

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Click here to order "The Bonsai Workshop"
Herb L. Gustafson
Paperback - 128 pages

Review : Gustafson has designed his book for the beginner to intermediate bonsai enthusiast, outlining in straightforward fashion the essentials of the care, creation, and display of these lovely miniature trees. Basic bonsai care changes considerably throughout the four seasons, the author notes, and he offers the necessary seasonal advice by regions. Gustafson stresses the importance of learning how to merely keep a tree alive, no easy task for the beginner. He supplies answers to what he calls 100 basic questions concerning bonsai culture in this book, which contains 402 color and 68 black-and-white illustrations. Gustafson gives a short history of bonsai, along with advice on pruning, potting, training, creating, and displaying them. There's a glossary and a suggested reading list.

Click here to see this book on Amazon.com

Click here to order "Bonsai - The Art of Living Sculpture"
Jack Douthitt, Warren Hill
Hardcover - 144 pages

Review : 'Bonsai - The Art of Living Sculpture' is written by acclaimed bonsai artist and former-president of Bonsai Clubs International, Jack Douthitt. It is a beautiful publication, with breathtaking color pictures of bonsai throughout. Although it is not necessarily a reference book per-say, it is a fantastic book to get inspiration and ideas for future bonsai projects and just to admire the myriad of styles and species that can be used in bonsai. Almost every second page contains a full-page color picture of a breathtaking bonsai specimen, presented beautifully. Adding to the appeal of the book, there are also a lot of progressional photos showing bonsai in different seasons - including a spectacular series showing a crabapple bonsai in all its glory. Much of the text focuses on outlining the principles and philosophy of bonsai as well as discussing basic design concepts. It could almost be said that the book itself is a work of art. Well worth a place in any bonsai enthusiasts book collection. See inside this book: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

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Click here to order "Classic Bonsai of Japan"
John Bester (translator), Hideo Aragaki
Hardcover

Review : Here, at last, is the definitive guide to the beauty of bonsai, the centuries-old gardening form transmitted from China and refined to a high art in Japan. 130 color and 70 black-and-white photos; 40 line drawings. The magnificent photographs in this book, accompanied by indications of the size and ages of the trees shown will astound you. Short of a trip to Japan, or perhaps a bonsai arboretum, this book provides the best means for enhancing your appreciation of the art of bonsai.

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