Indoor Bonsai for Beginners: Selection - Care - Training

by Werner M Busch

Book Overview

Creating beautiful, healthy bonsai is a wonderful skill that anyone can learn, with a little time, patience, and this all-inclusive manual With color photos and drawings to illustrate the points, it introduces all the cultivation techniques; offers expert advice on location, soil types, watering, and pest control; and provides intricate instruction on training the bonsai--including pruning, wiring and stretching it. An A-to-Z guide of all the popular...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1844033503
• ISBN13: 9781844033508
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Cassell
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.7" x 9.4"
• Grade Range: Preschool to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

For beginners

I just bought my wife her first bonsai and bought this book to help. She has been reading the book- following the directions in the book - buying the recommended items - and the bonsai is doing well. Maybe I should wait 6 months or a year to do this review but at the beginning it is looking like the book is helpful

INDOOR BONSAI FOR BEGINNERS

This is an excellent step by step book for the absolute beginner of either a "gift" bonsai or a gardner wanting to learn and play. I followed the instructions given and my birthday gift is doing beautifully, three months later. Originally I checked out about six books on bonsais from the library to find the most helpful before I bought; this book covered everything I needed.

Not many books on indoor bonsai!

The first part of this book is general information and it is written for indoor bonsais. The pictures of the bonsais are of smaller trees, not the large bonsai trees that you see in many books. These are trees that the average person can have in their home. I think that indoor bonsais are smaller than outdoor bonsais. The author says much of the fascination of this hobby is derived from the experience of watching a plant grow. So the first section he describes in detail how to grow a bonsai from the very beginning. An indoor bonsai does not mean that it lives indoors all year. All bonsais grow better if they are outside as long as your area will permit. An indoor bonsai is one that can live in the house during the winter without a dramatic set back. Outdoor bonsais on the other hand must spend the winter out doors. If you try to keep them in the house for the winter they will eventually die. Most bonsai books include many of the indoor bonsais, but they don't label them as indoor bonsais and they don't tell you how to keep them thriving in the house for the winter. The second section is the "A-Z of Indoor Bonsai Species". There are 45 indoor bonsais in this book. Each bonsai has a brief description of the tree or shrub. Position, Soil, Watering, Feeding, Training, Acquiring a plant, and Pest are described for each bonsai. It ends with any particular features that make it suitable for training as a bonsai. There is a picture for each bonsai described. The name and age of the bonsai are under each picture. There are not many books that are devoted to indoor bonsais. The section on each species gives you good information. There is more information in this book than you will often find in a larger book. It's a good book for indoor bonsais. This book is not only for beginners it is for anyone who wants to learn more about how to care for indoor bonsai.

This book is my Bonsai trees' best friend.

I would recommend this book to every first time bonsai owner. I'm sure that if my current trees could speak, they would thank me for reading this book prior to making my bonsai selection. My first bonsai tree did not fair so well. It appears I did everything wrong the first time around. First I selected an out door tree for an indoor garden. I did not know when to trim the tree or how to fertilize. I thought all bonsai needed the same care guidelines. I was very wrong and the tree died. I love the section on individual tree care. Now when I find a bonsai that I love, I just pull out my copy of Indoor Bonsai for Beginners: Selection, Care, Training, and find out if the tree will thrive in the location I have available. If not, I do the tree a favor and leave it for someone who has the proper location.Thanks to this book I know which trees will fair well in an office window with only the morning sun. I know to have a drip tray, sprayer and other supplies waiting for the trees to arrive. I know to find out when the bonsai was last transplanted and fertilized. This book is definitely my Bonsai Trees' best friend and a MUST READ for anyone thinking about owning a bonsai. Just do your tree a favor and read it before you make your tree selection.

Indoor Bonsai for Beginners

This is an excelent book about indoor bonsai. I've been buying books looking for tips in selection,care and training of indoor bonsais but most of the authors insist that this is an outdoor activity. In Indoor Bonsai for Beginners I found helpful information and a lot of pictures and drawings