Bonsai Book Review #3

For this weeks book review I will be looking at

Choosing and Growing Bonsai – by, Peter Chan

The author of this book, Peter Chan is a renowned bonsai artist with some very famous trees. He now owns a bonsai nursery in the South of England called Herons. This book is one of a number of books he has written. The reason I bought this book was because when flicking through it in the shop I was impressed with the extensive species guide in this book. In fact, the majority of the book is dedicated to species guides for a large number of trees.

The first section of the book offers a condensed overview of bonsai. Like most books it discusses where bonsai began and how it has evolved to today’s standards. Whilst these sections are an interesting read the first time, once you have a number of books on your shelf it quickly becomes apparent that you are reading the same “story” time after time. This book deals with the subject well though without going to in-depth. It also talks about getting started, choosing bonsai, and brief look at the differences between indoor and outdoor bonsai.

After this initial section, the real “meat” of the book begins. The next section is split into four distinct areas. The species guide is set out into “outdoor coniferous bonsai”, “outdoor broadleaf bonsai”, “outdoor flowering bonsai”, and “indoor bonsai”. This makes navigating this section very easy, and finding a specific species less of a task. Each section has a good selection of species contained within each. Every species has a double page spread which contains lots of information about their specific culture and special techniques needed. There are accompanying pictures to illustrate each species and give the reader an idea of what a bonsai of that species may look like. There is a particularly good section on Japanese maple where it lists a large number of cultivars and talks through their special needs and characteristics. Overall, this section is a very useful source of species specific data and one that can be looked back on quickly and easily.

The final section of the book looks at the various techniques involved in styling and maintaining bonsai. This section is quite brief in comparison to other books, however the real strength of this book is in the previous species guide section so this can be over-looked I feel. It briefly outlines, pruning, wiring, watering, feeding, and some of the common pests and diseases.

In summary, I feel this is a very concise and easy to use book with some really great info and pictures contained within it. It is of a small format, yet has a multitude of pages to explore. I would definitely recommend this book, purely on the basis of the species guide.

ISBN – 978-0-600-61442-5