AusBonsai

I have a few bonsai books including Deborah Koreshoff's "Bonsai" (my first and what started me in bonsai) and Len Webb's "From Rainforest to Bonsai", ,a few Bonsai Today mags, and borrow from the local library..but I still have soooo much to learn!

If I’m going to shout myself some bonsai books I’d like them to be good ones; what would you recommend as “essentials” in a good bonsai library?

Jan

Peter Loubser,understanding Bonsai, is a good one. he goes into explanation how the roots influence the branching, and leaf positions.Ratios, when and what to fertilise, maintenance and daily care,what pots for which tree,repotting. How to display bonsai. japanese terminology. He explains the guides to the shaping of bonsai and techniques used. Also questions and answers. And everything you whant to know about bonsai. i havnt fully read the book yet but what i have has helped me a great deal. Debra Koershofs books are excellent also. hope this helps you. cheers!

Bonsai Techniques 1 and 11 by John Naka.

John T

shohin bonsai, morten albek... great info and awesome to read

vision of my soul, robert stevens.. awesome to bring you into the artistic side of bonsai, great examples too

just a couple, jump onto stonelantern.com that's where you find the goodies

"The Complete book of Bonsai" - Harry Harrington
"Bonai with Japanese Maples" - Perter Adams

My picks so far

I would add Herb Gustafson's 'Bonsai Workshop' to the list in that it is a bit more scientifically recent than Koreshoff and Naka (without any disrespect to their books ... they are bonsai reading ESSENTIALS).

I would also add another book that is available through Stone Lantern ... "Botany for Bonsai, The Science Behind the Art" by Enrique Castano de la Serna. It explains the scientific reasons behind why things happen in bonsai, why when we cut roots or branches we generally achieve ramification, etc. It is not like reading a biology book, but is a bit more complex than some of the 'picture' books around.

For my money however ... join your local bonsai club. You will find there is not only a stack of experience that is waiting to be shared from the people in the clubs, but often their libraries are the most extensive available. Some of the old 'Bonsai Down Under' s and other out of print publications are like gold!

Enjoy your bonsai journey!
Andrew

Anything by Peter D Adams, particularly The Art of Bonsai and Successful Bonsai Shaping. I am fortunate enough to own all of his books except The Art of Flowering Bonsai. Authors also worth a read are Peter Chan, Craig Coussins, Colin Lewis, David Prescott. As a pictorial reference, it is hard to go past Classic Bonsai of Japan, the book boasts stunning photography of some of the best trees in the world.

Cheers
MM

This is a good one for sale at the moment.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Colin-Lewis-BONS ... 2c4f3f9f0b

Jan, if you do any work on Ficus i would definately recommend "Ficus in the temperate climate" by Leong Kwong. Leong owns the nursery Bonsai South and in my opinion he is the best bonsai artist in Australia.

john tapner wrote:Bonsai Techniques 1 and 11 by John Naka.

John T

That's all a beginner needs. After that, they can branch out into other books, but till then consider these books the bibles of bonsai.

That's all a beginner needs. After that, they can branch out into other books, but till then consider these books the bibles of bonsai.

I have only read number 2 so far but I must say I was a bit disappointed
Not sure how the horticultural advice is in number 1 but I would guess it is fairly out dated.
From a previous post in another thread I am under the impression that Jan is after good sound care advice as much as bonsai styling basics. I think Colin Lewis' Care manual that I linked from Ebay does a very good job in this regard.

Jan the first thing you should ask is at what level am I.

There are hundreds of books on the market some good many bad. I have seen one recommended here that I gave it to the club library. When ever some one reads it they make the comment I know why you gave it to the library .

Brett says he is not quite happy with John.Y Nakas book techniques 2 it is one of those you need both to understand both. I would recommend them to any one.

If you are past the beginner stage, then look for books that deal with design and techniques. There are as I said many some of what I have are now out of print.
One of the best is by Jerome Meyer,

The Bonsai Book of Practical Facts. As the title suggests it deals with practical things needed to know, by both the novice and experienced grower.

The ISBN 0-945487-00-2
Cheers Young Dog

Thank you to you all for your advice. Some authors are familiar to me, some new; there are a lot of books out there, it's been good to narrow the field to those that rise to the top of the pile.

Thanks again and Happy New Year to all.

Jan.