Happy Bonsai

144 Pages·2020·38.48 MB·English

by  DK

Project Editor Jo Whittingham Senior DTP Designer Neeraj Bhatia
Project Art Editor Louise Brigenshaw DTP Designer Manish Upreti
Senior Editor Alastair Laing Production Manager Pankaj Sharma
Editorial Assistant Kiron Gill Pre-production Manager Sunil Sharma
Senior Jacket Creative
First published in Great Britain in 2020 by
Nicola Powling
Dorling Kindersley Limited
Jacket Co-ordinator Lucy Philpott 80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL
Senior Producer (Pre-production)
Imported into the EEA by
Tony Phipps
Dorling Kindersley Verlag GmbH.
Producer Francesca Sturiale Arnulfstr. 124, 80636 Munich, Germany
Creative Technical Support
Copyright © 2020
Sonia Charbonnier
Dorling Kindersley Limited
Managing Editor Dawn Henderson A Penguin Random House Company
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Managing Art Editor
Marianne Markham 001–316649–Feb/2020
Art Director Maxine Pedliham All rights reserved.
Publishing Director
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
Mary-Clare Jerram
stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form, or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
Photography Nigel Wright recording, or otherwise), without the prior
and Will Heap written permission of the copyright owner.
Illustrations Peter Bull and
Debbie Maizels A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-0-2414-1238-1
DK India
Assistant Art Editors Printed and bound in China
and Illustrators
Adhithi Priya, Sonali Mahthan
A WORLD OF IDEAS:
Senior Art Editor Ira Sharma
SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW
Senior Managing Art Editor
Arunesh Talapatra WWW.DK.COM
002-003_Imprint_Title.indd 2 11/11/2019 11:58
H A P P Y B O N S A I
CHOOSE IT, SHAPE IT, LOVE IT
MICHAEL TRAN
002-003_Imprint_Title.indd 3 24/10/2019 17:01
Contents
THE BASICS 8
Bonsai today 10
How your tree grows 12
Obtaining a bonsai tree 14
Where to grow 16 Trident maple
Acer buergerianum
Choosing a pot 18
pp.54–55
Design principles 20
Classical styles 22
Modern styles 24
Essential toolkit 26
Potting up 28
General care 30
Pruning to shape 32
Wiring to shape 36
Starting off a young tree 38
Amur maple
Make a cascade 40 Acer ginnala
Make a rock planting 42 pp.56–57
Make a root-over-rock 44
Creating jin and shari 46
Maintenance pruning 48
Pests and diseases 50
TREE PROFILES 30
With all the essential information
needed to grow, prune, and repot
Japanese maple
40 elegant bonsai species. Acer palmatum
pp.58–59
Bonsai displays:
Tokonoma display pp.70–71 • Three point
display pp.88–89 • Shohin display pp.
106–07 • Outdoor display pp.124–25
Index 142
Acknowledgements 144
Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea
pp.60–61
004-007_Contents.indd 4 15/11/2019 15:54
European hornbeam Cotoneaster Lipstick fig
Carpinus betulus Cotoneaster horizontalis Ficus virens var. glabella
pp.62–63 pp.72–73 pp.80–81
Australian pine Hawthorn Japanese holly
Casuarina equisetifolia Crataegus monogyna Ilex serrata
pp.64–65 pp.74–75 pp.82–83
Japanese quince Japanese white beech California juniper
Chaenomeles japonica Fagus crenata Juniperus californica
pp.66–67 pp.76–77 pp.84–85
Hinoki cypress Natal fig Chinese juniper
Chamaecyparis obtusa Ficus natalensis Juniperus chinensis
pp.68–69 pp.78–79 pp.86–87
continued
004-007_Contents.indd 5 11/11/2019 11:58
Sabina juniper Dwarf crab apple Japanese white pine
Juniperus sabina Malus spp. Pinus parviflora
pp.90–91 pp.98–99 pp.108–109
Rocky Mountain juniper Olive Ponderosa pine
Juniperus scopulorum Olea europaea Pinus ponderosa
pp.92–93 pp.100–101 pp.110–111
European larch Ezo spruce Scots pine
Larix decidua Picea jezoensis Pinus sylvestris
pp.94–95 pp.102–103 pp.112–113
Japanese larch Mountain pine Japanese black pine
Larix kaempferi Pinus mugo Pinus thunbergii
pp.96–97 pp.104–105 pp.114–115
004-007_Contents.indd 6 11/11/2019 11:58
Manila tamarind Satsuki azalea European yew
Pithecellobium dulce Rhododendron indicum cvs Taxus baccata
pp.116–117 pp.126–127 pp.134–135
Blackthorn Sageretia Japanese yew
Prunus spinosa Sageretia thea Taxus cuspidata
pp.118–119 pp.128–129 pp.136–137
Chinese quince Coastal redwood Chinese elm
Pseudocydonia sinensis Sequoia sempervirens Ulmus parvifolia
pp.120–121 pp.130–131 pp.139–139
English oak Tamarisk Japanese elm
Quercus robur Tamarix chinensis Zelkova serrata
pp.122–123 pp.132–133 pp.140–141
004-007_Contents.indd 7 24/10/2019 17:01
008-009_Chapter_opener_the_basics.indd 8 24/10/2019 17:01
THE BASICS
008-009_Chapter_opener_the_basics.indd 9 24/10/2019 17:01
010
s
c
si
ba Bonsai today
e
h
T
Bonsai has developed as an idealized representation of nature in
miniature and is deeply rooted in Asian culture. The art of creating
and maintaining a beautiful tree in a small pot requires care and skill,
which are best learned by cultivating a bonsai of your own.
INNOVATION WITHIN An unusual strong, angled
trunk ends in a tapering
A TRADITION deadwood jin.
In Japan, design guidelines and styles
have shaped a traditional philosophy, Delicate, fresh foliage
which tends to be followed wherever contrasts with the
heavily textured trunk.
bonsai is practised. However, with
its increasing popularity in the West,
bonsai has begun to evolve.
While it remains essential to
master classic techniques,
tree species and natural
landscapes from around
the world are inspiring
exciting new ways to
shape and display trees.
The cascading branch
Modern style creates movement.
More about individuality
than conformity, modern
bonsai styles accept the A curvaceous stand,
completes a striking,
natural growth habit of trees, modern composition.
often making them older and
wilder in appearance.
What would traditionally be
European larch (pp.94-95),
considered aesthetic flaws
naturally has the characteristics
are allowed to become required to create this dramatic,
part of a tree’s character. modern cascade display
010-011_Bonsai_today.indd 10 24/10/2019 17:01