Bonsai School: The Complete Course in Care, Training & Maintenance

by Craig Coussins

It’s big and beautiful, and the only course you need to cultivate bonsais successfully. From the author of the acclaimed Bonsai for Beginners , this comprehensive, easy-to-follow instructional guide covers the basics and way beyond. One step at a time, he helps gardeners develop the necessary skills to create and maintain a beautifully shaped miniature potted tree. Everything imaginable is here, from choosing a suitable plant to wiring, pruning, and aging techniques, and finally expert tips on care. With its impressively large format, pages brimming with photos of dozens of specimens at different stages of growth, and preferred design techniques from world-famous bonsai artists, this is without a doubt the definitive reference on the subject. PRAISE FOR BONSAI FOR BEGINNERS :
"A thoroughly illustrated reference that will captivate and educate newcomers to the art...a wealth of personal insights accompanied by illustrations that are refreshing in their clarity and in the depth of the accompanying explanations."? Bonsai Online.

Genres: Gardening

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 2002

About the author

Craig Coussins has been growing Bonsai for 40 years. He has headed up Bonsai Conventions and taught Bonsai all over the world, Craig Coussins has written a number of well received books on this subject listed on Good Reads. His non commercial website is http://www.bonsaiinformation.com where you can see his Bonsai garden and photographs.

Reviews

[Jon Cox · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book to be frustrating and irritating. The writing was disorganized, jumpy, and imprecise. The information presented was incomplete, leaving me wondering how to do the most basic of techniques they would mention, but not not explain. Over and over, they would give step by step accounts of how this or that "master" changed this poor, cast-away tree into a new "classic." But in these accounts, they didn't actually teach anything. They described only.

If that wasn't enough, the book's editing and layout was unacceptably terrible. Pictures were miscaptioned. Pictures were mixed-up. Words were misspelled. Layout was horribly unaesthetic and confusing. It was difficult to tell where one person's writing left off and where another started. It was also difficult to tell where the text was compared to random captions for random pictures that may or may not have been related to each other. Aweful.

The one bright thing about this book was the short explanation of the history of Bonsai. However, even that was marred by bad writing and bad editing. In fact, there were to sections for the history of Bonsai, and they said similar things. It should have been condensed, but it wasn't. And in all their descriptions, they did not include a picture of the things they were describing. It was horribly disorganized. Steer clear of this one.

[David Kerschner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for beginners.

[Ray Savarda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wide array of data, covering history of Bonsai, types of trees, soil, wiring, small sections on styling bonsai by different experts, and even some words on bonsai pots.

[Lance Mellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, I'll round it up to a 3.25. But overall I found it rather bad. For instance, he goes on and on about digging up a bald cypress and half mutilating it and chopping off the top and calling it a bonsai. No way man. What an ugly tree. I do not believe the original crafters of bonsai done it this a away! I mean time is of the element. You cannot make a great miniature tree convincing by harvesting a medium tree and cutting it down. It gives bonsai a bad name

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book has many different sections of varying quality, tries to cover practical advice, history, reportage and just be a pretty coffee table book. It is satisfactory in all of them. Not great at anything. The table layout for the advice sections is insane, the columns are so narrow you get one word per line, that is rank incompetence by the editor. And good luck finding anything specific - you can't really use it as a manual.

[حسن · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Bonsai is not a race, nor is it a destination. It is a never-ending journey."
Well, I have patience, lots of it, but 10 to 15 years of care and maintenance to start to see the outcome of shaping a decent little bonsai, I admit, that's really frustrating.. And people think that fishing needs patience.
However, i think the experience in itself is pleasant, and got to keep in my mind that Bonsai is "the art of distilling the magic of an old tree into a miniature form that is pleasing to the eye".. And art is an endless process.

After reading some books, taking notes, watching so many tutorials and long hours of video and online lessons for beginners, and applying the basics of rooting-repotting-defoliating- air layering- pruning- watering- grafting- fertilizing- wiring ect. on my purchased cheap Ginseng Ficus (RIP poor tree, it has suffered a lot) I ordered a set of Bonsai tools from China and think I'm finally ready to try these techniques on my tiny Japanese Acer Palmatum (Red maple tree).. I didn't start with seeds, I got the shrub at a nursery , but meanwhile I have also planted some cuttings of a Bougainvillea, if I did it right it will expectedly be rooting around 2-3 months (we have a warm autumn here)..


Hopefully, some day, I will grow a Bonsai tree, like one of these beauties

http://www.bonsaiempire.com/images/ga...

http://www.bonsaiempire.com/images/ga...

http://www.bonsaiempire.com/images/ga...