Bonsai With Japanese Maples

by Peter D. Adams

With their delicate foliage, seasonal color changes, and intricate pattern of branching, Japanese maples are among the most popular and suitable plants for bonsai design. In this long-awaited book, internationally renowned expert Peter Adams discusses both the specific horticultural needs of Japanese maples as bonsai subjects and illustrates proven techniques for creating and maintaining beautiful specimens. Although aimed at an audience that has some familiarity with bonsai techniques, the book deliberately shows a mix of bonsai at different stages in their training, so that less experienced enthusiasts can gain new ideas and inspiration from trees that are "works in progress." Much more than a mere "how-to" book, Bonsai with Japanese Maples is a forthright attempt to look at bonsai as art objects and to critique and assess them from an artist's perspective.

Genres: Gardening

156 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Björn Bengtsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book radiates expert advice, experience and knowledge!

It does not cover the basics of bonsai, it does not cover propagation, it does not have general advice for most species. Instead, this book is suitable for intermediate to expert bonsai trainers that already have a Japanese maple and are looking for specific guidance on how to shape their tree.

With a focus on Japanese maples, the author provides detailed and hands-on instructions specifically for Japanese maples. Not only does he state what to do (with detailed instructions on how to do it) - he also provides the reason for why doing it, what effects it has and what happens if you don't. This is what really pushes this book up to the expert-level as it reveals that the author knows what he is talking about, and, most importantly, it educates the reader. Understanding why you are doing something raises you one level above just knowing what to do.

With this book, I get a better understanding on what I need to do to my Japanese maple in order to get a certain result, which is nothing I have found in other books in this great detail! I gladly recommend this book to anyone tending Japanese maples, as it is a great source for information regardless of whether you are a novice or experienced.

[ian]

A little old but a great resource nonetheless, and I don't think much of his advice would be considered outdated. Illustrations are brilliant, he was a great artist in multiple disciplines. The counterpoint is that it could use some more photos, and better photography since it isn't always clear what the captions are referring to.

Worth noting that although the title refers to Japanese Maples specifically, nearly half the content focuses on Trident Maples (Acer buergerianum), which have many similarities but are NOT a type of Japanese Maple—they come from China, Korea.

[Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A knowledgeable book with beautiful illustrations - a strong recommendation for anyone looking to delve into cultivating Japanese maple bonsais! That being said, this is not a basic book, and I would suggest prior understanding of the fundamentals.

[Amanda Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about pretty much every aspect of bonsai with Japanese maples and Trident maples. I think it would be better with actual photos from beginning to "end" bonsai to show how the bonsai progressed, from each stage to the next instead of relying on drawings, but good anyway. I have no problem with the fact that there are Trident maples covered in this book as well as Jap maples, but there is too much emphasis placed on them, IMO.