BOOK REVIEWS

Secret Techniques of Bonsai

Masakuni Kawasumi II and Masakuni Kawasumi III
Kodasha
Distributed by Bookwise
$NZ47.95
Reviewed by Geoff Fitztpatrick

FOR those who have already tried their hand at the Japanese art of bonsai and want to venture beyond basic techniques, this is an ideal book. But this famous father-and-son team cover all the basics, too: opening chapters deal with species and style for bonsai and how to start a bonsai, either growing from seed (misho), cuttings (sashiki) and yamadori, collecting wild seedlings. There's a chapter devoted through the toriki method of layering. The author outlines the advantages of this over other methods, including the fact a presentable bonsai can be made in very short time.

There are also comprehensive chapters on the other including pruning repotting, bud trimming. Daily care and how the various tools are used for the different tasks are also dealt with.

Clear black and white photographs are used to illustrate techniques, while colour pictures show the results in all their restrained glory. Secret Techniques of Bonsai is a manual that both the novice or the aficionado will appreciate, and at a reasonable price.

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH