Bonsai with Japanese Maples

"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." "Chapter 1 contains essential information on potting, watering, feeding, pruning, and pests and diseases, along with an invaluable list of suitable cultivars and their characteristics. Chapter 2 details the techniques of trimming, pruning, wiring, and training used to develop pleasing bonsai structure. Chapter 3 focuses on refinement techniques that can help to rectify minor flaws and maintain the tree's desired form. Chapter 4 concentrates specifically on the techniques used to develop small specimens, or shohin-size bonsai. And chapter 5 presents twenty-three "case studies" of actual trees, with details of their establishment, development, training, and potential future development." "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."--Jacket.