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Bonsai heresy
- GenresPlants
360 pages, Unknown Binding
Published January 1, 2020
11 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 7, 2021
Excellent book for guidance and wisdom on more advanced bonsai, but also has lots of good information for beginners who are still new to the hobby.
It is mostly focused on experience and education related to developing and maintaining mature bonsai, but there are a lot of things in here that I wish I understood when I was first getting started because it would have save time and money and effort and I'd have had healthier trees. He combines scientific and empirical-but-not-scientific knowledge in practical ways, but he also dissects and analyzes myths in less-scientific and more anecdotal ways when the data is lacking, relying more on logical inference based on experience and anecdotes. Often his conclusions aren't as clear-cut as "always true" or "always false", but we still have a better understanding of the issue in the end, and the factors that go into making these decisions for ourselves instead of relying on rules and guidelines and myths that we don't really understand.
Unfortunately, as a writer, Hagedorn is about half as clever and funny as he thinks he is. His jokes almost always fall flat and his awkward metaphors are not always very illuminating—for instance he compares young trees that appear to be aged to Keith Richards. WTF? I can understand why you might try to differentiate your book from all the others on the market by trying to inject a little personality, but it doesn't work here.
But as a bonsai practitioner, he is clearly top-notch and knows what he is talking about. He has a great voice for making complicated and confusing issues fairly easy to understand without having a strong horticultural background. He speaks from both the side of tradition, having apprenticed under a traditional bonsai master in Japan, but also from a scientific, horticulturalist POV. This one doesn't make we want to go back and read the "musings" of his first book, but it does make me want to visit his garden in Portland.
There are some color illustrations but they are all just cutesy and whimsical art inserts. This book is mostly focused on theory and doesn't really go into technique or have many things that would need to be diagrammed, illustrated or demonstrated in photographs so it doesn't feel too lacking in this respect.
It is mostly focused on experience and education related to developing and maintaining mature bonsai, but there are a lot of things in here that I wish I understood when I was first getting started because it would have save time and money and effort and I'd have had healthier trees. He combines scientific and empirical-but-not-scientific knowledge in practical ways, but he also dissects and analyzes myths in less-scientific and more anecdotal ways when the data is lacking, relying more on logical inference based on experience and anecdotes. Often his conclusions aren't as clear-cut as "always true" or "always false", but we still have a better understanding of the issue in the end, and the factors that go into making these decisions for ourselves instead of relying on rules and guidelines and myths that we don't really understand.
Unfortunately, as a writer, Hagedorn is about half as clever and funny as he thinks he is. His jokes almost always fall flat and his awkward metaphors are not always very illuminating—for instance he compares young trees that appear to be aged to Keith Richards. WTF? I can understand why you might try to differentiate your book from all the others on the market by trying to inject a little personality, but it doesn't work here.
But as a bonsai practitioner, he is clearly top-notch and knows what he is talking about. He has a great voice for making complicated and confusing issues fairly easy to understand without having a strong horticultural background. He speaks from both the side of tradition, having apprenticed under a traditional bonsai master in Japan, but also from a scientific, horticulturalist POV. This one doesn't make we want to go back and read the "musings" of his first book, but it does make me want to visit his garden in Portland.
There are some color illustrations but they are all just cutesy and whimsical art inserts. This book is mostly focused on theory and doesn't really go into technique or have many things that would need to be diagrammed, illustrated or demonstrated in photographs so it doesn't feel too lacking in this respect.
December 30, 2022
Great book for anyone who's been doing Bonsai for a bit. (It's probably a bit too in-the-weeds for a beginner). I appreciate the author adding a lot of nuance to many details that are otherwise just taken on faith in the art/craft of Bonsai. I definitely learned a lot.
October 25, 2022
Well written, easy & fun to read. Most of the information presented is for more mature bonsai, but there's still a lot of good information for both beginners and young trees. Rather than just stating what's right/wrong, the author explains why. Some of the humor didn't land for me, but it was still a very enjoyable read. I'll be recommending this book to my friends.
April 10, 2024
While some of the points seem a bit obvious from the outset, Bonsai Heresy delivers on enlightening us with perspective on each subject. It covers a range of topics from substrates to pruning and refinement, dispelling many of the prevalent myths in bonsai that can throw a grower off years of reaching goals.
April 12, 2023
I tore through this one in only a few days. Between the stories, both the authors personal experiences and his discussions others, and the horticultural research, there's a lot of great info in this book.
January 21, 2024
A must-read for any bonsai nut.
October 27, 2023
Entertaining and informative. The illustrations are a highlight.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews