Bonsai4me: Bonsai Basics

The Art and Practise of Bonsai conjures an aura of mystery and wonder that draws many first-time enthusiasts to it.

Until the 1990s and the onset of the Internet, bonsai enthusiasts were few and far between. Information was very scarce and only available in a handful books written by Western 'Bonsai Masters' who had worked in isolation for many years. There was a lot of trial and error on the part of both these 'Masters' and enthusiasts.

This trial and error period didn’t necessarily lead to good information...... Individuals lacking in basic knowledge and experience (relative to today’s standards) wrote books and the misinformation contained was passed around as gospel. It is no wonder that people who took up bonsai were often confused. It can be extremely difficult to decipher between fact and fiction when even reference books seemed to contradict each other!

With the advent of the Internet, enthusiasts were finally able to link up across the world and compare experiences, improve their overall knowledge and discovered that many pre-90 bonsai books are inaccurate and in some cases downright wrong! Unfortunately many vendors and 'authorities' on bonsai still hark back to the old days and continue to perpetuate myths and bad practises.

Upon finding that I work as a professional bonsai artist, many people will remark that they once had a bonsai, but it died and with some regret, they gave up.