Customer Reviews

Bonsai Survival Manual: Tree-by-Tree Guide to Buying, Maintaining, and Problem Solving

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a new convert, I have been frustrated by most books on bonsai. They are filled with wonderful information, but the author often takes for granted that you are an experience bonsai enthusiast. Mr. Lewis does not do that. With excellent pictures and color graphics, he explains in great detail what to look for (and look OUT for!) when buying a tree, as well as detailed advice on pruning and shaping techniques. I wish I had bought this sooner.

I've found the advices the book gives for buying a bonsai very helpful. On the other hand it helped me and my friends understanding why we did not succeded in keeping our little trees alive. After reading the brief but thoroughly information about "trees necessities" I decided to try again and my ume(plum)-bonsai look now quite happy.

The Bonsai Survival Manual contains just about everything you need to know about growing and keeping Bonsai. It is well organized with sections on general care and techniques followed by sections on specific species. There is information in here that I have not seen in other books on Bonsai. The writing is terse, concise, and easy to read and understand. The Bonsai photographs show off the beauty of this art form.

All in all, I found this book to be the most useful and fun to read of any Bonsai book I have read.

Dear Mr. Lewis,
THANK YOU SIR for writing this fabulous little book. See, like many other unnamed persons in this world, I threw away over $300.00 on my first Bonsai attempt at peace and serenity in my home. After many long deep breaths and twinges of * I must be insane to try this again*, I did order two new bonsai-who were every bit as scared of me as I was of them. But see, now Mr. Lewis, I "get it". You have given the Holy Grail, if you will to keep these little buggers alive and flourishing! Never again will I keep my beloved trees too close to a window to burn, or to near a furnace to suffer. No sir, in fact, thanks to your book I know exactly when to water, when to fertilize, and when to remember to breathe and just enjoy the beauty of owning bonsai. I have read dozens of books that were nothing more than pretty pictures, but what I really needed was someone to tell me what NOT to do. There is no better book for a bonsai beginner. I didn't need a book to show me the fine details of repotting or bending delicate bonsai limbs - I simply needed a band-aid to help me get them started in the first place. The Bonsai Survival Manual is worth its weight in gold. Now my little trees won't be so scared of me when they see me pick up all my fancy tools and pretend to "prune". (I can at least pretend for now)

I found this book to be extremely helpful. The care and design tips were concise and easy to follow. The trees in the guide were common in my area and easy to find. I was also able to use the guide to avoid some species that are more challenging in my area.

Bought this book after my first tree died, thinking maybe another book may give me a better chance of sucess. This book is very inforfmationally and easy to follow. The information on individual tree is very helpful in picking trees to grow.

I have been doing bonsai for over a year now and have read many books on the subject. I don't believe any one can give you all the information you need to be successful with these wonderful little trees, but this one is chock full of usefull information in a clean no nonsense format. From soil mixture to lighting and fertilization- this book outlines what is best for a lot of the most popular trees out there and gives useful general information as well! If you are new to the art or have been doing it a short while I highly recommend this little gem!

This is a very good book to learn about individual species. This book has profiles 50 species of bonsais. It includes out door bonsais and indoor bonsais. Each profile is two pages. It includes one or two pictures, an older bonsai and a younger bonsai. It gives a description of the bonsai, which includes the history and where it is grown, along with a lot of helpful information on growing and caring for each bonsai. It has a chart for each bonsai with includes light, water, temperature, soil and a few other things. The information about each bonsai is very interesting and helpful. Many bonsai books don't give you much information on individual species and their needs. It is very important to know what a bonsai needs before you decide on a bonsai. You need to know if you can meet the needs of a bonsai.

At the beginning of the book there is general information on bonsais, buying, care, plus trimming, pruning, repotting, root pruning, shaping with wire etc. This is good information and the pictures are detail, but it is not exceptional. There are better books on the care and training of bonsais. But the book is well worth getting for the information it gives you on the individual bonsais.

A perfect book for the beginner. Shows tree by tree guide of the most usefull information.

If you've spent a lot of time working with your bonsai plants, but are having a problem with them, it's very difficult to simply give up on them and throw them away without trying to find something that will help you. You can take your bonsai to a place where they sell them and the gardeners will more than likely tend to your plant for a price, but in this "survival manual" you may just find out what you are looking for . . . in most cases where you may be going wrong. If you've invested a lot of time in your plants, you certainly want to be successful with them. Of course the best place to start is with someone who has experience. Colin Lewis, without a doubt, is just the person you are looking for!

According to Lewis, "The most important horticultural information required is the knowledge needed to keep the bonsai alive." Any beginner can easily become frustrated and discouraged when a cherished bonsai plant begins to shrivel and die. You will learn how to purchase a plant, what its needs are, where to put the plant, what kind of plant will work well for you, what to look for in a plant, what kind of plant to avoid, how to care for your plant, how to shape your plant, how to identify and treat problems, and you'll get to take a look at fifty commercial species.

Each species is comprehensively profiled. You will receive a brief history, you'll be told what to look for, and points to watch. Each plant has a sidebar which tells the bonsai source, the needed light levels, the temperature range, pests and diseases that affect it, the type of soil needed, its water needs, how to feed, and prune the plant. Each specimen is accompanied by a photograph of a healthy, vibrant plant. The species, separated by an asterisk, are listed below.

Acer Buergerianum (trident maple) * Acer Palmatum (Japanese maple) * Acer Palmatum `Deshojo' or `Chishio'(Japanese red maples) * Acep Palmatum `Kiyohime' (Kiyohime maple) * Acer Palmatum `Seigen' (Seigen maple) * Arundinaria and similar species (bamboos) * Bougainvillea * Carmona Microphylla (Fukien tea) * Carpinus Species (Hornbeama) * Celtis Sinensis (Chinese hackberry) * Chaenomeles (flowering quince) * Chamaecyparis Obtusa (Hinoki cypress) * Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster) * Crassula (Jade tree/Money tree) * Cryptomeria Japonica (Japanese cedar) * Cycas (cycad) * Fagus Crenata (Japanese "white" beech) * Ficus (Fig varieties) * Fuchsia (fuchsia) * Ginkgo Biloba (maidenhair tree) * Ilex Crenata (Japanese holly) * Jasminum Nudiflorum (Winter jasmine) * Juniperus Chinensis Sargentii (Sargent's juniper) * Juniperus Rigida (Needle juniper) * Juniperus Squamata `Meyeri' (Meyer's juniper) * Lagerstroemia Indica (crape myrtle) * Ligustrum Sinense (Chinese privet) * Malus (crab apple) * Murraya Paniculata (jasmine orange) * Myrtus (myrtle) * Nandina Domestica (sacred bamboo) * Olea Europaea (European olive) * Picea (spruce) * Pinus Densiflora (red pine) Pinus Parviflora (white pine) Pinus Thunbergii (black pine) * Pistacia Terebinthus (pistachio) * Podocarpus Macrophyllus (plum-fruited/Chinese yew) Prunus Mume (Japanese flowering apricot) * Pseudocydonia Sinensis (Chinese quince) * Punica Granatum (pomegranate) * Pyracantha (firethorn) * Rhododendron Indicum (Satsuki azalea) * Sageretia Theezans (sageretia) * Serissa Foetida (tree of a thousand stars) * Stewartia Monadelpha (Stewartia/Stuartia) * Taxus Cuspidata (Japanese yew) * Ulmus Parviofolia (Chinese elm) * Wisteria (Wisteria) * Zelkova Serrata (Japanese gray-bark elm)

This is an A to Z book on bonsai that will be a sure fire winner with anyone interested in this art form. I purchase this book along with a couple other ones as a "starter" gift for a family member. Each one generates a lot of interest in the hobby, but this one will prove to be the most useful in the long run. It sends the message that your plants will not grow themselves and must be tended to carefully. The most applicable sentence states, "buying a bonsai is a commitment - very much like buying a pet - as it will need daily attention." This step-by-step book is detailed, thorough, and well written. If you are a beginning or intermediate bonsai aficionado, this is one book you should certainly consider adding to your library!