Attention (N------s) Beginners in Bonsai :-)

Iris said:

But I am jarred by those who found no connection between formal botanical education and bonsai practice.

Me too.

The publisher is having a sale on this book now. You might want to get it -- maybe especially those with all those fancy advanced degrees in botany. You may lean what part of your college learnin' is actually useful for bonsai.

Botany for Bonsai
by Enrique Castano
softcover
5 1/2" by 8 1/2", 124 pages, color
Haskell Creek Publishing

http://haskillcreek.com/order.html

Fiona's the "Good Cop." I'm not. Refusal to admit the value of information about whatever you do is just a form of reverse snobbery.

Good call, Jim. I'd forgotten that one last night when I went to pick out a few good books, hidden as it was between several tree encyclopaedias. It's very close to the Brian Capon "Botany for Gardeners" I mentioned in both style and content, but obviously focussed entirely on how things affect bonsai. It is indeed very helpful to know gibberellins from gibberish.


So. I am "Good", you are "Bad". Who shall we cast as the third one of that trinity?

Is that "good, bad and indifferent"?

Well, maybe one of our scientific luddites.

That looks like a great book, I don't know how I had missed it in the past but I will definitely be adding it to my collection. Thanks again.

Jim,
how can i get hold of that book?..title sounds interesting.

You guys are so lucky to have all those reading materials available everywhere. here in our country where bonsai art is still in its infancy level have practically no books on bonsai what so ever in bookststores here. I even went to china last May just to buy a couple of books and to see some nursery, one i bought is even in chinese language-"album of chinese art of landscape penjing",(cant understand the text), i bought it because the step by step illustration is useful to me, photos are nice too.

Jun

Jun, if you go to Jim's post, click on the blue text that says http://haskillcreek.com/order.html. You will be linked over to Haskill Creek's online ordering process. Haskill Creek are the company that publishes and distributes the book. I got mine through them and it only took a matter of days to reach me.

If you only want to buy one bonsai botany book, this would be a good one to choose. The Rolad Ennos "Trees" is also good and perhaps more for the lay person, but it is a general book about trees rather than bonsai.

Regards


Fiona

Il do that Fiona..
i find it difficult to order books on line. some of the books on line got a good catchy title but the contents are not.
Unless it is recommended by other people.
thanks.

After some reluctance to get involved, I've decided to offer my two cents. There are some good suggestions in the original posting; however, the way in which the message was expressed could easily be taken as condescending.

Barry M wrote:After some reluctance to get involved, I've decided to offer my two cents. There are some good suggestions in the original posting; however, the way in which the message was expressed could easily be taken as condescending.

Condescending? Really? I never got that.

Of course, the other side of "condescending" may be "if the shoe fits..."

R

Steady Russel!!! I've just been accused of being a "pompous ass" on Facebook, for agreeing with someone else who offered a different opinion.

I think we've exhausted this topic pretty much now anyway.

Yes, and yes.

Sorry, that did sound mean, and I certainly don't want Barry or anyone else to think their opinion doesn't count.

R

I would like to offer one more observation.
I have been writing for publication for years. But I have never in my life written anything that generated so much discussion.
Let's take another look at the original post. Nobody has questioned the repetition of standard suggestions to newcomers: read bonsai books, join a bonsai club if possible, go to bonsai exhibits. Nobody objected to the idea of obtaining a field guide to the trees of your own country or region. Nobody even disagreed with Mr. Wu's suggestion that bonsai growers should visit art exhibits. The suggestion that struck a raw nerve in several people was READ A SCIENCE BOOK. Mind you, nobody expects a beginner to take a botany textbook out of the library and read it from cover to cover. The expectation is for him to glance through it & read the parts that seem most relevant, like plant hormones, tree anatomy, climate, etc. But I think there is a reason, at least in the US, why some beginners would reject this suggestion.
Many American leaders have expressed concern that not enough young people are choosing science majors in college or seeking careers in science. Some research was done to find out why, and they discovered that, in the US at least, science is very badly taught. Sorry, I don't have specific references. I have read about this from time to time. My beloved Dr. Brandwein & the institute he founded have been preaching to the wilderness for 50 years.
Parents, when you investigate what your children are being taught, find out whether they are being taught in ways that engage their curiosity or turn them off. It may effect the future of your country, not just bonsai.
Iris

Here are some quick links that provide a surprising amount of sciencey-planty-biological-type stuff, for free:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxin

Iris is right, don't let the stuff scare you away!

Wikipedia is very helpful, but remember it is compiled by volunteers. Anything obscure that you find on Wikipedia should be checked with another source. Under Plants, take a look at the thumbnail in the upper right hand corner of the group of photos (click on it to enlarge). That is a Welwitschia, one of the funniest jokes in the Plant Kingdom. It is actually a tree, but most of the trunk is underground.
Iris

I couldn't help but pass on this little tale that popped into my e.mail Inbox today in light of the debate over how much or how little horticultural science knowledge we need to do bonsai - or for that matter whether we need any larnin' at all. It is merely intended to round off what was an "interesting" argument in a light-hearted manner. It might (or might not) apply to any (or no) subject or discipline. It might also be taken as a personal dig at some respondents on this thread - that is not what is intended.

So, with a slight degree of irreverence, wickendness and general naughtiness intended merely to amuse:

A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when the stranger turned to her and said,
'Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.'
The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, 'What would you like to talk about?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said the stranger. 'How about nuclear power?' and he smiles.
OK, ' she said. 'That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?'
The stranger, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, 'Hmmm, I have no idea.'
To which the little girl replies, 'Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?


But then again, perhaps it does have a certain "moral of the story"!

I rarely "LOL", but this time I sure did!

Thanks!

R

P.S. If they ever decide to run you out of Scotland I'd love to have you here!

Fiona, your story reminds me of a greek saying.
Here it is:

"By a child and by a loony, you learn the truth"

Have a nice afternoon!

Was it intended for me Fiona?...no just kidding. nice story. so what happened to the plane? did it flew faster?


regards,
Jun

JimLewis wrote:Iris said:

But I am jarred by those who found no connection between formal botanical education and bonsai practice.

Me too.

The publisher is having a sale on this book now. You might want to get it -- maybe especially those with all those fancy advanced degrees in botany. You may lean what part of your college learnin' is actually useful for bonsai.

Botany for Bonsai
by Enrique Castano
softcover
5 1/2" by 8 1/2", 124 pages, color
Haskell Creek Publishing

http://haskillcreek.com/order.html

Fiona's the "Good Cop." I'm not. Refusal to admit the value of information about whatever you do is just a form of reverse snobbery.

As an Ag Science graduate, I believe I have tha basics, but to have someone take the basic and insert it into an art/hobby that I'm into... I like it, now I know what book to buy next payday! Thanks, Jim!

Jay