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A very thought provoking editorial, Mr. Keppler. As a beginner, I must admit that I've never come up against the "don't try this at home" mentality you have written about. Most of the books, articles, and advice from the forum communities I visit have been very helpful with whatever technique I was pursuing. I'm sure that the kind of attitude you're talking about exists, but it's certainly not terribly rampant.

Honestly, if anything, a beginner can be overwhelmed by the amount of options they have available to them. Pick up your average beginner's bonsai book and you'll find that half the book is dedicated to assaulting the novice with a staggering variety of "suitable bonsai species." I can understand that these books are trying to help the beginner out with and feel good about whatever tree they happen to have, but they did nothing to help a bonsai newbie decide what would be a good species to start with and learn from. [Lindsay Farr's World of Bonsai series was a real eye-opener in this regard. After compiling a list of hundreds of "suitable bonsai species" from an assortment of books, seeing that the large Chinese & Japanese bonsai gardens consisted of only a handful of species was very enlightening.] Likewise, most beginner's bonsai books have a section with an extensive lists of bonsai styles, required tools, propagation methods, pruning techniques, etc. A beginner feels much more confused about not knowing where to start than he feels hampered by being told he's not allowed to try certain things.

I feel what's sorely needed is a book or artcle for beginners that's far prescriptive than anything I've found out there. Something that tells the novice, "Buy tree X, Y, or Z from your local nursery. Repot it with THIS method. Prune it with THIS technique. Water it THIS way. Place it in THIS amount of light. Feed it THIS kind of fertilizer. Protect it from the winter winds in THIS manner." I think would be better received than you might suppose. Going on to say, "Now that you know the basics, go ahead and try out one of THESE other species, using one of THESE other methods, etc." would probably be a more constructive way to introduce the wider world of options to a newbie.

3-Mar-2007	#40
kompik bonsaiTALK Expert Join Date: Apr-2005 Location: Ohio USDA Zone: 6 AHS Heat Zone: 5 Posts: 184	A very thought provoking editorial, Mr. Keppler. As a beginner, I must admit that I've never come up against the "don't try this at home" mentality you have written about. Most of the books, articles, and advice from the forum communities I visit have been very helpful with whatever technique I was pursuing. I'm sure that the kind of attitude you're talking about exists, but it's certainly not terribly rampant. Honestly, if anything, a beginner can be overwhelmed by the amount of options they have available to them. Pick up your average beginner's bonsai book and you'll find that half the book is dedicated to assaulting the novice with a staggering variety of "suitable bonsai species." I can understand that these books are trying to help the beginner out with and feel good about whatever tree they happen to have, but they did nothing to help a bonsai newbie decide what would be a good species to start with and learn from. [Lindsay Farr's World of Bonsai series was a real eye-opener in this regard. After compiling a list of hundreds of "suitable bonsai species" from an assortment of books, seeing that the large Chinese & Japanese bonsai gardens consisted of only a handful of species was very enlightening.] Likewise, most beginner's bonsai books have a section with an extensive lists of bonsai styles, required tools, propagation methods, pruning techniques, etc. A beginner feels much more confused about not knowing where to start than he feels hampered by being told he's not allowed to try certain things. I feel what's sorely needed is a book or artcle for beginners that's far prescriptive than anything I've found out there. Something that tells the novice, "Buy tree X, Y, or Z from your local nursery. Repot it with THIS method. Prune it with THIS technique. Water it THIS way. Place it in THIS amount of light. Feed it THIS kind of fertilizer. Protect it from the winter winds in THIS manner." I think would be better received than you might suppose. Going on to say, "Now that you know the basics, go ahead and try out one of THESE other species, using one of THESE other methods, etc." would probably be a more constructive way to introduce the wider world of options to a newbie. __________________ - this space for rent -