Big Question

Jase1972

Ok you guys, assuming you could get Universities or Colleges interested in providing a bonsai degrees or diplomas to the public, what do you think the curriculum should contain?
I propose the course should contain a fifty-fifty mix of theory and practical.

In no partiular order:

Bonsai basics.

Bonsai Styles and sub-styles

History of Bonsai from antiquity to modern times.

Influential bonsai artists of the 20th Century.

Basic Horticulural principles of Bonsai.

Advanced Horticulural principles of Bonsai.

Masterpieces of Bonsai.

Aesthetic principles of Bonsai.

Critique of Bonsai

Bonsai techniques 1.

Bonsai techniques 2: Advanced techniques.

In depth study of popular Bonsai species and their cultural requirements.

Propagation

Soil science.

Pest and diseases.

Nutrition.

Reading List: Naka, Murata, Lewis, Tomlinson, Chan, Yoshimura, Adams, Koreshoff, Barton etc.


I know some of these subjects fall under other heading and I'm sure there are some I've neglected to mention.

As to the question of an educational institution taking on this task, don't hold your breath.
Unfortunately the dollars in the bonsai biz seem to come from mass produced junk trees and mallsai sold to the un-informed Joes. Your average bonsai nursery isn't going to go to the trouble of producing masterpieces, which only bonsai enthusiasts would appreciate enough to part with hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have.

Jase.

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