Bonsai with Japanese Maples

I was excited to see the title of this book, as I have hundreds of--probably one thousand--volunteer red Japanese maples (Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum') coming up in my yard. The book does give very clear directions on how to take a young maple (two or three years old) and shape it into a classic Bonsai shape, and there are several different styles. The instructions are clearly written and well illustrated. However, what I would like to have seen included additionally was something else that I know is also done, which is to take a somewhat more mature tree, of maybe seven or eight years old or more, which has not yet been trained at all, and to accentuate its idiosyncrasies. Still, for anyone who has access to young maples and is a novice to Bonsai (as I am), this book opens up a lot of possibilities. I am happy to have it.

This book provides the kind of detailed practical guidance that I was looking for in order to grow maple bonsai. There are many bonsai books out there that are little more than a bunch of pretty photos of different bonsai species. This book is not at all like that. It does have beautiful photos, but the book is jam packed full of information as well. The photos that are included in the book serve practical ends, showing examples of the progression of bonsai designs over time. Although the title gives no hint of it, the book also covers trident maples extensively.

If you are interested in the maple cultivar as a Bonsai, well this is the little book for you. I live in Florida and for years I have been trying to keep Japanese Maples alive with no good luck as the temperature here is hot in the summer. The current Maple tree I have, it's been with me for the last 2 years, and had not fair to good.Now I have to tell you that after reading this book, and put to practice what I learned; my tree is finally thriving.The information is great and there is a great deal of drawings and photos to guide you throughout the hall process.I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I have.

I am very glad I purchased this book, lots of great information on how to develop Japanese Maples

Mr Adams is a really thoughtful, pleasant, and eloquent person and this text reflects that. It is well written and thoughtfully arranged to convey his impressive knowledge base. The bonsai design information is very useful for the advanced bonsai hobbyist. Above all, the great value of the book is the knowledge of this species and the value of patience and planning. It is a very useful addition to a sophisticated bonsai library. It would be particularly useful for a club or organization to share with members.

I thought it was a tree not a book. I’m keeping it because my Grandson wants it. Thank you and no refund will be required. TY

I found it nearly unbearable to read. The poor grammar, editing, paragraph structure and overall absence of organization was uninspiring . The lack of literary quality leaves me questioning the validity of its content.Additionally, much of the basic (soil, pruning, wiring calendar) content was contradictory to many of the other books I’ve been reading. Consistency across multiple books marks this text as the outlier.There was some good content but you will have to fight your way through a disorganized clutter of random ideas, duplicate sentences and poorly drawn colored pencil sketches of color photographs from the opposing page.I really wanted this to be good, I’ll try to read it again and translate it with some note taking.

Novice so this review won't mean a whole lot. but wanting to get into bonsai and loving japanese maples already its a very inspiring book. Looking forward to getting started. I would say from what I've read so far, you'll still need to find a source for the basics.

I am a real bonsai novice. I have quite a number of maples in pots and want to know how to shape them in the bonsai manner. This book starts with mostly drawings of the various styles of bonsai and explains how to create them. It then goes on to describe individual trees of various types of maple in their different styles and is a mixture of photos and drawings, with detailed comments on how the tree started, what has been done to it, what could be done to it in the future, with drawings which show what the tree should look like several years hence. I'm hoping that this will give me the courage to tackle my own trees and the necessary knowledge to ensure their continued survival.

This is one of the best most helpful books I've found for maple bonsai. It's simple, straight forward and beautifully drawn. You can tell the authors passion and deep understanding. Can't recommend this book enough!

An in-depth look at Maples for Bonsai with good illustrations and photos throughout. Answered all my questions that weren’t answered in the many other generic Bonsai books I own.

It’s a very good book, I’m in love with maples bonsai, and here I find a lot of good and precious information.

Love this book good content