The 5 Best Bonsai Books For Bonsai Lovers (Top Picks & Reviews)

Are you a bonsai lover? Do you want to know the rich and proud history of bonsai? Or, do you want to start your career in the bonsai industry? Whatever may be the case, reading a bonsai care book and its history is always worth an investment. 

Whether you are a beginner, intermediate or expert bonsai planter, books on bonsai can always help you gather knowledge and enrich your expertise. But how do you find the best bonsai books for beginners and professionals?

Well, it becomes even more complicated as, unlike products, books don’t come with specifications on their labels that you can overview and finalize your selection. 

But, fret not…

We have talked with 25+ bonsai experts and found out the 5 best book for bonsai lovers.  When you read them, you will know why these bonsai books top the list. 

So, let’s jump deep into the realm of bonsai books. 

Review Of The 5 Best Bonsai Books of 2022

Books are the storehouse of knowledge on every branch, and the bonsai industry is no exception. If you want an in-depth knowledge of bonsai and want to know its long history, reading the recommended bonsai books is the best solution. 

Here’re our bonsai book reviews for beginners and experts that you will find useful and easy to understand. Plus, these books have easy language and are fun to read. 

1.Bonsai Basics The Foundations Of Bonsai

This book is definitely the top choice if you are new in the bonsai industry and want quick guidance on bonsai care and maintenance. You will get everything inside the paperback version, from the bonsai care and maintenance to picking the right tree and proper arrangement. 

The book is written with beginners in mind. So, you will enjoy its catchy language and easy-to-follow suggestions. The best thing is that the paperback book easily fits into your pocket and so, you can read it on trains or busses without investing additional time for it. 

The book includes 101 top tips and suggestions for bonsai beginners and will surely help them achieve expertise. Going through the book will definitely open a new world of bonsai in front of you. 

You will learn about the different popular bonsai species, including Scots Pine and Japanese Red Maple, find useful tips on pruning, watering, repotting, and fertilization with in-depth discussion. So, it should be enough to begin your bonsai and develop your expertise gradually. 

However, the book doesn’t include any step-by-step guidelines. So, you might find the information pretty scattered and at times overwhelming. Apart from it, the book is truly an excellent reading material. 

Plus, its hard paperback version features a beautiful yet sleek look. Thus, this book is a must-have in your library whether or not you love bonsai. It will simply be a superb addition to your collection. 

Highlighted Points:

• 101 essential and helpful tips 
• Detail discussion on bonsai species 
• Enrich language and easy to understand 
• Ideal for beginners and newbie planters 
• The minimalistic paperback design fits into the pocket 

What We Didn’t Like:

• The tips are scattered and lack proper arrangement 
• No step by step guide for beginners 

Why Should You Read It:

If you are a newbie and want to understand bonsai basics quickly, this bonsai book for beginners is worth reading. Thanks to its easy language and excellent presentation, you won’t get bored while reading the book. 

2.Little Book Of Bonsai

Jonas Dupich wrote this book. Does this name sound familiar? Well, Dupich is the founder of the #1 bonsai blog in America, and you can count on his years of experience on bonsai trees and maintenance. 

The book includes all information you need to help your bonsai strive healthily and happily without any problem. If you can follow its stepped guidelines and maintenance tips, your bonsai is surely going to look impressive. Even if you plan for a commercial bonsai plantation, the tips of Dupich will increase the value of your bonsais for an excellent profit. 

You will get to read about the wiring techniques and tips on using the right fertilizer at the right moment for bonsais. Plus, its in-depth discussion on the choices of containers and soil for different bonsai species is a big bonus for beginners. 

Hence, the bonsai for beginners’ book is a complete guide. What’s more, you will learn about the common diseases and pests that affect bonsais and how to treat them perfectly in the book. But the best part of the book is something else. 

It includes multiple illustrations on different styles of bonsai, its pruning technique, and repotting tips. You will know about forest-style bonsai, bunjin bonsai, rooted bonsai, etc., quickly through the illustrations. The illustrations are colorful and eye-catchy. 

The book comes in hardcover format and also adds value to your living room library. The language is easy, and even nonnative people will find it easy and fun to read. 

Highlighted Points:

• A complete guide on bonsai basics 
• An excellent illustration of different bonsai styles 
• Detail discussion on bonsai pests and diseases 
• The language is easy and understandable for all 
• The hardcover format is surely a great library collection 

What We Didn’t Like:

• The book is a little lengthy; you will need time to finish it 

Why Should You Read It:

The Little Book of Bonsai isn’t little in terms of information. You will love its complete bonsai care, maintenance, and development guideline that you will appreciate and find pretty useful too. 

3.Peter Chan Bonsai Books

The Bonsai Beginner’s Bible is the best bonsai book for beginners that will love to read. Peter Chan, the famous bonsai researcher, wrote this book explicitly for beginners. So, you will find it pretty friendly and easy to read and understand. 

The book starts with the rich bonsai story and roots. So, you will know how bonsai developed as Japanese culture. Then it moves to the bonsai tree selection, soils, repotting techniques, and fertilization when you first begin the bonsai. 

Next, you will learn the entire guideline on bonsai tree care and maintenance that includes different varieties of bonsai. So, whether you have Canadian maple bonsai or Japanese Flowering Cherry, this book will ensure a complete guideline from the first potting to the several years of repotting. 

The best part of the book is its excellent illustration. Peter Chan has sho3wcased the care and maintenance points using beautiful illustrations. So, you will learn bonsai art without any boredom and annoyance. 

In fact, with 180+ illustrations, this book will easily help you choose both the indoor or outdoor bonsai at ease. Yes, the illustrations show clear differences between indoor and outdoor bonsai plants with an in-detail description. So, this book has nothing left that you need to learn as a bonsai beginner. In fact, we found it suitable even for those with zero knowledge of bonsai. 

Highlighted Points:

• 180+ excellent and detailed bonsai illustrations 
• Detailed discussions on various types of bonsais 
• Includes step-by-step guidelines on bonsai tree care 
• The language is attractive and easy to understand for all 
• Explicitly written for beginners without any complicated information 

What We Didn’t Like: 

• Not useful for anyone except newbies 

Why You Should Read It:

The Bonsai Beginner’s Bible is a perfect recommended bonsai book for beginners. If you are willing to start your bonsai career, this book will surely boost your confidence. 

4.Bonsai Book For Beginners

George Yasukazu Tagawa’s Bonsai For Beginners is another incredible book to kick off your bonsai career with a bang. This book finds its place among the best bonsai book for beginners for multiple reasons. To begin with, the book includes a detailed discussion on indoor and outdoor bonsai species. It also shows you what type of bonsai species should be planted where. 

The book showcases differences in shades and lights and tells what kinds of species you should choose for the different shaded and lights in and out of your room. So, you are free from the chances of choosing the wrong bonsai species. 

This discussion is a critical point for beginners as the majority of them choose the wrong species. So, this book gives you an edge over others. Next, it talks about lighting and watering for bonsai during the entire year to better match the plants’ growth. So, your bonsai won’t die. 

You will also get to learn the fertilization, care, and maintenance tips for the bonsais. What’s more, the information in this book is tailored for beginners. So, newbies and people with zero knowledge of bonsai will find this 146-page book pretty friendly. 

The only setback of the book is it lacks large and enriched illustrations. But, Tagawa makes up for it with his detailed discussion of every point. 

Highlighted Points:

• Excellent information on indoor and outdoor bonsai plants 
• The watering and lighting of bonsai species are elaborately discussed 
• The care and maintenance tips are easy to understand for all
• The language is easy, and it is fun to read; no place of boredom 
• Tailored mainly for newbies and so,  it will help beginners superbly 

What We Didn’t Like:

• It doesn’t include any illustrations 

Why Should You Read It:

We recommend reading the Bonsai For Beginners book if you don’t risk choosing the wrong bonsai species and ruining your initial enthusiasm. You will love each chapter with excellent discussion. 

5.Art Of Bonsai Book

With detailed discussion of over 100+ bonsai species and step-by-step suggestions from species selection to watering and repotting, the Art of Bonsai is the best-advanced bonsai book at present. The author of this book, Harry Tomlinson, has written this book with a unique presentation, detailed discussion, and easy language for all. 

Whether you are a beginner or professional bonsai planter, this book will be useful for you with its tons of options. The book starts by tracing back the original history and development of bonsai as a rich Japanese culture and shows illustrations of various classic bonsai styles. 

Also, you will learn the art of displaying your competed bonsais attractively and engagingly. This book’s unique advantage is that many pro-bonsai planters find it difficult to display their bonsai for audiences. 

You will love the step-by-step and comprehensive guidelines to grow bonsai from seedlings to a proper tree if you are a beginner. The steps are so well arranged that you will find them like images in front of your eyes. 

Every chapter and paragraph of the book is arranged to enhance the art of bonsai. Undoubtedly, this book will go as the best bonsai book for beginners and pros in the market. Its hardcover edition is also a good collection for your library. 

Highlighted Points:

• The list includes discussion on 100+ indoor and outdoor bonsai species 
• The nice illustrations show every tool and technique for bonsai 
• The discussion on bonsai history is engaging and an eye-opener for many people 
• The excellent hardcover design makes this book a great collection for the library 
• Step-by-step guideline on  bonsai planting is useful for beginners and newbies 

What We Didn’t Like:

• The book has nothing to complain about at all

Why Should You Read It:

The Art Of Bonsai is an engaging and eye-opener book for bonsai lovers. You not only know the story of bonsai, but also you will learn detailed tips on all possible bonsai plants. Plus, the illustrations help in learning the techniques and uses of the tolls with ease. 

Conclusion 

Bonsai is an art that needs years of experience for perfection. While you can learn it with several trials and errors, the best bonsai books will help you learn the techniques. We have reviewed five top books for bonsai. These books are suitable for beginners and experts alike. Thus, you can easily pick any of these books if you plan to kick off your bonsai career. You will also love the illustrations and step-by-step guidelines to help beginners choose the right bonsai species with its proper maintenance and care, even without previous knowledge.