Niwaki: Pruning, Training and Shaping Trees the Japanese Way

Love this book!

This is an excellent book and really useful if you're interested in pruning trees and (some) other plants in the Japanese style. It contains loads of really good diagrammes, that show step by step how to achieve each look, and give you the confidence to try them, even if you've got no experience, like me. Also, I have a couple of bonsai trees, which I bought last year, and have so far not pruned them at all, as I found all the bonsai books I've bought so far didn't really explain even maintenance pruning very well, and provided hardly any pictures that actually demonstrate the details. Even with online videos, it's sometimes hard to see exactly what they're doing, when they show you pruning methods and I was reluctant to do it wrong.. A lot of the methods used in niwaki can also be applied to bonsais, and this book is the first I've come across that properly explains and shows how to treat pines (and other trees) to achieve those beautiful foliage pads that bonsais and niwaki both have in common. This book explains and demonstrates the mysteries of candle pinching for pines, which seems to be pretty much exactly the same procedure for bonsais and niwaki. Both have in common that they seek to produce the effect of a mature of tree on a smaller scale. The author is at pains to point out that niwaki and bonsai are completely different, as bonsais are in pots and niwaki mainly in the ground (although can also be grown in pots), but the pruning methods used have a lot of similarities and some of the techniques are identical, or very similar, so I found this also very helpful to understand the pruning methods for different bonsai species, too - both formative and maintenance pruning. The book also includes lots of lovely pictures of various Japanese gardens, both large and small, and provides a wealth of interesting background on Japanese gardening, and to some extent, Japanese culture, too. But while there's plenty of theory, so to speak, there's also plenty of practical information that will enable you to re-produce the techniques described. Think this book is well worth the very reasonable price (although it's gone up about £3 since I bought it), but it's still a very good price, considering the quality of content, and would definitely recommend...

Really nice book. Lots of information in here - so you need to read it multiple times. I only give it 4 stars since the photos are not great and often very small. This is a shame since you need to see the detail and its a missed opportunity since the subject matter is so beautiful.

Arrived promptly and in perfect condition no doubt helped by good packaging. What a brilliant read for anyone interested in Japanese gardening, particularly the shaping of trees. It has allowed me to become much braver as a tree trainer, and has (not just in my opinion but in others' who visit my garden) to enhance the appearance of both evergreen and deciduous trees.

Excellent and inspiring book. With clear diagrams on the techniques and beautiful photos.We started pruning our trees straight away and are extremely pleased with the results

love the book -it offers so much information to our own trees and shrubs and gives a lift to pruning its helped in pruning my fruit trees