Page 43 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2015Q1

BOOKS “The language is straightforward,

the concepts well presented, and
Botany for Gardeners the information proffered in terms
that will make sense to hands-on
gardeners.” —Horticulture
Third Edition written and illustrated by Brian Capon

By Lew Buller, USA
ant to improve the quality of your bonsai? Then learn something about
Botany. Brian Capon’s Botany for Gardeners is the single most useful
Wnon-bonsai book that a bonsai enthusiast like me ever read. Now in its
3rd edition, the book is available online.
The topics in Chapter II will grab you immediately. A quick run-down:
Root Systems
Root Growth
Root Hairs and Branches
(Do you know what a root hair is? How long it lives?)
Primary Growth in Stems
Development of a Woody Twig
Features of a Woody Twig
Leaves
(Is the foliage on a juniper a leaf? In its juvenile form? Or mature form?)
You probably know that plants take in oxygen through their leaves and give off
carbon dioxide. Did you know that they take in oxygen through their roots and
give off carbon dioxide? What bearing does this have on your soil and your water-
ing schedule?
Plentiful color photos and black-and-white diagrams—sometimes two or three
on a page—make clear many of the topics written about in this book. Dr. Capon
discusses xylem and phloem and the plumbing system of plants. If you have done
so or want to try air layering, this material will help you understand why it works. Brian Capon 2013.
Some of the information is eye-opening. For example, privet leaves and berries Botany for Gardeners, Third Edition
are poisonous. Not that I plan to eat any, but privet (Ligustrum japonicum) is one Timber Press, 268 pp.
of my favorite bonsai. Likewise, with azaleas, often used in bonsai, the entire plant
is poisonous. ISBN: 978-1-60469-095-8. Soft cover.
He says “Five different hormones have been identified in plants....” They control the $19.95 USD/£14.99
growth and development of plants. That number is pretty close
to the six major hormones in humans that also control growth
and development. Auxin, a plant hormone, is a workhorse,
affecting many aspects of plant growth. Auxin is responsible
for the fact that if you pinch the tip of a plant, new branches
will develop lower down. Auxin helps form roots when you
air-layer.
In Chapter Eight “The Uptake and Use of Water, Minerals,
and Light” Dr. Capon gets serious about the flow of water in
a plant. He also discusses the macronutrients and micronu-
trients needed by plants. “Each element plays specific bio-
chemical roles.” Make sure your bonsai get all of these. You
need to make your soils with different elements that need to
be matched to the needs of the plants.
Botany for Gardeners does not have to be read all at one sitting.
Nor does everything in the book have direct applicability to
bonsai. Some parts I read just for fun, or to help my wife, who
loves flowers.

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