Jonas Dupuich releases comprehensive practical guide for bonsai hobbyists

Jonas Dupuich published The Essential Bonsai Book on April 15, 2025, delivering a single-volume, hands-on manual aimed at gardeners moving beyond beginner primers. The book walks readers from choosing material to applying core training techniques—pruning, wiring and repotting—while threading in seasonal timing, design principles and realistic goals for building a collection.

The value is practical and immediate. Chapters lay out when to act on common tasks, so you can schedule wiring and repotting around species dormancy and active growth windows rather than guessing. The manual also includes species-specific notes that help match techniques to common workshop subjects: conifers versus deciduous, which respond differently to heavy pruning or defoliation, and which need gentler wiring windows to avoid bark damage. That seasonal guidance makes the book a working calendar as well as a how-to.

Dupuich draws on his community-facing work with the Bonsai Tonight blog and his nursery, which informs the book’s emphasis on realistic goals for collection building. Instead of one-size-fits-all aesthetics, the manual encourages planning a mixed collection with clear objectives—training timelines, target styles, and maintenance rhythms—so your bench doesn’t become a backlog. Expect practical chapters on nebari development, shaping the apex, deadwood techniques and progressive refinement of ramification that you can apply at club meetings and on material sourced from local nurseries or trunk-shows.

For clubs, workshops and event organizers, the book functions as a recommended text and a shared vocabulary for classes. Use it to structure multi-session curricula: a module on material selection and initial wiring, a mid-season repotting checklist tied to root activity, and an advanced session on refinement techniques. The species notes and seasonal cues make it easier to plan hands-on sessions that align with plant biology rather than calendar dates alone.

The Essential Bonsai Book fills a common gap between brief primers and dense reference tomes by focusing on actionable technique and decision-making. Bring the book to the next meeting for a concise reference on timing and method, consult its species guidance when sourcing material, and apply its collection-goal framework to set realistic training milestones. As a practical, community-oriented resource, it helps turn classroom demonstrations into repeatable practice and gives clubs and growers a reliable roadmap for steady progress.