The Brooklyn Botanic Garden just  released its newest Region Guide -  Growing Bonsai Indoors.  This is a comprehensive introduction to tropical, subtropical bonsai growing indoors year-round.

Growing Bonsai Indoors featuring the basics of indoor bonsai care, portraits of 24 great trees for growing indoors and essential pruning techniques plus more. The handy guide is tailored to the needs of first-time bonsai owners and explains step-by-step how to make bonsai flourish inside the average home. Readers will also find a thorough overview of the most common bonsai styles along with advice on styling from renowned experts.

This book would make a great gift and you could also add a starter Bonsai kit.

Starter Kit Make Your Own Bonsai Tree Make your own Bonsai Tree. Everything you need to create your own bonsai tree. Kit includes the following: Glazed ceramic imported container Juniper Procumbens Nana (3 years old) Annealed copper training wire Bonsai tree soil (conifer mix) Fiberglass drainage hole covers Multi-colored textured rock Separate typewritten instructions for potting, training and maintenance Ceramic miniature figurine humidity/drip tray Plastic plant marker

Just Max

(Juniper Procumbens “nana”)

Beginnig Bonsai: The Gentle Art of Miniature Tree Growing
Larry and Shirley Student

This book is one of the best for beginner bonsai growers and is authored by Northeast Bonsai Association charter members. Everything you need from buying your first bonsai to creating your own bonsai landscape is here. There are also important tips on how to find the right bonsai style, how and when to prune or pinch and anticipate potential problems. This is a practical book to have, especially if you’re still unsure about handling bonsai.

The Art of Bonsai: Creation, Care and Enjoyment
Yuji Yoshimura with Giovanna Halford

This book is in paperback and discusses the beginnings and nature of bonsai as an ancestral tradition. You get expert advice and lessons from Yoshimura, who travels the world to teach about bonsai and from Halford, a pupil of Yoshimura’s.

Together, they bring together the eastern and western aspects of bonsai growing in an easy-to-read book that is filled with practical answers to the most common bonsai problems. Incidentally, Yoshimura owns the Kofu-en, a bonsai nursery near Tokyo, which is frequented by international admirers.

Bonsai Survival Manual: Tree-by-Tree Guide to Buying, Maintaining and Problem Solving
Colin Lewis

Authored by the founder of Bonsai Magazine, this book will give you the most detailed advice on selecting plants for bonsai, assessing bonsai health and yes, ensuring its survival. From buying to shaping, from pruning to repotting to handling common pests and diseases, this book also contains specific information for each bonsai featured in its pages. Also with photographs, a good book to have if you’re a beginner.

Bonsai (101 Essential Tips)
Harry Tomlinson

The best 101 tips for bonsai growing and care are what you’ll get from this book, authored by one of the leading bonsai instructors in Europe. The tips are practical, easy to understand and can provide the most comprehensive answers to the common (and uncommon) bonsai questions.

Bonsai Landscapes
Peter D. Adams

If you have enough bonsai experience, then you’re ready to move on to the next level by creating landscapes for your bonsai. The topics are illustrated with photographs and line drawings and the whole book has easy to follow instructions for 13 styles of landscapes. Great if you plan to create miniature worlds in a small pot.

Just Max