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Top left; The format for the lectures is a proven model, featuring a live Table of Contents— nding what you want to watch again is easy and fast.
Top right; In the free lecture on Water, Michael shows an easy way of testing water to determine it’s pH balance and explains how minerals in the water a ect plant health.
Bottom; The equation for photosynthesis and how sunlight a ects trees is explained in detail.
Intermediate Bonsai Course, teaming up with Bjorn, to deliver detailed lectures on objective pruning, proper wiring techniques and progressions on some of the most popular species of trees used in bonsai in Japan. If you can grow hinoki cypress, junipers, maples, and pines in your zone, this series of lectures is for you.
In March, Bonsai Empire launched the latest series of lectures, this time by well-known bonsai artist Michael Hagedorn.
Michael Hagedorn is an impassioned teacher with an engaging style who obviously loves what he does. His rst contribution to the world of bonsai was under the brand Crataegus Bonsai Containers. An art school graduate, he put his talents to work
making outstanding bonsai pots. This American bonsai artist, educator and author has garnered a large following online with his excellent blog, replete with articles great photos and videos, https:// crataegus.com/blog/. Michael is a popular headliner and workshop leader at bonsai conventions.
A er apprenticing in Japan with Shinji Suzuki, Michael moved to Portland, Oregon, USA to create a garden, and while there founded the Portland Bonsai Village.
Over a year ago Michael Hagedorn and Oscar Jonker from Bonsai Empire set out to create an online course to help students understand why we do what we do in bonsai. e course curriculum is built around the fundamentals of Bonsai, focusing on plant physiology as well as on the aesthetics of Japanese Bonsai design. Shot entirely in Japan, the course is aptly named the Bonsai Fundamentals Course. The world-class trees in Shinji Suzuki’s garden add a rich element to the lecture series.
Now that these lectures are available, Michael’s knowledge and experience can help us create better trees. He explains how young trees can be made to grow vigorously and how to modify and adapt these techniques and processes for older trees that need re nement. To give an example of how this course sheds light on topics too often ignored, Michael Hagedorn discusses the lecture about hormones in the following excerpt: (there’s 22 lectures in total)
“An example; Hormones
Hormones help determine plant shape. Buds burst, cells elongate, shoots or roots are stimulated, all because of hormones. Although there are many hormones in plants, the two most important ones to know about for bonsai culture are auxin and cytoki- nin. ese are considered the ‘yin-yang’ hormones, as they work in opposition/harmony with one another.
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