Hello,

I wanted to put out a question to people who've watched a lot of the courses here, as I'm considering getting into bonsai and there are no local experts offering courses in my area.

After watching a number of the previews, I find that a lot of the free preview material is just someone kinda talking through what they're doing to a tree. It seems very specific to that tree with little general advice. As someone who learns much more from principles than trying to extrapolate from individual cases, I was wondering if many of the courses get into general principles.

Thank you

I find that the courses I have watched show indeed what they do to a tree, and tell why they do this. To me this is a sort of basic principles discussion, but applied to an example tree. Considering that all trees are different, and different approaches are needed, the broader discussion on why what is done is to me the core of learning bonsai. There is no generic mould one could teach you how to do this.

If you're looking for an overall but solid introduction, the Beginners course is the best fit. If you know your basics, the Intermediate course with Bjorn is excellent, as it discusses the most important tree species (say, pines - junipers - maples - etc.) in detailed case studies. Hope this helps!