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Peter Chan Bonsai Tutorials

Mr Peter Chan

Widely acknowledged as one of the most respected bonsai artists in the world, Peter Chan has earned his place through his extraordinary attention to detail, decades of expertise and lifetime commitment.

As the founder of Herons Bonsai, he has played an instrumental role in introducing enthusiasts everywhere to the intricate art of bonsai cultivation. Having won an unprecedented 21 Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medals, he holds the record for most awards won by any bonsai specialist.
His mastery shines through in his bestselling books such as Bonsai: The Art of Growing and Keeping Miniature Trees and Bonsai Secrets, which have inspired amateurs and connoisseurs alike with their rich lessons.

Through demonstrations, workshops, and other educational initiatives, Peter spreads his passion and profound knowledge, helping others nurture and appreciate the beauty found in cultivating living artwork.

Here, in his video tutorials, he generously shares his decades of experience, providing clear and insightful advice for newcomers and veterans alike.
Browse the extensive collection to learn essential techniques, care tips, and styling strategies. Those looking to begin their own collections will also find a selection of bonsai trees for sale.

Feedback from our Herons YouTube followers:

"Hello! I wanted to tell you that your videos have calmed me down for the past seven years I remember I had just recently discovered you in 2020 during the pandemic and I was scared in the hospital with brain cancer at 16 I would put on your videos and they would make me smile I would imagine myself bring in your shoes with my little bonsai forest while I slept in my hospital room alone for many hours I wish and hope I get the opportunity to meet you and give you a big hug I’ve since had the honor to work alongside one of the best bonsai artists in south Florida and have my own little collection of bonsai but I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you unknowingly keeping me company in my hospital room teaching me about bonsai sending lots of love from Florida and best of wishes Peter:)"

"Hello there,

I am a German bonsai fan and I just wanted to thank you for all the lovely YouTube videos that helped me to get more ideas of how to work on my trees - so much inspiration! I wish I can visit the nursery at some point. Thank you for all the work you put in your videos!"
Kind regards, CP

“I'm a big fan Peter Chan the bonsai man. I love your open direct honest approach to analysing the situation for a good outcome when creating bonsai. I have been growing bonsai for about 8 years now and it brings me a lot of happiness, it all started with your Youtube videos - they have taught me so much - so a big thank you!"
Kind Regards, NM

Youtube Channel

For even more tutorials, please visit the Herons Bonsai Youtube Channel. We add videos regularly!

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Shaping a Yew Bonsai

Running a bonsai nursery has it’s advantages, because I often get trees that have been grown by customers for many years. This is an English yew, It’s in a lovely pot, and we can see the customer has made some attempt at carving.

Those of you who have visited our nursery in Lingfield Surrey, will know that we have a seven and a half acre growing field, where we grow all our maples and other raw material. We don’t just grow maples but pines, junipers, elms (most varieties used for bonsai).

I’m going to show you the next stage of creating a maple bonsai. Let’s take a look at this tree. It has only been in this pot for a year and it is already pot bound. It’s a very interesting tree with a lot of movement.

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Large Bonsai at RHS Wisley

Herons Bonsai are proud sponsors of the Bonsai collection at the Royal Horticultural Society garden in Wisely. Peter and His wife first began sponsoring the Wisley Garden in 1997.

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Literati Bonsai (in Brief)

In this video we take a brief look at the techniques used in creating a Literati bonsai. After splitting the trunk of this bonsai, we wrap it with raffia ribbon. Wrapping the trunk with raffia helps to prevent it from splitting or cracking.

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Big Bonsai on the Herons Nursery

Any visitors to our nursery in Surrey will be greeted by a collection of large bonsais. Within the collection you will find many species including garden pine, European hornbeam, English field maple, scots pine and more all grown at our nursery.

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Bonsai from Field Grown Material

It’s the end of December, the shortest day has passed and the days are getting longer. We are now able to start digging our field grown trees from the ground and start turning them into Japanese garden trees and bonsai.

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Commonly Used Bonsai Terminology

In this youtube video I’m going to talk about commonly used Japanese bonsai terms. You will find that, as you get into the art of bonsai many people like to use Japanese terminology to impress others. Personally, however, I don’t like to use too many Japanese terms.

It’s the 21st of November and it’s a clear, crisp morning. We have had freezing temperatures overnight and the average day temperature is around three to four degrees Celsius.

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Bonsai Tools - All You Need To Know

Today I am going to talk about various bonsai tools and their uses. This is in response to the constructive comments that many of you have given me on the videos I have posted over the past year.

In this tutorial, I want to show you how we create our large Beuvronensis bonsai trees. I also would like to take you around our nursery and show you various examples of these trees in different sizes and at different stages of development.

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How To Sow Maple Seeds Successfully

Growing Maples from seed is not rocket science!

Looking at this Chinese Juniper, you may think making it into a bonsai would be impossible. However, I believe there is no such thing as impossible material.

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All About Maple Bonsai

In this tutorial, Peter takes us around the Herons nursery and discusses the range of maple bonsais on the grounds. Peter also talks about common problems that occur with maples and how to treat them.

Peter demonstrates how to properly clean yellow needles from a white pine bonsai tree.

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Making a Ficus Bonsai Landscape

In this video one of the team at Herons, Padmapriya, show you the process of creating a Ficus Bonsai Landscape.

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How to Propogate Bonsai & Make Cuttings

Many people have asked me to do a vide on propagating plants so in this video I share how to take cuttings and propagate from many species like the Chinese Elm, Cotoneaster, Juniper, Fig, Minature Rose, Camellia, Azalea and Spruce.

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Air Layering an English Elm

In this youtube I share with you a large air layering I have done.

In this video Peter shows us how to deal with what we could call ‘raw material’.

In this tutorial Peter Chan demonstrates how to propagate your bonsai tree and make different types of cuttings. Peter covers hard wood and soft wood cuttings and shares his expert tips.

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Sowing Seeds

Peter shares his tips on sowing seeds and shows a variety of seedling examples including Juniper, Zelkova, crab apple and more.

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How to prune wisteria bonsai

Here Peter Chan shows us how to prune wisteria bonsai. You will find out how to care for wisteria bonsai trees and keep them neat as they grow.

Here Peter shows us how to prune and maintain pine bonsais and deal with unruly pine candles.

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More Bonsai Videos https://www.youtube.com/@HeronsBonsaiUK