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I am not familiar with Araucaria cunninghamii, but Araucaria heterophylla is quite common here in the US as a tropical tree - often sold as a houseplant or even as a small tropical Christmas tree. I saw them in landscape in SoCal, and have one now as a large houseplant (though at Zone 8a I can...

I think what is missing in this discussion is that the art of bonsai is about capturing the passage of time in the form of a tree. We all talk about how we aren't simply sticking saplings in pots and calling it a day. An "undisturbed" tree that grows in a field for 500 years is going to look...

Fewer problems with mold if you use inorganic substrate and treat the seeds appropriately. In my case I use a fridge because of: (1) pests, like birds and squirrels, that will devour any available seeds left out in soil or plastic bag and (2) wild temperature swings. We can see highs in the...

I have a large cork oak bonsai and a cork oak that I have put in landscape here to see how it does. Since living in NC, I have lost one smaller tree due to cold, so these are definitely more cold sensitive than my olives, which sit outside 365 days per year. Because I am nervous about my large...

So far so good, with temps about 5-10 below normal... but Sat and Sun are going to be 20 below normal...

Hard to explain but... on the West Coast there is an "old school" Japanese bonsai crowd - the John Naka, Harry Hirao, Mas Ishii crowd... Roy belongs to that group (in a good way). Back in the day, many didn't have web sites. In fact, they wouldn't even allow photos in their nurseries. Andy...

YES!!!! That is Roy Nagatoshi's nursery! I can't speak to what he has on hand day-to-day since I moved out of state six years ago, but you will never find a more experienced, humble, and yet amusing bonsai authority. He was a regular at the GSBF exhibitions, and would often do demos... for a...

I appreciate your honesty... and I'm just gonna say I don't have any skin in this particular game. However I will say that I know tons of bonsai professionals, some of whom I consider personal friends, and tons of nurserymen, etc. I don't think Ryan is going out of his way to annoy people...

Do you know what kind of seeds you are looking for? What kinds of trees you would like to grow?

Bury the trees in snow if you can. Entirely. They aren't photosynthesizing and don't need any light. Think of trees in the mountains buried under 20' of snow. It can be -20F outside and they are sitting at 25F because of radiant heat from the earth.

If someone was interested, why wouldn't they sign up for a newsletter or email for more information? There aren't too many people able to swing 3x 3-day bonsai intensives per year, of which $3000 would just be the starting cost if you also had to pay for travel, stay in hotels, and pay for your...

I've never seen an air spade. I'm not sure how different it would be than using a pressure washer (with water) or for the matter a hose with a jet nozzle... though with an air spade you don't have as much mess. Personally, I don't use hoses with air OR water... and do all my rootwork by hand...

Are you looking for larger pre-bonsai? Someone is selling a small tree on Etsy if you just want the species...

FWIW... he posted that as of 2024 he has "retired from bonsai" :( His last content on his site dates from 9/2023. I was just looking him up because someone was asking about Water Elm - and he's the source!

Generally speaking, Japanese maples do well with direct morning sun and afternoon shade during the heat of the day. However a lot depends on the cultivar, with red leaf cultivars being more sun tolerant than green leaf, and palmatum leaf cultivars being more tolerant than dissectum cultivars...

@William N. Valavanis You probably have all of these... got them in the mid-90's when I was on the West Coast.

Out of curiosity - I've got some old pins that I was going to just put on my tool bag. Do people collect them any more?

Diospyros cathayensis is a different species. Sub-tropical, evergreen. USDA Zones 7-10... though in a pot probably 8-10. Hard to tell, but these trees appear to be suffering from drying out - as if from root damage. You say you got the tree six months ago (like in July?). What are they...

You beat me to it - I was going to say the same. Primo Arborvitae is one of Iseli's registered cultivars - to such an extent that they have even trademarked the name. They were supposed to be "the foliage of a hinoki cypress with the strength and speed of growth of an arborvitae". If...

LOL... ok at this point the die is cast. I would recommend you leave it alone, keep it warm and in full sun, water it without water-logging the soil, and wait.

Way back in the 1990's, I used to help out with some friends who were senior members of the Midwest Bonsai Society. Every year they would bring in a master for about a week to work on their trees. The master would spend a day in each person's garden, working on trees that the owners wanted...

Is this a typo?

You are extremely limited in not only what Japan can supply, but also what the USDA will allow into the country. By the time you work your way through the numerous regulatory requirements, prep the trees for shipping, bring them in, have them inspected, provide the necessary aftercare, and in...

I build custom wood furniture as a hobby. I was talking with another guy who bought some raw hardwood from a large tree that they had to take down in Mount Vernon (George Washington's estate). Because the tree was so old, and so much of the wood was decayed, damaged, there was just enough to...

I moved this post and created a new thread... because I think this is an interesting topic to explore further. Perhaps because I know so many growers, nursery owners, etc, and I have stated on this site that I will not sell trees because I am here to try to help them versus compete with them...