My wife and I are considering moving to a red State that is a bit warmer in the wintertime than where we live now. Only considering for now. Arizona comes up a lot in searches so we are looking and gathering info on that State now. We would rather live in a rural area closer to mountains and trees. Not sure Flagstaff would work as it is very expensive and weather close to ours in the winter. I also don't know about bonsai clubs in the State. Any help/advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
BONSAI IN ARIZONA??
- Thread starter August44
- Start date
Ruddigger
Omono
The Phoenix club is very active and full of cool people. Keeping trees is a lot harder in Arizona though.
tinusje
Sapling
Just out of polite interest: is the blue-red of a state really a consideration?
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
I don't want this thread to devolve into politics, but it can have a huge difference - particularly when it comes to how much government you want in your daily life, and how much you want to pay for said government. The good news is that if you don't like the political environment, you can try to vote in a new one, or simply move to a location that is a little friendlier towards your political POV. The US is large enough that you have tons of choice.
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luvinthemountains
Chumono
I second @Ruddigger. I lived on the northern boundary of AZ for five years, and it was tough. I had to set up automatic watering to keep everything "happy" and even then there was a lot of leaf burn. That was at altitude (not quite as high as Flagstaff) where lower-altitude species suffer from the UV. At low altitude, you get the trade off of insane heat!
luvinthemountains
Chumono
Incidentally (and mindful of @Bonsai Nut's warning above), you should know that anywhere in Arizona with any kind of population density is actually not that red. Unless you want to live in the backwater, that leaves you Kingman, Prescott, and Yuma. Prescott is nice, Yuma I don't know, but Kingman is a hole. Good luck making your choice!
Colorado
Masterpiece
@August44 You should check out the Sedona area. It is incredibly beautiful! Definitely hot in the summers, but it is kind of at the base of the mountains and I would imagine not quite as bad as Phoenix area. Still some chill in the winters, but not much.
I would think it would be a great place to do bonsai!
I would think it would be a great place to do bonsai!
Colorado
Masterpiece
Weather looks *perfect* in Sedona actually 
I was born and raised in Oregon. Oregon has a West Side that is about totally blue. They run the entire State because there is way more people over there than on the East side where I live. The West side does whatever it wants to do with no thoughts/considerations about what the East side might want. There are attempts at every election to try and change that, but not any success lately. The Democratic candidate for president has won in Oregon in every election since 1988. Both houses of Oregon's legislative assembly have been under Democratic control since the 2012 elections. Oregon has not elected a Republican Governor since Vic Atiyeh won reelection in 1982. IMO, things have been going downhill in Oregon for a long time. Portland Oregon used to be beautiful. Now it's an absolute shit hole. Sorry for the language, but I know no other way to describe it. To me it's very simple. If your neighbor has a messy yard, and his house is a pig pen, it's nobodies fault but his. It's also the City/States fault where he lives if those two entities choose to embrace the neighbor and his mess for whatever reason, then the entire City and State can become that way. I am very logical and in no way do I understand the stupidity of that kind of thinking or the Governing, and I'm not at all sure I want to hear or read any kind of explanation of crazy because it's still crazy and I won't agree or like it.
It is like living with a bad partner. Some people get to a point where they have to raise their middle finger, scream at them one last time, and move on. I am there!
andrewiles
Shohin
I grew up in Tucson and have lived in Phoenix. Prior to trying to grow bonsai. It gets incredibly hot in the summer and it's something to really think about before moving there. Unless you are actually looking for the summer heat I'd definitely suggest aiming for the mountains, even if that means colder winters. If you don't want the heat you're probably going to find the summers tough. Prescott used to be a nice compromise betweeen heat and cold and cost though I don't know if that's still true. We also loved the tiny mountain town above Tucson called Summer Haven, though I think it burned down years ago. Probably expensive too.
bdmatt
Mame
If you're looking for a rural area near the mountains, I think living near or on the Chiricahua mountains is an option. I went there for a research trip studying the native insects and flora in San Simon.
Here's a list of things I noticed:
-Very small communities and towns. The town I lived in only had a population of about 100 people or less and they were scattered. Closest neighbor was a 3km drive south.
-The people living here are mostly elderly
-Lots of natural biodiversity, both insects and trees
-Lots of yamadori (if you're into that). Tons of alligator and one seed junipers. Occasionally, you'd find some california junipers but only in the drier regions.
-Depending on what elevation you are in Chiricahua, climate varies drastically. At the base of the mountain, it's like anywhere else in Arizona. At higher elevations, you start getting snow. If I remember correctly, around 5000 ft would be ideal for growing bonsai.
-Closest walmart/gas station is like 50ish kilometers
-During monsoon season, it's almost impossible to traverse the roads since everythings flooded.
-Cheap land but not a lot of built infrastructure.
Here's a list of things I noticed:
-Very small communities and towns. The town I lived in only had a population of about 100 people or less and they were scattered. Closest neighbor was a 3km drive south.
-The people living here are mostly elderly
-Lots of natural biodiversity, both insects and trees
-Lots of yamadori (if you're into that). Tons of alligator and one seed junipers. Occasionally, you'd find some california junipers but only in the drier regions.
-Depending on what elevation you are in Chiricahua, climate varies drastically. At the base of the mountain, it's like anywhere else in Arizona. At higher elevations, you start getting snow. If I remember correctly, around 5000 ft would be ideal for growing bonsai.
-Closest walmart/gas station is like 50ish kilometers
-During monsoon season, it's almost impossible to traverse the roads since everythings flooded.
-Cheap land but not a lot of built infrastructure.
Ruddigger
Omono
No kidding, I spend half my time there for work.
Srt8madness
Omono
I'd suggest Texas, but no great mountains here, at least nothing close to a good place to inhabit.
Hartinez
Masterpiece
I found the towns of Payson and Showlow to be quite nice. They are also in higher elevation areas with lots of coniferous material available like alligator juniper and more. I think they are more towards your political leanings also.
Hartinez
Masterpiece
Both towns are around 10-15k population and are I think around a 6-7 hardiness zone. I’ve driven through both multiple times on my drives to Phoenix from Abq.
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
I've got a friend who moved from socal to rural Arkansas and loves it. Great outdoors and mountain biking
LuZiKui
Shohin
Sedona would be perfect for bonsai, unfortunately it’s crazy expensive now. Most of the working class people can’t really afford to live there anymore and live 20-30 miles away in camp verde.
Cottonwood might be worth looking at, close to Sedona and Prescott but still less expensive and not very harsh in the winter.
Ya but what about heat, humidity, and collecting Capt? Where did he move to if I can ask?
PS: Funny...I thought socal was you trying to spell social, but then figured So Cal. Duh!
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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The problem with Arizona, and most of the desert southwest is they are running out of water. It is important to look into any potential new location's source of water. You can find that in the heat of summer you might be prohibited from watering your outdoor bonsai trees by your local municipality, or water district, or home owner's association.
Definitely check out water sources and potential restrictions before purchasing. Desert country is no joke.
Definitely check out water sources and potential restrictions before purchasing. Desert country is no joke.
luvinthemountains
Chumono
This should absolutely be top of mind. I am already making plans to exit Utah in the next five years for a locale with more reliable water. The town I moved from last year is getting ready to tap an aquifer that took thousands of years to fill and will last 50. Well water is declining all over Arizona. There was a story in the news yesterday about a small community outside Scottsdale that will supposedly have their water feed shut off because the city just doesn't have the water. Long term, it isn't just water restrictions - it's no water or at least very expensive water.
