Giga
Masterpiece
Cutting off the breaches of that Water Elm would be the biggest mistake ever.... That tree is American all the way and it would be absolutely stupid to try and it make it look like a Japanese tree...I dont care who said it!
If you want a species that could compare to some of the Oriental Hornbeams that are collected in Europe....look no further than Water Elm....most people are just afraid to do what you need to do to collect it....walk thru the swamps.
I think the problem with collected deciduous trees in America is not the trees but the people...too lazy to go look for good ones....certainly there are a few of us willing to go but the vast majority of bonsai folks(American) would rather pay for something than go out and get dirty and tired collecting something....its the American way$$$$
I don't know enough bonsai folk other then here to truly make that call, but I think I agree with you. Though I don't like buying anything if I can avoid it. Though ume and jbp n such I do have to spend mula. I spend most every winter hunting the wood for hours, total time, trying to find great material, weather is in the bog, cliffs, or woods. I'm not tooting my own horn, I think it's just my aversion to spending high sums of $ for bonsai that Spurs me ,when I know there's great tree out there to dig up.
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