Mojosan
Mame
I recently purchased a small JBP pre-bonsai from a well known BP expert. The tree was listed on his website, I contacted him and asked about it - purchased it. After about 3-4 days without further contact, I emailed and asked about shipping. He had been in Florida and hadn't been able to ship. He would ship within a couple of days. Ok, understandable.
After another week, no contact. So I email again. He said his wife had told him that the post office was closed on Good-Friday (???) and he would ship the next Monday. (turned out to be Wed. )
So, the tree arrives - in a box, with most of the soil loose and out of the pot. The tree had just been layed flat in the box of shipping peanuts, without any attempt to contain the soil or secure the tree. The pot itself was falling apart - like plastic does after a long time exposure to UV. It was in several pieces.
After salvaging as much of the soil as possible and covering the roots, I was astonished to see that there was a large diameter copper wire (not seen in the photos) on the upper portion of the trunk that had obviously been there for some time - it literally had almost cut the trunk in half in several places. Now this was not your normal annealed wire, this was like 12 gauge house wiring with the insulation stripped off. It was almost fully buried into the bark.
Now I could understand if this was applied to the lower trunk - let it bite in and/or be covered by bark to artificially thicken the lower trunk - but this was the upper trunk and leader.
So, I email the seller, and tell him how disappointed, dissatisfied and shocked I am at the condition of the tree. That was nearly a month ago and I have heard nothing from him.
Now this was not an expensive tree, but I was expecting someone who bills himself as 'king of Black Pines' to show more care in not only the treatment of the stock he sells, but also in the treatment of his customers.
Now, in comparison - about the same time, I contacted Bill Valavanis regarding purchasing a JBP. He informed me that there were none left of this years stock. BUT, he had one that he had already trimmed and wired, and he would sell it to me for the same price. To me, a no brainer!
Not only did he ship immediately, but the tree arrived very well packed and in excellent condition. It exceeded my expectations in both health and quality.
So my whole point here is, don't be lured into thinking that just because the seller is 'a name' and has been around a long time, that you will be treated well or be satisfied with your purchase.
After another week, no contact. So I email again. He said his wife had told him that the post office was closed on Good-Friday (???) and he would ship the next Monday. (turned out to be Wed. )
So, the tree arrives - in a box, with most of the soil loose and out of the pot. The tree had just been layed flat in the box of shipping peanuts, without any attempt to contain the soil or secure the tree. The pot itself was falling apart - like plastic does after a long time exposure to UV. It was in several pieces.
After salvaging as much of the soil as possible and covering the roots, I was astonished to see that there was a large diameter copper wire (not seen in the photos) on the upper portion of the trunk that had obviously been there for some time - it literally had almost cut the trunk in half in several places. Now this was not your normal annealed wire, this was like 12 gauge house wiring with the insulation stripped off. It was almost fully buried into the bark.
Now I could understand if this was applied to the lower trunk - let it bite in and/or be covered by bark to artificially thicken the lower trunk - but this was the upper trunk and leader.
So, I email the seller, and tell him how disappointed, dissatisfied and shocked I am at the condition of the tree. That was nearly a month ago and I have heard nothing from him.
Now this was not an expensive tree, but I was expecting someone who bills himself as 'king of Black Pines' to show more care in not only the treatment of the stock he sells, but also in the treatment of his customers.
Now, in comparison - about the same time, I contacted Bill Valavanis regarding purchasing a JBP. He informed me that there were none left of this years stock. BUT, he had one that he had already trimmed and wired, and he would sell it to me for the same price. To me, a no brainer!
Not only did he ship immediately, but the tree arrived very well packed and in excellent condition. It exceeded my expectations in both health and quality.
So my whole point here is, don't be lured into thinking that just because the seller is 'a name' and has been around a long time, that you will be treated well or be satisfied with your purchase.