M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
Aren't humates derived from sweaty Southern California ass squeezings then strained through a pink thong?
The phases of bonsai
- Thread starter Adair M
- Start date
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
I did not know that!
JoeR
Masterpiece
My point was just to acknowledge that many/most people don't have access to this great of material. Since this likely will end up as a resource for noobs, you must make sure you dont instill a false hope of having free access to plentiful stunning prebonsai like the JBP you posted.
My apologies; carry on.
davetree
Omono
Most people do have access to this material. I live in Minnesota and there is no pre bonsai material to be found. However, I have had trees shipped to me from Telperion Farms, WeeTree, Gregory Beach Bonsai, The Growing Grounds, and George Muranaka. Easy to do, and some are not expensive. Nothing better than getting a tree in the mail.
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
The problem with this is obvious; what if the tree they ship you is a POSai? Just my preference, If I can't see it, touch it, and compare it with other similar trees I don't necessarily trust the source to send me something I really want and I wont buy it sight unseen. That is just my point of view. A number of years ago I had a really bad Korean Hornbeam foisted on me that was the one tree the rest of the club rejected. When it comes to ugly this tree should not have been put into the group selection where some poor slob (me) was going to get stuck with it and had to pay the price for it anyway.
davetree
Omono
Well that's why you buy from reputable sellers who will send you lots of pics. I never got a POS tree from anyone. I pretty much knew what I was buying.
Indeed.
A group to be wary of are the eBay sellers who also sell lots of non bonsai stuff. I generally don't buy much off eBay any more.
But, there are a number of reputable eBay sellers. They use eBay as a marketing tool, and often have other things for sale not listed on eBay.
Going to shows, you meet vendors. You see the quality of their stock. They can't bring everything to the show, so if you ask and let them know what you're looking for, they'll send pictures.
The bonsai world is a small one. They don't want something hurting their reputation. I can remember there was a dust up a couple years ago about a vendor, and it really hurt their reputation. It wasn't about the quality of tree, they were inadequately packaged, so they would arrive damaged.
All that stuff is important, but a reputable seller will stand behind their product.
Sure, I've been burned a bit. I've learned to stick with the professional bonsai sellers when buying on line. Thus, my caution about buying from "private" sellers on eBay.
By the way, Vance, several of the trees I have at Boon's I did not buy from Boon. I bought them from other members of the BIB club in San Francisco, so I keep them at Boon's until I can bring them home.
I agree that the best way to buy is in person with the tree in front of you. And you can learn all the relevant facts, such as when it was last repotted, what fertilizers have they been using, how much sun have they given it, etc.
Bonsai is as much a hobby of developing sources and contacts as it is a hobby of working with little trees!
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Shoot me now and burry me in an shallow grave with a Port Potty seat as a grave marker. No one is quoting me any prices yet. The tree I just recently posted cost less than $20 in 1971, but in 1971, considering what we were going through, $20 was significant. I was going to school, trying to work and had a pregnant wife. We were 750 miles from nearest family that could help and believe me, bonsai was not top of the list of things we were supposed to be doing.
davetree
Omono
aml1014
Masterpiece
Was this an eBay buy or did you contact him otherwise? I'm interested in a lot of his stuff.
Aaron
JoeR
Masterpiece
Did you win an auction on ebay or? More details please...
If you can consistantly purchase trees of this quality and price plus free shipping, I am certainly being left out of something.
He would put every other bonsai nursery out of business at that price, including his own.
davetree
Omono
eBay. He doesn't sell over the Internet. I believe this was a buy it now. It was just a trunk with a couple of small branches. It took about a year to grow the branches and canopy.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
While I would agree that the best way to purchase a bonsai is always in person, I somehow have ended up building almost (and continue to do so) my entire collection from buying through the internet. This has worked out well for me from a combination of using reputable vendors with a more experienced eye in reading the material through photographs.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
That's good but I am still not hearing anything much about costs from these reputable dealers? Do any of them sell Mugo Pine?
jquast
Chumono
George has nice material. I bought this from him a few years ago for about the same price and it was mostly just the trunk with minimal branching at the time.
http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/muranaka-cork-elm.18832/
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
In my case Vance, I don't necessarily look for deals. I look for good material that's right for me. If I can afford it great and if not I move on. No, not aware of anyone with mugo pines. I am having a similar issue with a couple of species that I want and that no one has.
davetree
Omono
I don't think I have seen any mugo pine for sale. Plenty of black pine and red pine though, and everything else as far as bonsai goes. As far as price goes, you get what you pay for.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Dodge dodge dodge, that's all you guys do about the price thing. I get that from everyone of you; Adair, MACH5, (I look for good material that's right for me. If I can afford it great and if not I move on.), davetree ( As far as price goes, you get what you pay for.) holy crap, I know that. That's not the issue. Start giveing me some prices already. I have heard $90 from George Muranaka a couple of times but have not seen a photo of the $90 tree, just to be fare, but lets be honest.
davetree
Omono
I'm not dodging anything. I believe there is a photo posted of that tree. Above my reply. Seiju Elm. The cork bark elm from Telperion was $350.
