Best outdoor pre-bonsai under $500?

[AcerAddict]

https://bonsai-south.com/bonsai-shop-2/ @Zach Smith has a few BC for sale if you're interested btw

Unfortunately, all four of those are already sold.

 

[rockm]

https://bonsai-south.com/bonsai-shop-2/ @Zach Smith has a few BC for sale if you're interested btw

Excellent vendor. Zach Smith who runs bonsai-south is extremely knowledgeable and capable. Over the years, I've got several trees collected by him. Beats Wigerts and brussels by a mile for BC. A $500 tree from him would be great thing...He collects in the spring, and his trees go FAST. The BC pictured on his sale list have been sold for the year, so I don't think he has anything left. Might be worth an email asking though.

 

[penumbra]

Not to be confrontational because people do love their cypress (I love mine) but there is at least half a dozen trees I would pick before I picked a cypress.

 

[AcerAddict]

Dude, people would kill to be within a four hour drive of this show. Vendors rarely post what they're going to have for sale, as it changes, it depends on how much space they have, what they've got on hand, etc. FWIW, I wouldn't sweat it. I'd save my money for the show. What you're considering--a higher end, mostly finished tree with two or three years work left on it--is probably going to run you more than $500 realistically. Sure you can find a $500 tree from a mediocre online vendor, or even a very nice developed tree like the one Dav has offered up, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what you find at the show (although Dav4's BC is killer). If I were going to take a deep dive like you're planning, I'd want to see A LOT of options IN PERSON.

Fair enough. Given a choice, I would prefer to see a tree in-person before spending a significant amount of money. I will do my best to wait for the show then.

If you want to spend a lot of money and have three or four days to spare this fall and a car, airplane or train ticket--one of the biggest U.S. bonsai shows is happening in September up near Rochester, N.Y. The bi-ennial U.S. National Exhibition show Sept. 11-12 in Rochester, N.Y. is the ultimate in terms of quality exhibits and draws ALL of the top-notch vendors. It's an invitational, show entries are vetted by the show organizers, so there is a high bar for quality.

The show page has a vendor list--and hooo boy I lost money just looking at it. It's one of the "prestige" bonsai event in the U.S. It is a bucket list trip for me.

That's too soon and I couldn't make it anyway. Good to keep in mind for the future though.

 

[AcerAddict]

Not to be confrontational because people do love their cypress (I love mine) but there is at least half a dozen trees I would pick before I picked a cypress.

I understand, and as my first post shows, a cypress was not even in my initial list. Being a betting man, I'd wager that I'll end up with a maple, crape myrtle, or buttonwood before Christmas. Certainly will keep a cypress on the list for next year, but for a first major purchase, it would probably be best to go with a tree I'm already pretty familiar with.

 

[rockm]

Not to be confrontational because people do love their cypress (I love mine) but there is at least half a dozen trees I would pick before I picked a cypress.

Yeah, but you've been doing this for a while. The reason a BC is arguably a good choice to spend big bucks on for a beginner is they are very hard to kill and grow like weeds--particularly in coastal NC. Spending $500 on a black pine, only to kill it because you don't know the ins and outs of care. Same for alot of other species. BC are bascially water, full sun, stand back.

 

[Dav4]

Dude, people would kill to be within a four hour drive of this show. Vendors rarely post what they're going to have for sale, as it changes, it depends on how much space they have, what they've got on hand, etc. FWIW, I wouldn't sweat it. I'd save my money for the show. What you're considering--a higher end, mostly finished tree with two or three years work left on it--is probablyh going to run you more than $500 realistically. Sure you can find a $500 tree from a mediocre online vendor, or even a very nice developed tree like the one Dav has offered up, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what you find at the show (although Dav4's BC is killer). If I were going to take a deep dive like you're planning, I'd want to see A LOT of options IN PERSON. and BTW, club auctions can bring extremely nice material to the table for a third what you would pay online. Many experienced bonsaiists sell off the stock they've been working on for years to make room for other stuff.

If you want to spend a lot of money and have three or four days to spare this fall and a car, airplane or train ticket--one of the biggest U.S. bonsai shows is happening in September up near Rochester, N.Y. The bi-ennial U.S. National Exhibition show Sept. 11-12 in Rochester, N.Y. is the ultimate in terms of quality exhibits and draws ALL of the top-notch vendors. It's an invitational, show entries are vetted by the show organizers, so there is a high bar for quality.

The show page has a vendor list--and hooo boy I lost money just looking at it. It's one of the "prestige" bonsai event in the U.S. It is a bucket list trip for me.

7th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition

The world bonsai community will once again be enriched by the display of bonsai gathered from across the United States at the 5th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition, September 11-12, 2021 in Rochester, NY.

www.usnationalbonsai.com

Couldn't agree more... Right now, I live 4 hours away from Kannapolis and will attend without fail if able... and my baldie is priced to sell!!

 

[penumbra]

Yeah, but you've been doing this for a while. The reason a BC is arguably a good choice to spend big bucks on for a beginner is they are very hard to kill and grow like weeds--particularly in coastal NC. Spending $500 on a black pine, only to kill it because you don't know the ins and outs of care. Same for alot of other species. BC are bascially water, full sun, stand back.

I completely agree. The black pine is the last one on OPs short list I would recommend. The Trident is the first. Personally for me, a hornbeam or an oak. But how would one ever know unless one is presented with the choice? I think it is better to have a list of what you don't want than it is to have a list of what you want.
Just saying the top choice wouldn't be a bald cypress for me. My views could change.

 

[Maiden69]

May be way out of the budget you have... but after all the craziness that happened this year, between vandalism, cold spell and now a heat spell Ryan decided to downsize his collection of trees. Sale link is included in the quote from Mirai's email. Also, Jonas, from Bonsai Tonight also have a SALE right now. He have 4 trees within your budget. Lastly, you can always check on Brent's website Evergreen Garden Works, he always have some specimen tree for sale within that budget.

Make sure your alarms are set and calendars are marked: the Mirai tree web sale begins in one week. The sale goes live at noon PDT on Thursday, August 19th and ends at 11:59pm PDT on Sunday, August 22nd. The collection can be found here. Trees will not appear until noon PDT on 8/19.

There will be a variety of species, sizes, ages, and prices included in the sale. Please note, that to be fair to all buyers, we do not release photos of or information about sale trees in advance. A limited number of tree photos will be posted on our social media and in these emails.

Trees that are available to ship via common carriers will be marked as such on each tree's product page. Please note we can only ship trees in the contiguous United States.

 

[rockm]

May be way out of the budget you have... but after all the craziness that happened this year, between vandalism, cold spell and now a heat spell Ryan decided to downsize his collection of trees. Sale link is included in the quote from Mirai's email. Also, Jonas, from Bonsai Tonight also have a SALE right now. He have 4 trees within your budget. Lastly, you can always check on Brent's website Evergreen Garden Works, he always have some specimen tree for sale within that budget.

May be way out of the budget you have... but after all the craziness that happened this year, between vandalism, cold spell and now a heat spell Ryan decided to downsize his collection of trees. Sale link is included in the quote from Mirai's email. Also, Jonas, from Bonsai Tonight also have a SALE right now. He have 4 trees within your budget. Lastly, you can always check on Brent's website Evergreen Garden Works, he always have some specimen tree for sale within that budget.

You can bet that Whatever Mirai offers (they're not showing which trees are in the sale, until the DAY OF the sale), will be well over $500, probably well over $1,000. Mira's sales are typically outstanding for collected western conifers. Broadleafed or deciduous trees are rare from him. Bonsai Tonight trees under $500 look good...

 

[AcerAddict]

I think it is better to have a list of what you don't want than it is to have a list of what you want.

Good point. Here's what I am NOT looking to buy at the moment:

• Typical "indoor", "easy", or "starter" bonsai. Including, but not limited to:
  • Hawaiian Umbrella
  • Ficus (any variety)
  • Fukien Tea
  • Money Tree
  • Dwarf Jade
• Chinese Elm. Just not visually appealing to me.
• Juniper. Already have three of those I'm growing out and training.
• Japanese maples other than an Arakawa. Got nine JMs at home already, but the "Rough Bark" Arakawa would be a welcome addition.
• "Tropical" trees other than a Buttonwood. Already got a Royal Poinciana and Blue Jacaranda that have to be carted inside every winter or they'll die. They're in my collection only because I grew them from seeds that were in a "Bonsai kit" my wife bought online and gave me as a gift last year. She knew I already loved plants as a hobby, and her intentions were good. I don't expect her to know our growing zone and what would be suitable or not. Those two trees get extra special attention from me.
• Azaleas. Got three at home growing out already.
• Evergreen shrubs such as boxwoods, hollies, etc. I have a Japanese boxwood I'm growing out, and one is enough. I only bought it last fall because it was $10 and a good starter plant. I would make an exception however for a nice Chinese Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense). We've had Loropetalum bushes at all three of our houses over the last 12 years, and I'm more than familiar with them. They're quite hardy, grow fast, handle heavy pruning well, and produce very good looking flowers and leaves.
• Anything that's grafted. Collected from the wild is fine. I've never been a "Leave trees in nature!" kind of person, as long as they're collected legally and responsibly.

I think that's it for now. I'm open to pretty much anything else. Based on the discussion in this thread however, I think the list of what I DO want can be revised to the following:

• Trident Maple
• Arakawa Japanese Maple
• Crape Myrtle
• Buttonwood
• Bald Cypress

 

[Maiden69]

You can bet that Whatever Mirai offers (they're not showing which trees are in the sale, until the DAY OF the sale), will be well over $500, probably well over $1,000. Mira's sales are typically outstanding for collected western conifers. Broadleafed or deciduous trees are rare from him. Bonsai Tonight trees under $500 look good...

Have you seen the stock he's been working on in the last year? While I agree that they are known for their native conifers, this year has been more about deciduous (azalea, pomegranate, BRT, Costal Oak, bald cypress, acacia, elm, linden, etc.), and now they have David Cutchin from FL, to bring more tropical tree information. In one of the streams he mentioned how his mindset has changed as he matured as a bonsai artists from working conifers to deciduous. He even said that his original mindset was instilled by Kimura, as he always said that working with deciduous was a waste of time. Deciduous don't represent an investment and quick turn around for Kimura.

 

[casun]

and my baldie is priced to sell!!

I’m not in the market for a bald cypress, in part because they’re probably not ideal in my zone, but I am curious. What are you asking for it?

 

[Dav4]

I’m not in the market for a bald cypress, in part because they’re probably not ideal in my zone, but I am curious. What are you asking for it?

Collection reduction Sale!

Well, the time has come for me to reduce the size of my collection. These trees excluding the holly have all been in my collection for at least 4 or 5 years, and some for much longer. I will link the progression threads associated with said trees... if more current pictures are wanted, send me...

www.bonsainut.com

$900. This tree would probably command twice that at the nationals.