My question about this show is: How many of those 50 vendors will have pre-bonsai trees for sale with them, on-site at the beginning of winter when it's already pretty cold outside here in NC? Kannapolis is a 4-hour one-way drive from me. I'd hate to get there and see like only three tables selling trees I can actually afford. Unfortunately, the photo gallery on their website shows mostly exhibition trees and not much from the vendors, other than a couple people selling pots.
So the Trident maple price was OK, but most of the rest were not worth it. Good to know. What about the Buttonwood at Wigert's I linked to? Most comments I've read from folks on here seem to say he runs a good operation. Thanks for the input.
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.
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
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I've got a spare 15 gallon black plastic nursery pot at home that's 2 ft across and would make a lovely temporary home.
