Big box store sales

[Backwardsvg]

When does your big box store start to discount their trees?

I saw at HD there are select trees for 50% off (mainly the azaleas and fruiting trees) right now. Wondering when the junipers/pines/boxwoods will go on sale

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

You should take the hour for the drive to Milwaukee today thru Sunday for the MABA and ,50th Anniversary Bonsai Show for Milwaukee Bonsai Society. We have about 20 vendors, and I am sure for less than what you would spend at Home Depot you can get material further along and more suitable for bonsai.

Limber pines, Doug for, ponderosa's, JBP , I even saw nice 'Chojubai' flowering quince. Granted, some trees were expensive, but there are some very good deals too.

See details in events forum.

 

[dbonsaiw]

What Leo said. The maples at HD go on sale by me in late summer.

 

[BrightsideB]

I find better deals at large nurseries. At any time of the year they have those plants that just need a repot but nobody wants to by them because of the inadequate amount of foliage. In my experience they have just given me some for free or for prices in single digits. But at Home Depot usually their employees are texting or talking to someone else and they don’t even scan all your stuff so it’s a hit or miss lol.

 

[Pitoon]

Azaleas usually as soon as they finish blooming. Most all of the other trees at the end of summer.

 

[rockm]

Late summer is the time to start looking at landscape nurseries for bargain Japanese maples. By then many of them (particularly laceleaf and cutleaf varieties) have leaves that are burned to a crisp. That makes them mostly unsellable to Joe Public who thinks the trees are dead. They're mostly not--some exceptions ARE dead, but most of them are fine. They will push new leaves the following spring.

 

[rockm]

You should take the hour for the drive to Milwaukee today thru Sunday for the MABA and ,50th Anniversary Bonsai Show for Milwaukee Bonsai Society. We have about 20 vendors, and I am sure for less than what you would spend at Home Depot you can get material further along and more suitable for bonsai.

Limber pines, Doug for, ponderosa's, JBP , I even saw nice 'Chojubai' flowering quince. Granted, some trees were expensive, but there are some very good deals too.

See details in events forum.

Looked at the program for this event. It's stellar. Vendors too. If you have the time and live within 150 miles, drive up and behold. I've seen many of the vendors listed at some shows. VERY good stuff.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Late summer here too. By October, the unsold 50% off deals are shipped back to the nursery for rehabilitation or maybe firewood.

 

[Backwardsvg]

You should take the hour for the drive to Milwaukee today thru Sunday for the MABA and ,50th Anniversary Bonsai Show for Milwaukee Bonsai Society. We have about 20 vendors, and I am sure for less than what you would spend at Home Depot you can get material further along and more suitable for bonsai.

Limber pines, Doug for, ponderosa's, JBP , I even saw nice 'Chojubai' flowering quince. Granted, some trees were expensive, but there are some very good deals too.

See details in events forum.

I am still trying to make it work, I am a bit over 2 hours away from Milwaukee ( I am southwest of chicago). I would ideally want to go here but interesting to get everyones feedback, thank you!

 

[DanaWhicker]

My Lowe's has trees in the discount area almost year round.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Big box nursery trees can be good, can be really poor. They are hit or miss. Most single trunk named cultivars, for examples maples and conifers will be grafted. The graft unions tend to be problematic, especially for new to bonsai.

Good deals can be had on no name generic species, for example say a black hills spruce.

Some good deciduous shrubs can be had like named cultivars of Flowering Quince. Which will be cutting grown.