Bonsai Boy.....

Mr. Bonsai

Yamadori
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Has anyone here ever purchased from (or even heard of ?) Bonsai Boy before?

If so, your thoughts, opinions, experiences, etc. good or bad?

Thank you in advance for your post.
 
I happen to live within 20 miles of them and have been there a few times.

Most of what they have is seedling sticks in pots. The stuff hasnt been grown with bonsai in mind.
Its been grown to sell trees to people that dont know any better. They are also pretty expensive for what they are selling.

So IMO, if youre looking for bonsai trees, look elsewhere for better stock.
If youre looking to buy some supplies, they are fine.

.
 
There are better sites in which to purchase.
In which if you buy from the finished trees you get the tree photographed. Dave is an upstanding guy. I tried to buy a tree off of him. Called his store and he asked me questions. Helped me tweak my greenhouse a bit more. And offered to sell me a tree when I got it set up. He wasn't out to put greenbacks in his pocket. But to see me have success.
 
Normally online merchants will be far cheaper than their brick-n-mortar counterparts but I've noticed that bonsai is a notable exception. Not to mention the many other reasons why you would want to patronize a local bonsai seller/nursery.

To answer your question, no, I have no experiences with this website but I strongly recommend you seek out a local alternative if at all possible.
 
Reviving this thread after 4 years - I have been to Bonsai Boy a number of times. I have never ordered from them online and have zero intention of doing so as their offerings are not great online. The nursery is better is person, but I agree that these trees are not necessarily being grown with bonsai in mind. I also do not like the soil they use and they seem to like to whack up the roots and repot the tree with tightly packed soil and in a small bonsai pot upon purchase. It's very touristy (with decorative rock and all). They are catering to the national market and selling overpriced twigs, many of which are grafted. On that note, many of the "specimen" trees are just larger grafted trees in a bigger bonsai pot (with no actual bonsai work).

On the bright side, they have a massive selection and it's the only bonsai nursery anywhere near me. I can spend a few hours there going through their multiple tents and checking out each and every tree. I do like to pick my specific tree, even if it's just a stick. They have a massive tent for each of temperate, semi-tropical and tropical species. It's easy to find more than a dozen JM cultivars there at any given time. Inevitably, I find malsai that I can work with. On occasion I also find some more mature material. The folks there are also very friendly.

This seems to be a family business where the first generation had more of an interest in developing bonsai. Later generations have a thriving business selling trees.
 
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