Bonsai from garden center stock in Japan

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Something I have wondered before, but do not recall seeing an answer to anywhere - for those of you who are familiar with Japanese bonsai, is it common for people in Japan to attempt to create bonsai from nursery stock? I am not trying to start a war on the relative merits and demerits of buying material at garden centers, as that has been well hashed...although I would be interested to hear thoughts on why the Japanese do or do not believe in it.
 

Wires_Guy_wires

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It's pretty common, but they get most of their stock from actual bonsai nurseries. There are so many of those nurseries that a trip to a regular garden center to get a bonsai tree would almost be offensive.

At least, that's the gest of what I understood when asking a Japanese coworker the same question.
 
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regular garden center to get a bonsai tree

I may not have been clear - I was referring to buying landscape stock to make into bonsai. But that makes sense. Still, lack of choice is not the only thing. There is also cost. I suspect bonsai in Japan are at least as expensive as what we can buy in the US.
 

Djtommy

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Sure it happens. Not very common though.
Most by people are far better off buying something from a bonsai nursery.

Lots of cheap material available that will look better then what most people can get out of landscape material for a similar price.
Many garden centers also sell some bonsai actually.

And to make a good bonsai out of nursery stock you do need some knowledge, especially in picking the right stock.

With the availability on hand it’s pretty much a waste of time to look for some landscape stock to transfer. I don’t bother.
 
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With the availability on hand it’s pretty much a waste of time to look for some landscape stock to transfer. I don’t bother.

Seems the rumors of the death of bonsai in Japan have been greatly exaggerated!

My brother lives in Tokyo, but he cares much more about the modern culture and could not be less interested in bonsai, which is very silly of him from my pint of view of course.
 
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Sure it happens. Not very common though.
Most by people are far better off buying something from a bonsai nursery.

Lots of cheap material available that will look better then what most people can get out of landscape material for a similar price.
Many garden centers also sell some bonsai actually.

And to make a good bonsai out of nursery stock you do need some knowledge, especially in picking the right stock.

With the availability on hand it’s pretty much a waste of time to look for some landscape stock to transfer. I don’t bother.
I totally agree. With the exception of azaleas, gardenias and small black pines, most species suited for bonsai are not really found at home centers.

That, and most decent stock is much cheaper here than I imagine it is in the US/elsewhere (my local nursery has itoigawa shinpaku from 500yen for a two or three year plant from cuttings to 4000yen for something pretty twisted up and aged. Chuuhin sized.) -This only being true for Japanese species obviously.

That being said, I get most of my stuff from yahoo auctions/mercari. I got a nice shohin sized ezo spruce recently for 2000yen shipped and have gotten other trees for quite cheap too. I've got some really twisted up shohin kishuu shinpakus for 700yen/each from a lad on mercari recently. I find anything that can still be considered "unfinished" can be found very reasonably.

I did buy some larches from a commercial tree nursery, but they're poker straight and destined for a forest planting. I always look at home centers, but rarely find anything good.
 
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Seems the rumors of the death of bonsai in Japan have been greatly exaggerated!

My brother lives in Tokyo, but he cares much more about the modern culture and could not be less interested in bonsai, which is very silly of him from my pint of view of course.
I've heard the rumors as well. I follow a ton of bonsai people on instragram and youtube, and most of them are under the age of 40. I've also met younger people who are into bonsai, so I think that there is a bit of a rebirth going on at the moment. However, I also see a ton of estate-style sales where grandpa, uncle, etc have died and the family sells off their collections because nobody wants to take care of them. It would seem that many collections aren't being kept in the family, but that many young people without a previous connection to bonsai are finding their way into it and starting their own legacies.

I would assume there is a connection between this and the new trend of young people not following the well-worn path of moving to Tokyo to work 80 hours a week in a big company, but instead pursuing a quieter country life and starting their own business or freelancing. There has been an increasingly large push in this direction and a surprising number of younger people are leaving the bigger city centers. This often means more time and space for them. Many of the aforementioned bonsai people fall into this category.
 
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4000yen for something pretty twisted up and aged

A nice shimpaku juniper for under $40!?!? That amazes me. I cannot even fathom how that is profitable for the nurseries.

My brother is from the US. He and his wife teach at an English school in Tokyo. He is an artist and musician, but I have never been able to get through to him nonetheless. Oh, well.
 

leatherback

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I have been surprized at the affordability of bonsai and materials in Japan, considering it is not a cheap country overall.
Also, heard bonsai is not a hobby for many as in the west.

I would be surprized is many japanese would buy landscape trees to turn into bonsai, tbh.
 
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