Good pre bonsai material ?

[Bonsainoob88]

Hi everyone, I Saw this in the nursery today and thought it looked like a good trunk to make a bonsai out of. After a bit deliberation I didn't buy it because I bought some pretty crappy trees last year in my beginners haste .and didn't want to fly in head first again. Anyway what do yous think ? It's a "mystic jewel " acer . ... internodes look quite long and leaf size is quite big (which put me off) Non the less I'm a beginner and can't help but think this might of been a good bit of pre bonsai to work with and already got a good bit of girth and shape on the trunk also not a grafted tree for 30 quid . I'm already regretting not buying it SHOULD I BUY IT

 

[Bnana]

Indeed very long internodes, you can probably find better. In these photos you can't see the nebari and that's important to decide how much potential it has.

 

[Shibui]

Internodes and leaf size can reduce with correct techniques. I don't know 'Mystic Jewel' variety but I have really struggled to get reduction in some other AP varieties which can be extremely frustrating. You will always be stuck with the internode length in the existing trunk unless you do a major chop and regrow.
Consider the price in light of the fact that you will probably cut off more than half the tree during any conversion to bonsai.

Even though you may be desperate to get hold of a Japanese maple for bonsai I think you have done the right thing passing on this one.
Commercial stock is grown with landscapers in mind rather than bonsai so trees like this have few of the characteristics we desire. I've always found much better material at bonsai club shows and sales.

 

[Bonsainoob88]

Internodes and leaf size can reduce with correct techniques. I don't know 'Mystic Jewel' variety but I have really struggled to get reduction in some other AP varieties which can be extremely frustrating. You will always be stuck with the internode length in the existing trunk unless you do a major chop and regrow.
Consider the price in light of the fact that you will probably cut off more than half the tree during any conversion to bonsai.

Even though you may be desperate to get hold of a Japanese maple for bonsai I think you have done the right thing passing on this one.
Commercial stock is grown with landscapers in mind rather than bonsai so trees like this have few of the characteristics we desire. I've always found much better material at bonsai club shows and sales.

Thanks mate yeah the trouble is the bonsais online are so expensive even up to thousands for prebonsai. and I don't think bonsai sales are a thing where I live .

 

[TomB]

Thanks mate yeah the trouble is the bonsais online are so expensive even up to thousands for prebonsai. and I don't think bonsai sales are a thing where I live .

If you can drive as far as Doncaster you’ll find a sale there in the autumn.

Event Calendar

A rolling event calendar listing bonsai shows in the UK

www.ukbonsaiassoc.org

Are you in touch with the local clubs, e.g. Akamatsu?
Also, are you aware of Willowbog?

 

[Bonsainoob88]

If you can drive as far as Doncaster you’ll find a sale there in the autumn.

Event Calendar

A rolling event calendar listing bonsai shows in the UK

www.ukbonsaiassoc.org

Are you in touch with the local clubs, e.g. Akamatsu?
Also, are you aware of Willowbog?

I've been to willowbog and it's very expensive stuff in there . Worth it no doubt as they're amazing but I don't have that sort of money for trees .
Thanks for the calendar I'll be sure to have a good scan of that .

What is akamatsu ?
Thanks

 

[TomB]

Akamatsu school of bonsai, a local club to you. They’ve got a Facebook page if you search for it.

 

[VAFisher]

I'll be the contrarian here and say that if I saw that in a nursery around here, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Maybe I'm influenced by the fact that JMs on their own roots are non-existant here. Its a long term project for sure, but seems worth it to me.

 

[Bnana]

Of course that varies from place to place. Here they are common and you'll easily find a better one for less.

 

[MrWunderful]

No.

 

[Bonsainoob88]

Hi again everyone i took the advice and widened my search for a bit of pre bonsai material . So I've found some 'trompenberg' maples at £185 and trident at £175 .
Now I'm not sure what I should be paying for a tree like this in the UK . I'm thinking of buying one of each .
It's not that I haven't got the cashbut still a lot of money to me for 2 trees .

But still I need to get some material to get to grips with properly after a bit of a failed attempt last year up to now to get some decent stuff.

 

[BobbyLane]

have u checked kaizen bonsai there are cheaper 'starter' trees if u just want to play around with something.
i posted a link on the kaizen blog thread recently.

 

[Bonsainoob88]

have u checked kaizen bonsai there are cheaper 'starter' trees if u just want to play around with something.
i posted a link on the kaizen blog thread recently.

What do you think of the trees in the pictures ? I'll have a look on kaizwn but last time I looked the trees were big money

 

[BobbyLane]

the trident looks ok, the other one doesnt look worth 175. i could get better in a tree nursery and some large garden centres. the trident has good movment tho. those are about 145 at windy banks bonsai.

bonsai isnt cheap. if you want cheap you need to put in some ground work. shows, car boots, tree nurserys, large garden centres, sometimes you need to travel outside of your zone, im sure there a loads of places up north where u can get large landscape trees for that price.

these were both under 100 quid from a garden centre/wholesale nursery.

 

[BobbyLane]

not good enough?

 

[leatherback]

Surprised at the prices for trees in the UK. Kaizen used to be one very affordable place, but they may have upped their price.

I think both trees are overpriced.

 

[BobbyLane]

im not really surprised. when the price of everything else is going up, its inevitable really. if it costs more to import trees and more paperwork is required, that will impact on prices. OP has been given some good ideas how to find cheaper material.

the privet cost me only £45, the hornbeam £75

its a 26 mile trip from where i live but well worth the effort.

 

[TomB]

What do you think of the trees in the pictures ? I'll have a look on kaizwn but last time I looked the trees were big money

Of those two, the trident is the better buy.

 

[Bonsainoob88]

im not really surprised. when the price of everything else is going up, its inevitable really. if it costs more to import trees and more paperwork is required, that will impact on prices. OP has been given some good ideas how to find cheaper material.

the privet cost me only £45, the hornbeam £75

its a 26 mile trip from where i live but well worth the effort.

26 mile trip I'd be there in a heartbeat. It's a shame the website doesn't list its products. I've been looking for over a year and can't find any decent stuff in nursery's.

not good enough?

Yeah looks good to me I didn't find that section on kaizen previously.

 

[Bonsainoob88]

Surprised at the prices for trees in the UK. Kaizen used to be one very affordable place, but they may have upped their price.

I think both trees are overpriced.

Youre right, kaizen is very affordable compared to herons bonsai and a few others if you've heard of them , the nearest bonsai nursery to me is one hour away and the cost of the starter trees is just way overpriced IMO