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Music4cash

Yamadori
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Can someone point me to some information about buying trees online? I have room for one more tree and I want an acer palmatum. I was looking at mrmaple.com but I don't have any experience with online nurseries. Also what time of year should you buy an online tree.
 
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Can someone point me to some information about buying trees online? I have room for one more tree and I want an acer palmatum. I was looking at mrmaple.com but I don't have any experience with online nurseries. Also what time of year should you buy an online tree.

I know this is probably not what you wanted to hear, but if I was in Virginia i would do everything in my power to visit one of the nearby nurseries in person to get a tree, especially if it was something as generic as an Acer Palmatum (unless you are looking for a very rare or specific cultivar?)

Have you reached out to Matt at KaedeBonsai-En? I don't doubt that there are other nurseries closer to you, but Matt always comes to mind. He may even be able to ship to you?

Mark Comstock has some of the nicest pre-bonsai material i have seen, at very reasonable prices. The best way to reach him, i think, is facebook. If I remember correctly, he is in connecticut? I googled him and this came up:

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/pre-bonsai-mark.19104/

I am considering driving from Montreal to visit Mark in the spring - going to get a good 5-10 pre-bonsai maples from him. Still working out the paperwork about getting them into canada.
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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Matt Ouwinga (Kaede Bonsai--he sells on Facebook and Ebay) has a lot of Japanese Maples, Trident maples, etc. from seed. He is in Upper Marlboro, Md. He's a 40 minute drive for me. I'm in Fairfax. He is worth an in-person visit, but I would also buy from him online. Same for Comstock and Evergreengardenworks. Word of warning about alot of online sellers, you sometimes get less than you pay for, you sometimes don't get the tree you think. Sellers online can be hard to deal with and may or may not stand behind their trees. In-person buying is best, especially if you're spending over $100.

Now is probably the worst time to be looking for trees. If you buy, you will have to have a place to overwinter the tree (no, you can't keep it inside).
 

cbroad

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@Music4cash
What part of Virginia do you live in?
What is your budget?

There are a couple nurseries around VA that specialize in bonsai and would be much better and more enjoyable to visit in person than rolling the dice on a random tree from the internet. A favorite place of mine is Meehan's Miniatures that is right across the border in Maryland. They may ship during appropriate times but I'm not positive.

@derek7745, @atlarsenal, and @rockm have given good advice about which online sellers to checkout.
 

Music4cash

Yamadori
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Thanks for the input. I'm in chantilly pretty close to fairfax but a trip to upper marlborough isn't bad. What time of year would be best to start an acer palmatum?...I don't know enough to have a particular variety in mind so looking at trees in person is probably better, plus I bet I can get some good info from the staff...
 

Music4cash

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Budget is around $30 to $40 I could spend more if I were confident I could keep the tree alive...
 

plant_dr

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I did a quick Google, it says Wolf Trap Nursery in Vienna is about 21 minutes away from you. I don't know how good it is but it could be a resource.

Spring would be a good time to the actual shopping, but you could go there now and get to know them, let them know what you are looking for, etc. That way when Spring comes around they might get something in especially for you.

I'm not near you so you should listen to your local 'nuts first. They know who is reputable and who will help you the best.
 

cbroad

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I think wolf trap gets their stock from Meehan's, at least they used to.

$30-$40 for a Japanese maple probably won't get you far, but Meehan's definitely will have small starter plants for less than that.
 
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@Music4cash 30-40$ might get you an Acer Palmatum (maple) that looks like this, at least it will where i'm from.

I bought this tree knowing that it will take me 20-30 years to develop the trunk and primary branches. I say this because it's important to keep in mind that a 30$ maple is not a bonsai, it s a tree in pot. There is no shame in this. But i buy lots of these knowing that one day I will hand over well developed trunks to the next generation of bonsai artists. None of these will ever look like well developed bonsai in my lifetime (at least not at the standard I aspire to).

you may want to do as much reading as you can throughout the winter, and then make a decision in the early spring

you should not worry about keeping the tree alive. If you buy it from a reputable source it will be in the right soil, and if water it every day, sometimes twice a day, it will live. You do, however, want to ask that nursery about storing that tree during the winter. For many people, having a nursery keep the tree for you during the winter is an easy solution and often the more cost-effective one.
 

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plant_dr

Chumono
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I just read through some Google reviews on wolf trap. Some say they're overpriced and not helpful, some say they're great. Again, listen to those around you and who they recommend. The other retailers that have been mentioned here already are very reputable.
 

just.wing.it

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If you want to order a home delivery, since I didn't see anyone mention...Brussel's Bonsai does a good job shipping decent cheap material.
 

W3rk

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Can someone point me to some information about buying trees online? I have room for one more tree and I want an acer palmatum. I was looking at mrmaple.com but I don't have any experience with online nurseries. Also what time of year should you buy an online tree.
Plan a day trip to Meehans' in the Spring, if that's a reasonable drive for you. It's a real treat to visit, I love it there.
 

Music4cash

Yamadori
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I've been to the wolf trap nursery. I bought a juniper procumbens nana there that was healthy enough to survive my second attempt at styling and repotting a tree. I also bought some bonsai soil there which is labeled meehan's miniatures. My only gripe with the place was they didn't seem to have any deciduous stock.
My concern with spending more than $40 or so on stock is that so far I've completely mangled everything I've touched. My first tree died pretty much immediately after I got it...I pruned it way too much and then barerooted it...lesson learned...I have a friend with a really pretty acer in his yard that said I can air layer off a branch. I'm thinking that might be a better way to go than buying something... I've also considered just going into the woods this spring and airlayering anything that looks nice.
 

cbroad

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My only gripe with the place was they didn't seem to have any deciduous stock
Meehan's has TONS!!!

I've been looking for field maple for over 10 years, I found numerous ones in all sorts of sizes there. Found Montpelier maple there too, and bought a Montpelier/campestre hybrid. I've bought tridents, amurs, hornbeam (Korean and carolinia), ginkgo, a weird super dwarf Chinese ligustrum, bald cypress, etc, all from Meehan's directly or indirectly through the greenhouse where I worked.
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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Wolf trap is just OK. You can do MUCH better elsewhere. Wolf Trap sells stock they get from Meehans and mark up.

Best thing to do is wait...until next spring for the Potomac Bonsai Society's show and sale at the National Arboretum. The sales tent at the three-day event brings in sellers from all over, including Meehans and other sellers that aren't as close, such as Julian Adams from Lynchburg. Most of the stock at the event is entry-level and less than $100.

Another, probably more advanced place that I've been trying to get to for the last few years is Eastwoods Nursery out in Washington, VA. They have loads of Japanese maple varieties. They also have "older" trees, like 5-7 years old. It's not an easy place to find though.

Speaking of varieties--you DON'T want a laceleaf or threadleaf cultivar. They burn to a crisp in the summer here, even though they big sellers at landscape nurseries. You also have to be careful with high grafts on special varieties and even some "regular" types. Specialized Japanese maples are grafted because that's the only way to keep their unique traits. An ugly graft high on the trunk only gets worse as the tree ages.
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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I've been to the wolf trap nursery. I bought a juniper procumbens nana there that was healthy enough to survive my second attempt at styling and repotting a tree. I also bought some bonsai soil there which is labeled meehan's miniatures. My only gripe with the place was they didn't seem to have any deciduous stock.
My concern with spending more than $40 or so on stock is that so far I've completely mangled everything I've touched. My first tree died pretty much immediately after I got it...I pruned it way too much and then barerooted it...lesson learned...I have a friend with a really pretty acer in his yard that said I can air layer off a branch. I'm thinking that might be a better way to go than buying something... I've also considered just going into the woods this spring and airlayering anything that looks nice.

Skip the air layering. You will most likely kill everything you try it on, or be unsuccessful. Air layering is NOT a good source of starter material. I know, I know, everyone says it is. IT AIN'T. The advice to "air layer it dude" is silly. Although the process has its place, that place isn't in getting beginner material. It's not as easy as it looks--even though someone will immediately contradict me...

Wait to do air layers until you have learned how to take care of a tree already in a container. There are so many ways air layers can go wrong, it can be a waste of decent material if you don't get it right. The process is a waste of time with wild trees when you can simply DIG THEM UP and convert them into bonsai--but again, that can also be a waste of time if you don't know how to take care of them after you dig.

You are still on a very steep learning curve that will continue for a while. If I were you, I would simply get an established bonsai (which can be as little as $50 from a decent place like Meehans). Learn basic care --watering is a particularly difficult thing to master. Learn overwintering, etc.

I'd also suggest joining the No. Va. bonsai club. You can shorten that learning curve by years just by asking a member to help repot trees in the spring. Clubs are also the source of good to excellent starter trees (some of which might be free if there's a member looking to downsize or sell of some stock cheap).
 
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