Maloghurst
Chumono




Thanks for replying, no I'm not very experienced. 2 years working with mostly deciduous bonsai and very little experience with pines. I have done a lot of reading and videos on pine techniques and I can recognize decent material when I see it. But not enough experience to see problems that would arise down the road. Any bonsai (pre bonsai) I purchase will be a 5-10 year journey so no problem with patience if someone can tell me that after ten years I won't have wasted time on a junk tree. Im not able to invest in any mature bonsai and really want the experience of creating it myself.pros -
kotobuki is a good cultivar
price...$45 is dirt cheap for this cultivar
no visible graft
there are a couple low branches with foliage not too far from the trunk
Cons
it is at least a 10 year project requiring a major trunk chop and then time to rebuild tree
can't see any roots...
could have massively ugly grafting scar under the soil level
would most likely require grafting
asking a question like this leads me to believe you are not terribly experienced
?and taper etc.
That is completely on you...no one can make that promise for you... Give a clone of that tree to 10 people and in 10 years you would have 10 completely different trees...some good, some not so good...maybe 1 excellent.if someone can tell me that after ten years I won't have wasted time on a junk tree.
NEBG has a couple of these about 3-4 years old I'd say......for a $150....you can do the math.....
To add some perspective, here is 10 years in the life of a JBP that was grown all along to become bonsai. It's still a few years away from "finished" in my view.
Spring 2007:
View attachment 116533
Late summer 2016:
View attachment 116534
I think 10 years with that kotobuki is optimistic, but the price is good, so is the cultivar. Just don't try to make the whole tree into the finished bonsai. Develop a couple low branches into your final branches and use the tall stuff as sacrifice.