Is true, it's just so much harder to find high quality Deciduous in the US because it takes so long to develop them, there's very limited Importation and a lot less Deciduous collecting going on. I believe over the next 20ish years we'll start to see some super high quality U S container/field grown deciduous. Personally, i'm committed to growing extremely high quality deciduous and have been working on it over the last 5-7 years or so. But it's going to me another 15-25 yrs minimum before I even have trunks i'm proud of. My goal is to grow the best quality in the world. I also hope we see more Deciduous collecting in the US. Would love to see more American Hornbeam and Chicksaw plum being collected.
I don't think its true that no one is committed to D tree collection. I think there is plenty of it going on. Thing is, ancient collected conifers have sucked all the air out of the room as far as what's "fashionable" in North American bonsai for buyers Why do you think all those conifers sold so quickly and why does Ryan deal mostly in old collected western alpine conifers?
Zach Smith has been mentioned as one of the dedicated deciduous collectors.. He's been collecting quality D trees for literally DECADES. I have a Bald Cypress I. got from him back in the 90's. It's pretty far along in development. Probably could be seen as "finished" as far as that goes. Additionally, Alvaro at Cho Bonsai is digging up some spectacular old deciduous trees in Texas and the southwest.
Neither guy gets much credit for what they're doing. "Collected Conifer Inc." gets all the notice and envy from buyers with deep pockets. Those ancient twisted trees sell for big money and collectors can turn a hefty profit without much development work. Don't get me wrong, old North American conifers are spectacular for bonsai. They're flashy, people like shiny things...;-) Just take some wire and bend them into the shape you want...;-)
D trees take a BIT more time, but not a lot. You can get a pretty great bonsai in a few years from fast-growing species such as Cedar Elm (or any kind of elm), bald cypress, or apple, and a few more species.