New from South Carolina

Matt

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Hey all, I'm new to the forum and to Bonsai. Getting really interested in it lately and I'm in the reading and research phase at the moment, so far I think I have the basics down. I've read on the forums a few times that people wished they would of started younger then they did, so being only 25 I figure this would be a good hobby to start right now. I figure If I can get some trees in the ground now, I could end up with some really nice trees over the next years. I'm an avid aquarist with right at 300gals total running right now and theres nothing more relaxing then to watch fish, so I figure bonsai will go hand in hand with it.

My first question is really, how hard are the Maples (Trident or Japanese) to grow compared to other types of trees? I would probably lean towards a Trident first. I assume its easier/better for someone like me to get a fairly established tree (3-5yrs old or older?)? Are there any good online sources for Tridents or Japanese maple starter trees? I would of course always check locally, just looking for more options.

Looking forward to reading more and posting on the forums.
 

JudyB

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Welcome Matt, good idea for a first choice, trident maple. Vigorous, and pretty foolproof, especially in your climate. Some folks start right off with Japanese Black pines, or pines in general, which are not so easy as deciduous trees. I would suggest that you try to attain a base of horticultural knowledge as well as bonsai information, as it will feed into your growing skills.

As far as places for material, it depends partly on how much you wish to spend. You should really hone your "eye", to know what makes a good or bad bonsai, before spending a lot of money on a tree. Most of us (probably all of us) have killed trees while learning the craft, so don't feel bad should that happen. You should read up about nursery stock and what to look for. Here are some places I've frequented. I started with Ebay, but have grown away from that as I've gotten more experienced about what I'm looking for.

Ebay can get you started, there are good and bad dealers on there, so watch out for them.
Gregory Beach Bonsai - great material, great guy.
New England Bonsai Garden
Wee Tree
Lotus Bonsai

All of these are on the web, but all have plenty more stock than they have up, so calling or emailing is always good if you don't find what you want.
I've only listed a few places here, because I've had personal experience with these. I know that Evergreen gardenworks is an amazing source, as well as many other places. I'm sure others will have more ideas. If you have any other questions, - ask away!
 

Alex DeRuiter

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Hey Matt! Welcome to the forum and to the world of bonsai. It's so awesome to see that you're taking the time to research first...that's not what I did and I regret it.

As for maples, South Caroline should be an awesome climate for them. As for what grows faster, that really depends on the species. I've made maples my priority at this point, but I've got a variety of things growing. I know Tridents are very vigorous growers, and growing in your area will definitely help you out -- longer growing seasons. Depending on the cultivar of Japanese maple, some are very fast growers and others are not. You'll see the difference with dwarf varieties -- they grow quite slow. As for starter trees, I'll list several-ish places, but I've only purchased through a few of them.

First, I don't know if Treekutter (a member of the forum) is still selling his Tridents right now. I know he has a field full of them that have been growing for quite some time, but digging season is up now, I'm sure. He may have some potted, though, so it's worth a shot. Here's a link of some of his recently dug material. You can always shoot him a message to see if he's got anything for you. My experience with Steve has been very positive -- the tree I received could have easily gone for twice the price he sold it to me for.

There is also Evergreen Gardenworks -- run by Brent Walston, who you may see posting on here from time to time. He's got tons of stuff growing all the time, and he offers a lot of different cultivars. He also has a "specimen" page where he's got several Japanese black pines and Corkbark elms posted, but these are a bit more expensive than starter material. Here's his website. He's a very nice guy, and I highly suggest him.

I've heard great things about Telperion Farms (I think that's how you spell it. . . .). I've never purchased anything from them myself, but I've seen some of what they have to offer and it looks like great material. They also have a blog, but I can't seem to find it right now.

Matt from Kaede Bonsai-en is an awesome guy and sells several hundred seedlings each year. Here's his site. I just received an order from him today, in fact. He's extremely helpful and he's got a lot of smaller stuff to offer -- Trident, Japanese maples, pines, quinces, etc.

I've also seen Wee Tree becoming much more popular as of late. They offer a lot of very well developed material. I've never purchased anything from them, but I think Judy B has and she was very pleased with it. Check out some of their stuff as well.

George from Muranaka Bonsai offers Trident maples frequently on his eBay store. They're definitely worth checking out as well. I've never bought anything from him, but I've talked to George and he's a very nice guy.

Oh yeah, how on earth could I have forgotten Don Blackmond from Gregory Beach Bonsai??? Thanks, Judy, for reminding me. lol -- He's got a ton of advanced material for great prices. Here's a tree I got from him recently. Definitely check his site out as well.

*Edit - I forgot about International Bonsai as well. William Valavanis offers a wide variety of seedlings and pre-bonsai. I've gotten some flowering apricots from him before. Great material at a very reasonable price. Also worth checking out -- make sure not to overlook the catalog link on that page.

And for what it's worth, you might not be worried about wiring anything just yet, but if you do, Adams' Bonsai is the place to go. They've got annealed copper wire and the best prices I've seen.

Enjoy your search! :D
 
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Martin Sweeney

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Matt,

If you are in the upstate, try Green Thumb Bonsai. If you are nearer Columbia, try to catch up with Ken Duncan or John Geanangle. Along with Mike Boynton, they are as good as you will find in SC for Bonsai. Check the Bonsai Society of the Carolinas webpage (www.bonsaicarolinas.org) for a good list of local Bonsai Resources.

Regards,
Martin
 

cmeg1

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Personally,I would take the day or two trip to wherever their is a bonsai nursery and buy retail.
 

JudyB

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yup, me too if I could. And I think Matt is interested in local stuff if somebody knows of S. Carolina places...
 

Matt

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Thank you all for your welcome and responses, they were a lot of help. Really excited about the Maples now. I think my initial plan will be to look for one more established plant, and then get a good number of seedlings that will eventually go into the ground for later dates, kind of start me a source for addiction if you will. Its the same with aquariums, you never can have just one. I'm going to start emailing folks and seeing what they have in stock, or will have in stock.

Martin, I am currently located in Columbia, but pending a new job it could require me to move anywhere in the state, we'll see how that works out haha. Good to know there are some others down this way.

Personally,I would take the day or two trip to wherever their is a bonsai nursery and buy retail.

I have no problem driving a short ways to check places out, I just haven't found very many places around here through my research. And with gas prices going up, its not always feasible to drive 2 ways on the chance there might be something. Online, if you find something its 100% and you pay for shipping which will probably come out cheaper then gas would. I've learned long ago, South Carolina is not very friendly to my hobbies in terms of quality stock, you always have to look elsewhere to find what you are looking for (especially true with my tropical fish....all of them are shipped in from other states, sometimes countries). Makes me wish I lived on the west coast sometimes lol. The only place I can find close (2hrs) is http://www.greenthumbbonsai.com/ If anyone knows of others please let me know!
 

Martin Sweeney

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Matt,

As I have never been to Green Thumb Bonsai, I cannot give you any feedback on if it will be worth the trip. I have heard some good things though.

If you are thinking of planning a trip and are willing to wait a little while, please come to the April 14th Bonsai Society of the Carolinas meeting. We meet at the Bonsai Learning Center (www.bonsailearningcenter.com) in Charlotte. Warren Hill will be our guest speaker. The Bonsai Learning Center is worth a trip at anytime, although I think Randy is only open to the public on Thursday, Friday and Saturday weekly. Additionally, Warren Hill is former Curator of the National Collection in Washington DC. He will be leading a morning tree critique and and afternoon Bring Your Own Tree workshop. Hope to see you there.

Regards,
Martin
 

Matt

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Thanks Martin. That would be great, but unfortunately I am scheduled to work that weekend in Charleston :( I am usually up towards Charlotte quite a bit though, that's where the local fish club is based, so I'm sure I can make a meeting at some point.
 

bwaynef

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John Green @ Green Thumb in Greenville SC has several large collected Trident maples and some Bald Cypress from La (and scads of other material ranging from a collected Cali Juniper to hornbeam, maple, elm, shimpaku,boxwood and pines (and I'm sure I'm leaving some things out.) I'm not sure, but he may have an imported Satsuki or 2 left from a shipment a couple years ago.) His is a business he runs out of his backyard. He doesn't sell finished bonsai, but has lots of stock that you can make all the decisions on.

Ken Duncan (a member here) vends at the regional show and is in the Columbia area. His backyard is full of awesome material as well. I don't remember the name of his business. Something like Lone Pines ...or something Pines. The disbanded Columbia Club meets as a study group now that is reportedly pretty tight-knit, but there is considerable expertise there. Ken would be a good person to contact about their study group.

I don't have any good contacts in the lower part of the state anymore. My lone contact in that area used to host a study group before he passed. I think it might still be meeting, in the Summerville area.

I've also heard good things about Martin Sweeney (who replied here earlier), but have never seen his trees. I trust who recommended him though, so he must be good.
 
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