Visit to a Japanese bonsai nursery

[Bonsai Nut]

Thought people might enjoy some of these photos of Shokean bonsai nursery in Osaka, Japan.

A bunch of quinces, ready to go!

Trident maples. Note the nebari and the shallow pots.

Five-needle pines. One of my favorites.

 

[Graydon]

Nice! Did you go and take the photos? I would love to make a trip like that. Very impressive stock.

I noticed all of the stock were in either clay pots or finished pots. No plastic anywhere to be seen.

 

[Brent]

Now that's disgusting! Do you think we will ever come anywhere close to that?

Brent

 

[bonsai barry]

I find these nurseries discouraging. It certainly makes the "art" of bonsai look like mass produced commodity.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I find these nurseries discouraging. It certainly makes the "art" of bonsai look like mass produced commodity.

Barry;

I don't feel that way. Put differently, today I was in a CostCo and they had a special vendor that was selling bromeliads and 'bonsai'. You know of course the 'bonsai' they were selling - chopped Juniper procumbens with glued gravel for soil and a little mud man. Now THOSE are mass-produced bonsai

Every bonsai nursery has to mass-produce trees to stay in business. However they really need to mass-produce bonsai enthusiasts to be successful long term. That means dealing with a lot of beginners and teaching a lot of classes. The 'mass-produced' bonsai in these photos are really for 2nd level students - students that can keep a tree alive, understand general design and style guidelines, and who aren't looking for a major challenge. They just want to buy a tree and enjoy it, or they want to cut 5-10 years off the initial stages of developing bonsai because they don't find pleasure in it.

- Greg

 

[bonsai barry]

Barry;

Every bonsai nursery has to mass-produce trees to stay in business. However they really need to mass-produce bonsai enthusiasts to be successful long term. That means dealing with a lot of beginners and teaching a lot of classes. The 'mass-produced' bonsai in these photos are really for 2nd level students - students that can keep a tree alive, understand general design and style guidelines, and who aren't looking for a major challenge. They just want to buy a tree and enjoy it, or they want to cut 5-10 years off the initial stages of developing bonsai because they don't find pleasure in it.

- Greg

I agree in my mind with what you say, but in my heart...
These are fine specimen (of course any one of those trees is much better than any that I have), but they lack originality and they are far enough along, it seems it will be difficult for the bonsai artist to do much to alter their foundational shape.

On a more selfish level, it makes me wonder what's the point of struggling to create a nice tree when so many are available.

What is amazing is that there is a market for that many nice trees.