where to appraise trees for value / price?

[rockm]

Hey thanks for all the info, super thorough! Yes I am in Northern California, San Francisco Bay Area. The previous owner was an old japanese man who had probably +/- 30 bonsai trees in his backyard, some of which were absolutely phenomenal. After he passed away the plants were kept alive, but neglected for at least 1-2 years if not more (as you guessed). By the time I arrived, most of them were sold off, and these were the last few left. Many had also died unfortunately because they werent being watered / general neglect, which was a shame to see.

Thanks for all the advice, I will be looking to take some bonsai classes locally to learn about all the steps you covered to bring them back to health. Much appreciated!

Side note: If i did decide to place a couple of them on FB for example to cover my costs and pay for new material to restore the other ones, what do you think a fair price range would be?

If you’re ethical in selling them flu disclosure on health and history of what you’re selling would be appropriate.

Frankly (and I’m trying to be honest not critical) there isn’t a single tree there that I’d pay more than $25 for. Too weak. A lot of work to rehab even if there was some success in rebuilding their health. In my experience trees this weak are not going to rebound very easily.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

It is buyer beware unless one is able to view the plant in person. Wouldn’t go so far as to low ball at least some of these azaleas.

Part of the value is going to depend upon the type cultivar.

Once the dead wood is removed, the trunk cleaned along with the nebari and media. Then moss up the media. At this point a better value could be assessed.

That said folks are always surprised how fast a neglected azalea in the right hands can respond like @Bonsai Nut . Those that understand this would be most interested in a rehab tree..

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Bonsai Nut]

That said folks are always surprised how fast a neglected azalea in the right hands can respond like @Bonsai Nut . Those that understand this would be most interested in a rehab tree..

Yes... I was trying to show the most abused example. I have some nice azaleas as well... some that cost me in the four digits. But I have never let them get sad... knock on wood

 

[Piccolo]

Where in NorCal are you? If you're near Sacramento I'd recommend that you visit Maruyama Bonsai Nursery and talk to owner Yuzo about your trees' care. He is our local azalea expert. Satsuki azaleas are a very specialized area of bonsai and in my experience, soil, light, and water quality are critical for success with them.

in the SF Bay Area. thank you for the tip, I'll be sure to check it out next time I'm near Sac.

 

[Piccolo]

Unfortunately restoring these to what they were really isn’t possible. Extensive die back in branching and trunks takes a very very long time for satsukis to replace.

What you’re probably going to have to do is prune all back to live wood. The dead part will not return. Don’t prune until you’ve consulted with a satsuki person. Hard pruning on satsukis done wrong can cause further damage if care isn’t taken with when and where cuts are made. Any cuts to living wood also have to be sealed. Satsukis are a world of their own in bonsai requiring specialized knowledge of both bonsai maintenance and species know how.

ok good to know thanks, I had no idea but thanks for the headsup. I will defintely look for specialist help, seems very tricky from everything I'm hearing.

 

[Piccolo]

Satsuki Azalea can be redeveloped from overgrown poorly developed forms to better Bonsai over time. Here are two of mine showing what was started with and what they currently look like. Fifteen years has passed since they were dug out of the landscape. keep in mind that they were healthy when they were dug up and did not require bringing them back to health before beginning. Both plants were three to four feet tall when dug out of the landscape, As Bonsai they are 18inches the red one and fifteen inches the white/pink one. As others have mentioned some extra skills and knowledge is needed but they can be very rewarding Bonsai material. Not finished and fully refined but they are moving in that direction. The last branch/pad on the red one is developing from a thread graft as were the rest of the pads on that specimen except the uppermost branch.
The book posted above is an excellent starting point.

wow those look amazing, especially that fushia / reddish one thats incredible. Yes, I will definitely get a copy of that aforementioned book.

 

[Piccolo]

Gosh, I can’t do that without a lot more images and information. If you are in the Bay Area, there is a Satsuki expert by the name of Darren Wong who is in the industry the Bay Area Satsuki Aikokai which meets at the Lake Merritt facility. He has trained with the Japanese Satsuki master Nakayama for many, many years. The club has many really good Satsuki folks. This is one of the best Satsuki clubs around. Sacramento also had a really good Satsuki bunch btw.

Folks have sent you a lot of really good information. My advice (free, take it for what it’s worth) if you are interested in Satsuki, these are excellent training material that could almost all be made much better and worth much more if you had the patience and desire.

Best
DSD sends

Yea I definitely wasn't expecting the level of feedback and responses everyone has left here, super supportive good stuff. I had already planned to visit the Lake Merritt meetings, so its even more encouraging after hearing you mention it by name and that they are expertly versed in Satsuki specifically.

 

[Piccolo]

Way to jump in with both feet... lol

lol so it begins

 

[Piccolo]

If you’re ethical in selling them flu disclosure on health and history of what you’re selling would be appropriate.

Frankly (and I’m trying to be honest not critical) there isn’t a single tree there that I’d pay more than $25 for. Too weak. A lot of work to rehab even if there was some success in rebuilding their health. In my experience trees this weak are not going to rebound very easily.

If you’re ethical in selling them flu disclosure on health and history of what you’re selling would be appropriate.

Frankly (and I’m trying to be honest not critical) there isn’t a single tree there that I’d pay more than $25 for. Too weak. A lot of work to rehab even if there was some success in rebuilding their health. In my experience trees this weak are not going to rebound very easily.

Yea after hearing what everyone had to say about them instead of selling them as is, I'll try to rehab them. The idea of bringing them back to health I find appealing. Someone had taken the time to grow these and put care and effort into them, would be a shame to let them go to waste. If they heal then in a way the torch gets passed forward. The idea of super old bonsais that have been passed down for generations has always been fascinating.

 

[Tree Fam]

Hello everyone,
I am very new to the world of bonsai, and hopefully I am asking this in the right section of the forum.

I recently came into ownership of what seem to maybe be some relatively mature bonsai trees from an estate sale. I had a chance to buy them for what seemed to me like a good price, and having always been fascinated by the beauty of bonsai trees, I decided to pull the trigger.

From what I know the plants were unattended to for a while after the original owner passed away, so I'm sure they will need some care to restore them, which I hope to learn.

If anyone could help with the following two questions that would be greatly, greatly appreciated: How old they might be, and what they might be worth. It seems that estimating a bonsai tree is extremely subjective, but if anyone with experience / insight could offer what they think are fair / realistic values that would be very appreciated.

There are 6 of them in total, and each photo is numbered for clarity. Thank you for reading!

Hello everyone,
I am very new to the world of bonsai, and hopefully I am asking this in the right section of the forum.

I recently came into ownership of what seem to maybe be some relatively mature bonsai trees from an estate sale. I had a chance to buy them for what seemed to me like a good price, and having always been fascinated by the beauty of bonsai trees, I decided to pull the trigger.

From what I know the plants were unattended to for a while after the original owner passed away, so I'm sure they will need some care to restore them, which I hope to learn.

If anyone could help with the following two questions that would be greatly, greatly appreciated: How old they might be, and what they might be worth. It seems that estimating a bonsai tree is extremely subjective, but if anyone with experience / insight could offer what they think are fair / realistic values that would be very appreciated.

There are 6 of them in total, and each photo is numbered for clarity. Thank you for reading!

Maybe a little more for you over in california.

#1: $100-$200
#6: $100-$250
#5: $100-$250
#4: $200-$400
#3: $50-$100
#2: $100-$200

This is what I would expect a bonsai nursery would be asking for these trees.
Im comparing: size, ramifications, nebari, and the cost of trees at my local bonsai nurseries.

The more time and design you put into them the more they will grow in $$ if you do all the right things.

Also I included cost of being trees being sold with a decent but basic bonsai pot.

Hello everyone,
I am very new to the world of bonsai, and hopefully I am asking this in the right section of the forum.

I recently came into ownership of what seem to maybe be some relatively mature bonsai trees from an estate sale. I had a chance to buy them for what seemed to me like a good price, and having always been fascinated by the beauty of bonsai trees, I decided to pull the trigger.

From what I know the plants were unattended to for a while after the original owner passed away, so I'm sure they will need some care to restore them, which I hope to learn.

If anyone could help with the following two questions that would be greatly, greatly appreciated: How old they might be, and what they might be worth. It seems that estimating a bonsai tree is extremely subjective, but if anyone with experience / insight could offer what they think are fair / realistic values that would be very appreciated.

There are 6 of them in total, and each photo is numbered for clarity. Thank you for reading!

This maybe a little low being you are in Cali.

#1: $100-$200
#6: $100-$250
#5: $100-$250
#4: $200-$400
#3: $50-$100
#2: $100-$200

This is what I would expect a bonsai nursery would be asking for these trees.
Im comparing: size, ramifications, nebari, and the cost of trees at my local bonsai nurseries.

The more time and design you put into them the more they will grow in $$ if you do all the right things.

Also I included cost of being trees being sold with a decent but basic bonsai pot.