Where to get small bonsai material online ?

Njyamadori

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I need help getting small bonsai material so please recommend me some !
 

Orion_metalhead

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At this point, honestly, I would just dig up all the little saplings and seedlings in your yard.... offer to weed people's flower beds for a few bucks and take the seedlings you find home... you're young so collect seeds and start some seedlings... small material gives you complete control from start to finish, but requires patience. Try air layering some stuff...

You are young, so time is on your side.
 

Njyamadori

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At this point, honestly, I would just dig up all the little saplings and seedlings in your yard.... offer to weed people's flower beds for a few bucks and take the seedlings you find home... you're young so collect seeds and start some seedlings... small material gives you complete control from start to finish, but requires patience.

You are young, so time is on your side.
Yes I am starting a couple different species of seeds at the moment and will get more . It’s just that I want to make a bonsai so people believe in me.
 

Njyamadori

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I have a few pitch pines you can have, as well as a chinese elm if you want. Maybe we can swap next spring.
Of course I would love them but I have nothing to trade with cause everything I have now is what I need but maybe I will in the spring but probably not
 

MrWunderful

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Lol cheap . 10-25 but if you know anything a little more expensive please share it

Actual shohin pre bonsai will run you much more than that.

This small japanese quince I did an initial styling/repot/clean up on as part of a lesson might run you 2000$ without the pot

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granted it is very high quality, but it has a way to go.

Mame is a bit different, as almost any tiny little thing can be thrown in a pot and called mame.

Any local garden center will be your best bet as you wont be able to buy almost anything online for 15$ because of shipping.
 

shakotan710

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There will also be live seminars in the near future that you can attend and/or participate in.


I would imagine that shipping won't be cheap since you're on the East coast but figured another resource couldn't hurt!
 

Orion_metalhead

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Of course I would love them but I have nothing to trade with cause everything I have now is what I need but maybe I will in the spring but probably not

Im just offering them, no need to trade anything. But if you have some seedlings in the spring of a species I dont have, we can work something out. I just dont need all the seedlings Ive started.

Yes I am starting a couple different species of seeds at the moment and will get more . It’s just that I want to make a bonsai so people believe in me.

If you want people to believe in you, just embrace the passion you have for the hobby, ignore their worthless opinions, and let your interest in bonsai outlast their interest in whatever tv series occupies their time...
 

MrWunderful

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Japanese quince, chojubai, or Chinese quince, pseudocydonia sinensis?
I think it is a pseudocydonia sinensis actually now that you had me thinking about it. May be wrong though. We worked on a few trees and I was told to “grab that quince” and that was the end of discussion, outside of styling.
 

PeaceLoveBonsai

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Here’s a few places I’ve tried...

 

LooselyWired

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Wiggerts Bonsai is a good source of $25-$50 prebonsai. As far as proving yourself? Everyone here is doing their own thing. There isn’t any need to prove anything to us. We are all here to support each other.
 

leatherback

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It’s just that I want to make a bonsai
Besides what has been stated, if you want to do this to proove something to the people on this forum.. No need. We have all been at the start and we all realize that getting started is a slow trajectory.

What I wanted to comment upon: Bonsai are not made overnight, in general. It is a process of smaller and larger interventions in the way the plant grows that over time makes it a bonsai.
If you want to do something this winter, and you want a species that you can work on to get a reasonable looking bonsai overnight, I would recommend looking at cheap landscaping plants meant for hedges such as Yews (Which normally a re a few buck a piece for largish plants) or getting plants meant for plating large tracts of land. Here, bundles with 25 Larch seedlings, 3 years old, can be had for some 50 bucks, making great starting material.
 

Shibui

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Besides what has been stated, if you want to do this to proove something to the people on this forum.. No need. We have all been at the start and we all realize that getting started is a slow trajectory.
It is not forum members that newbies want to prove to. I can remember back that far and it is family, friends and self that we need to show. Years is not a concept for most new bonsai growers. We all need something, anything, no matter how skinny and poor just so long as it is in a bonsai pot.

For beginners in general my advice is to get something into a pot just to get that out of your system (It will also allow you to learn about care of living plants in small pots - many (some?) will die before most of us perfect those skills) but also get some trees with better potential to develop for longer term better bonsai.
Gardens can be a great source of good material for bonsai, especially for those with limited access to wild areas. Weeds growing in untended vacant areas, some parks and undeveloped spots can occasionally yield good starters too. Open your eyes and look around. Bonsai does not need to cost loads.
 
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