bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - Where can I get a bonsai?

Dr. Bonsai:
In reading your article, I feel that it feeds into a serious problem that we in America, in California and preticularly in Fresno have. This is the tendancy to be cheep! To buy cheep. To collect cheep, or in the case of an estate sale to steal cheep.

In your first article in the first sentance you have the words "fastest " and then " expensive" fastest is good and expensive is a warning. At the end of this article you say "trees that have undergone decades of work" preceded by the warning expensive and ending with the warning you may buy something that you are not able to care for.

In your second article you open with "produce the finest quality bonsai" and then pass it off with the disclaimer "I don't want to discourage you" and end with "consider other options".You pass off one of the most important aspects of our art form with 62 words and most of them discouraging.

In your third article you might as well have said, garden center material is cheep. What you did not say is that, creating good bonsai out of garden center material is very difficult and often takes very advanced techniques. These techniques can take as much as two years to recover from. This comment does not include buying something and shoveing it into a bonsai container without considering foundation or roots.

I agree with your comments about Don Herzoge (miniture plant kingdom) and have no comment about clubs because to my shame, I have never been a member of one.

Finally you end up on the aspect of aquiring bonsai that you really want to talk about and that is how to acquire bonsai cheap. Now this brings me to this first question...If it is so dangerous to purchase material that has decades of work in it and is expensive. With the warning, You may not be able to keep it alive. Why is it good to steal (get a good deal) from the collection of someone that has died? Material that has possibly generations of work and care in it. Wouldnt this have the same mortality rate as the "expensive" material in your first article and is this somehow ok! because the material was aquired cheep! It is my openion that we suffer from this malidy because no one teaches the appreciation for material that, with some care will out live the care taker. Instead of teaching the aspect of how to buy cheep, which in my openion is already a learned habit to our discredit. Possibly teach appreation for and the techniques required, to care for older bonsai material.

In the words of SoilDoc "I hope that I haven't honked you off to bad"
ripsgreentree

9-Oct-2001	#2
ripsgreentree bonsaiTALK Master Chief Join Date: Sep-2001 Location: Fresno, CA Country: U.S.A USDA Zone: 9 AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 1,260	Re: Acquiring Bonsai Dr. Bonsai: In reading your article, I feel that it feeds into a serious problem that we in America, in California and preticularly in Fresno have. This is the tendancy to be cheep! To buy cheep. To collect cheep, or in the case of an estate sale to steal cheep. In your first article in the first sentance you have the words "fastest " and then " expensive" fastest is good and expensive is a warning. At the end of this article you say "trees that have undergone decades of work" preceded by the warning expensive and ending with the warning you may buy something that you are not able to care for. In your second article you open with "produce the finest quality bonsai" and then pass it off with the disclaimer "I don't want to discourage you" and end with "consider other options".You pass off one of the most important aspects of our art form with 62 words and most of them discouraging. In your third article you might as well have said, garden center material is cheep. What you did not say is that, creating good bonsai out of garden center material is very difficult and often takes very advanced techniques. These techniques can take as much as two years to recover from. This comment does not include buying something and shoveing it into a bonsai container without considering foundation or roots. I agree with your comments about Don Herzoge (miniture plant kingdom) and have no comment about clubs because to my shame, I have never been a member of one. Finally you end up on the aspect of aquiring bonsai that you really want to talk about and that is how to acquire bonsai cheap. Now this brings me to this first question...If it is so dangerous to purchase material that has decades of work in it and is expensive. With the warning, You may not be able to keep it alive. Why is it good to steal (get a good deal) from the collection of someone that has died? Material that has possibly generations of work and care in it. Wouldnt this have the same mortality rate as the "expensive" material in your first article and is this somehow ok! because the material was aquired cheep! It is my openion that we suffer from this malidy because no one teaches the appreciation for material that, with some care will out live the care taker. Instead of teaching the aspect of how to buy cheep, which in my openion is already a learned habit to our discredit. Possibly teach appreation for and the techniques required, to care for older bonsai material. In the words of SoilDoc "I hope that I haven't honked you off to bad" ripsgreentree __________________ ripsgreentree It requires an open hand to give and to recieve.