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Originally Posted by lehket
John,
I don't think he was denigrating people who buy expensive stock. Rather, he was saying that it time and skill to turn inexpensive stock into good bonsai, whereas one could (if one were so inclined) employ a minimum of time and skill by buying something expensive and already pretty well styled. But the flip side is, if one puts in a minimum of time and skill, before long even the most expensive and beautiful bonsai will end up unsightly and perhaps dead.
So the question isn't really how much money one spends on stock, but on what one does with whatever stock one is able to afford.
--Dale
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Thank you Dale, you hit the nail right on the head of the point I have been trying to make for a couple of years now. I remember an individual that was a member of our club a number of years ago. A very bright and in many was gifted individual who thought he could master bonsai in five years. He spent thousands of dollars on some really nice material from Zuisho White Pines to imported Japanese Black Pines. Sadly he is no longer doing bonsai and as far as I know all of these trees are kindling.
To my way of thinking it is a real dis-service to recommend, push, or embarrass a beginner into spending the kind of money necessary to purchase the kind of stock some feel is the only acceptable material anyone interested in bonsai should spend their time developing. When someone does not know the difference between dog do and shoe polish, high quality stock is not going to be of much benefit to them.
Personally; I feel that a budding bonsaist should have at least five years in bonsai before entertaining the idea of the more expensive pre-bonsai and or collected trees. Details on these issues will be addressed in a future article I am working on and hope to get published within the next two weeks.
But; returning to the original subject of this post, that of what many would consider two mutually exclusive and opposed concepts; bonsai and budget, yes it is possible. Here is an interesting thought; Is it possible to fail at bonsai with an unlimited budget and access to first rate instruction?
YES I have seen it happen, see above.....