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Fred - I saw your post earlier this morning and had it in my mind when I visited my bonsai bench later. The first thing that came to mind is how difficult it would be to "leave behind" some of my trees. When I first got interested in bonsai about 6 or 7 years ago I belonged to a club that included quite a few older folks. One lady was talking about how fortunate she was to be able to move some of her smaller trees with her when she moved to a "senior facility" of some sort. Right then and there - I made the decision that this was a a long term undertaking and my trees were going to move with me - if at all possible. Hence - my interest in shohin and mame - not only will I be able to continue to work them in my old age - but I expect that they will move with me through my life-time!

That said - I looked at my trees this morning from the view point of "if I had to start over - what would I do different?". I would buy 1 tree for $150 instead of 3 for $50 - spend the $$ on quality not quantity. This should be OK advise for you since you already have the experience and can not only select good material - but also keep it alive. You mention that you already have some collected material and seedlings but I think everyone needs one or two more finished trees - for inspiration and also education. I think some of my best trees came from Convention Workshops, Club sales and purchases from other Club members - so I do suggest (as did Robert) that you consider driving the distance to the nearest club at least for the annual convention or perhaps quarterly. If they have a good newsletter - the membership dues will be worth it for that alone. The knowledge gained from a local club is invaluable - they have already made the mistakes that you can learn from - what grows well, what soil mixes work, etc. etc.

I think the other thing I might do differently is to be more "selective" (our word of the month) from the get-go about new trees. If you read the Midori Newsletter - John Thompson advises that you keep 12 - 4 to refine, 6 to "take to the next step" and 2 to start ( I am recounting from memory - so it may not be his exact words) . That does not seem like many trees does it? The optimum number of trees has been discussed before and the number generally falls around 25 - that seems like a good number to me. If I had to start over - and therefore was not faced with giving up some of my cherished trees - I would harden my heart and keep it under 25. I include seedlings and collected material in that count by the way.

Good luck!

28-Dec-2002	#9
Leesa Leesa Join Date: Feb-2002 Location: LINCOLN, CA Country: USA USDA Zone: 9 AHS Heat Zone: 7 8 Posts: 158	Interesting question! Fred - I saw your post earlier this morning and had it in my mind when I visited my bonsai bench later. The first thing that came to mind is how difficult it would be to "leave behind" some of my trees. When I first got interested in bonsai about 6 or 7 years ago I belonged to a club that included quite a few older folks. One lady was talking about how fortunate she was to be able to move some of her smaller trees with her when she moved to a "senior facility" of some sort. Right then and there - I made the decision that this was a a long term undertaking and my trees were going to move with me - if at all possible. Hence - my interest in shohin and mame - not only will I be able to continue to work them in my old age - but I expect that they will move with me through my life-time! That said - I looked at my trees this morning from the view point of "if I had to start over - what would I do different?". I would buy 1 tree for $150 instead of 3 for $50 - spend the $$ on quality not quantity. This should be OK advise for you since you already have the experience and can not only select good material - but also keep it alive. You mention that you already have some collected material and seedlings but I think everyone needs one or two more finished trees - for inspiration and also education. I think some of my best trees came from Convention Workshops, Club sales and purchases from other Club members - so I do suggest (as did Robert) that you consider driving the distance to the nearest club at least for the annual convention or perhaps quarterly. If they have a good newsletter - the membership dues will be worth it for that alone. The knowledge gained from a local club is invaluable - they have already made the mistakes that you can learn from - what grows well, what soil mixes work, etc. etc. I think the other thing I might do differently is to be more "selective" (our word of the month) from the get-go about new trees. If you read the Midori Newsletter - John Thompson advises that you keep 12 - 4 to refine, 6 to "take to the next step" and 2 to start ( I am recounting from memory - so it may not be his exact words) . That does not seem like many trees does it? The optimum number of trees has been discussed before and the number generally falls around 25 - that seems like a good number to me. If I had to start over - and therefore was not faced with giving up some of my cherished trees - I would harden my heart and keep it under 25. I include seedlings and collected material in that count by the way. Good luck! __________________ Respectfully, Lee Sanner