october

Hello subnetrx....I take it there is not a bonsai nursery near you that sells stock like this..Well, my advice would be to comb the local garden centers....Not necessarilly the chain stores like Home Depot or Lowes...but independently owned garden centers. They usually have a more diverse selection of species and some unusal things. Also, sometimes they have a bunch of old trees that are in so so health and you may get them for cheap. This stock is excellent for fine tuning your skills.

Also, if you are deciding on a tree, it helps to come up with a rough plan for it right there at the nursery. I usually look for the trunk first, then look at my options for side branches, then maybe back branching and apex. Before I leave the nursery with a tree, I usually have about 60% of the future plan formulated for the tree.

If you have a good eye and a lot of patience...going to these garden centers and going through about 100 trees may bring future quality, not quantity results. You may find 1 tree out of a 100 that has potential, but that one tree may become the pride and specimen of your collection.
I have a couple of very nice trees, both literati that cost me around 6 or 7 dollars from bargain places. After a couple years of training, they are looking pretty good. Actually, I may post one of them today or soon. Good luck with your search and be sure to post pics if you find anything.

Rob