bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - How To Balance Ability... Material… Cost

Let's see, how many personal collections have I seen, well there's that guy's and oh yea, Buford's ahh, I have seen well over fifty personal collections. I can safely say that most of the best trees in those collections have been stock that had been started by someone else say twenty years earlier, bought at an estate sale, given to them by the wife of a deceased bonsai friend or something like maybe buying 'nearly compleated stock'.

Ask around in the bonsai group you run in. ask at the club of the members that have the really nice collections where their stock came from. Tell them what you are seeking, and to be straight with you because you really need to know. A lot of folks will stretch the truth a little about where their stock came from, so as not to raise eyebrows when it comes time to show it. You will find for the most part that these trees came from the exact places I just mentioned.

There is nothing wrong with buying a finished piece here and there to refine over the years. Buying stock at a bonsai swap meet is really the best place to get really good stuff at a reasonable price. The years are there that take the 'stretch marks' out of the piece. The difference between two years ramification is nothing like 10 years work.

To have a really nice collection of say 10 trees, figure on spending about 100.00 to 500.00 per plant, depending on how large the trees are. (Thats why my passion is with shohin)

To have areally nice tree, you got to spend really nice money. But, that does not mean that a tree marked at 300.00 dollars is the best tree for the money. It still has to have value. The value part is where the guy that buys the trees, and the guy that sells the trees differ.

The maple I bought was every bit worth 140.00 dollars that I paid for it, same with the nearly finished semi-cascade shimpaku at 139.00. There were other trees there at 140.00, but in my opinion when set side by side they did not stack up. Trouble is the grower has the same amount of time, water, fertilizer, and paying of help invested in both trees. So, hence they are the same price. Sooo.... this is why I say, buy the best, pay the price to get it, and leave the rest for some other loser.

Bonsai-al

17-Feb-2003	#9
bonsaial1 Bonsai Doer Join Date: Aug-2001 Location: Fresno, CA Country: USA USDA Zone: 9 AHS Heat Zone: 13SH Posts: 5,556	Let's see, how many personal collections have I seen, well there's that guy's and oh yea, Buford's ahh, I have seen well over fifty personal collections. I can safely say that most of the best trees in those collections have been stock that had been started by someone else say twenty years earlier, bought at an estate sale, given to them by the wife of a deceased bonsai friend or something like maybe buying 'nearly compleated stock'. Ask around in the bonsai group you run in. ask at the club of the members that have the really nice collections where their stock came from. Tell them what you are seeking, and to be straight with you because you really need to know. A lot of folks will stretch the truth a little about where their stock came from, so as not to raise eyebrows when it comes time to show it. You will find for the most part that these trees came from the exact places I just mentioned. There is nothing wrong with buying a finished piece here and there to refine over the years. Buying stock at a bonsai swap meet is really the best place to get really good stuff at a reasonable price. The years are there that take the 'stretch marks' out of the piece. The difference between two years ramification is nothing like 10 years work. To have a really nice collection of say 10 trees, figure on spending about 100.00 to 500.00 per plant, depending on how large the trees are. (Thats why my passion is with shohin) To have areally nice tree, you got to spend really nice money. But, that does not mean that a tree marked at 300.00 dollars is the best tree for the money. It still has to have value. The value part is where the guy that buys the trees, and the guy that sells the trees differ. The maple I bought was every bit worth 140.00 dollars that I paid for it, same with the nearly finished semi-cascade shimpaku at 139.00. There were other trees there at 140.00, but in my opinion when set side by side they did not stack up. Trouble is the grower has the same amount of time, water, fertilizer, and paying of help invested in both trees. So, hence they are the same price. Sooo.... this is why I say, buy the best, pay the price to get it, and leave the rest for some other loser. Bonsai-al __________________ If you can't be a player...be an athletic supporter!