bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - Where do you get good starter material

Rip,

It seems like my best starter stuff comes from the local co-op. I have tried starter from a bonsai nursery, but I haven't been as happy with that as I have with the stuff from the co-op. Seems like the trees from the co-op are older and have more trunk development. Even then, I generally put the trees in open ground and pour on the fertilizer for a couple of months before I starting pruning and wiring.

I think rootage is very important for good bonsai but I haven't figured out how to treat the plant to get bigger roots for the surface.

As far as growing our own stuff from scratch, that's where I think I'm headed. Even though I'm happy with the nursery stock, it is somewhat limited as far as variety.

6-Jan-2002	#2
Soildoc bonsaiTALK Expert Join Date: Sep-2001 Posts: 169	Re: Where do you get good starter material Rip, It seems like my best starter stuff comes from the local co-op. I have tried starter from a bonsai nursery, but I haven't been as happy with that as I have with the stuff from the co-op. Seems like the trees from the co-op are older and have more trunk development. Even then, I generally put the trees in open ground and pour on the fertilizer for a couple of months before I starting pruning and wiring. I think rootage is very important for good bonsai but I haven't figured out how to treat the plant to get bigger roots for the surface. As far as growing our own stuff from scratch, that's where I think I'm headed. Even though I'm happy with the nursery stock, it is somewhat limited as far as variety.