Hi Matt,
Surely you understand that my alternative to untrained nursery stock is not $100 bonsai. I'm sure that you know that bonsai material that is trained and is in a bonsai pot is widely available for $50 or less. Sometimes a lot less.
The fact is that those just starting out will, in most cases, fare far better with trees that already have shallow, compact (healthy) root systems and somewhat mature and trained branch structures than with untrained trees in deep nursery cans that require large hack-backs on top and on the roots - and which are usually suffering from having been shipped in a truck across the country to a foreign climate.
Desu ne?
Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
http://www.bonsai365.com/ :: living bonsai every day
zone 8, Texas