bisco_bonsai

Good post Will, but by a "background in horticulture," I was referring to the knowledge of techniques which can be used in bonsai (grafting, layering, fertilizing, etc.), not simply keeping the tree alive. I think your refering to basic gardening skills. Anyway, let me put it another way, if you were to take on an apprentice to teach, would you rather have someone who knows all the advance horticultural techniques which are commonly used in bonsai and an innate understanding of plant physiology, or would you rather have someone who has graduated from say a great NY art school and could sculpt the heck out of limbs and jin? Is it easier to teach advanced art to a horticulturalist or teach advanced horticulture to an artist? By taking it to this extreme, I think I'll get the answer I'm looking for. It seems to me that a true bonsai artist needs to have a firm grasp on both these elements, but is one harder to learn than the other (in your opinion)? Keep the opinions coming!
All the best,
JDL