Any Calgary/Alberta bonsai-ers here?

randyburtis

I am moving there in a couple weeks, and wondering a couple of things(perhaps some nonalbertans can also help )

1.The weather is ugh there, overall, I am mainly wanting indoor bonsai's, which would be the heartiest?

2.Is there a good mame bonsai type to work with(ie hearty for a newbie to experiment on with some success )

3.If you know the Calgary area, are there any good clubs or speciality store to get plants and supplies from?

Thanks for any info!

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Joanie

Give folks a day or two to answer you, people don't always come on the forum on the weekends.

Have you looked on the internet for clubs in that area?

Joanie

slc

Hi!

I'm a Calgarian hailing from the northwest part of the city. Calgary's not too big on bonsai, unfortunately. There's the usual mallsai available from home and garden centers, but there isn't (to my knowledge) any nursery here that is dedicated to growing pre-bonsai stock.

I've also been having major problems finding turface or lava rock small enough to try for my bonsai. I am instead using a mixture of zeolite and regular potting soil for now, until I can get my hands on something better and do some repotting in the spring.

As for recommended garden centers, the three big ones are Golden Acre, Sunnyside and Green Gate, though there are a few others that dot the city.

Outside of the city near Strathmore is Eagle Lake Nurseries - I've never had a chance to go out there. Have also come across For Trees, situated in Didsbury. Again, it's a location I've not had a chance to visit just yet.

As for supplies, again, since there is no place that really sells bonsai exclusively in Calgary, there are very few places that do sell tools suitable for bonsai.. and even then, they tend to be rusted over from being on display too long in a humid environment. I've just taken to using smaller cutters, etc... but things like cut paste and aluminium bonsai wire are pretty much unheard of here.

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randyburtis

Hmmm, that is too bad, i would have thought Calgary would be a better spot for bonsai, looks like i iwll be doing some internet buying for supplies. BAH. I will check out some of those centres, maybe if enough of us complain about the lack of bonsai stuff they will start to bring it in!

slc

mwehehe....

I've had to resort to online ordering lately too... but watch out for those duty charges if you're ordering internationally. Brutal!

I can't say I've ordered much from them, but I recently recieved some 2mm and 2.5mm aluminium wire from Bonsai Concepts Canada, around 3-4 business days after my order, with no problems I can think of at the moment. It was a bit cheaper than what i would have paid most elsewhere, and had no customs charges to boot.

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slc

Funny how Calgary is almost devoid of bonsai activity - I know there are a few other Calgarians on this board who post from time to time, but in general there doesn't seem to be many enthusiasts here, despite the presence of suitable material to work with.

From some articles I came across a while ago, there was at some point a club, but it appears to be defunct

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Fletch

Welcome to Calgary Randy.

As slc stated above, the local club has been defunct for ten years or more now. I did manage to attend one meeting and met a number of the members but the next month there was no meeting (summer holidays if I recall) and by fall the club just went poof and I lost contact with those few I had met.

I have managed to find tools and pots from time to time at Golden Acre's and Sunnyside and have both bought and collected trees from around Calgary and up in Kananaskis Country and also tried starting from seeds all with limited success.

There's an active club up in Edmonton but that is three hours drive to the north and I have never managed to get up there for one of their meetings. I have also heard that there is a group down in the south end of the province but I've never been able to get in touch with them.

There are a few others in the Calgary area who pop up on here from time to time and a few others I know who are interested but not very active. Perhaps we can organize a collecting trip or something in the future.

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Fletch

randyburtis

Once i get settled I would love to try to get togehter in some way with fellow bonsaiers and pick their brain as mine is nearly empty of bonsai info(although very hungry for it, and would love to see some of the trees fellow calgarians have raised.

Appreciate the link to the canadian supply spot, anytime you can avoid cross border headaches the better!

acousticco

Howdy,
Yeah, you're not going to find much bonsai activity in Calgary. There was one small shop that operated about a year ago in the Marta Loop called the Essence Gallery and Cafe. It was more of a coffee shop run by a bonsai enthusiast that had some trees for sale. I'm not sure of it's status at the moment, the last time I visited there was a note on the window that said 'reopening August 2006'.

I'd definantly be into showing some fellow Calgarians my (less than impressive) bonsai collection, or organizing a collecting trip sometime.

-Cody

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