Purchasing Finished Bonsai

Treebeard

During my last visit to my nearest bonsai retailer (Dai-ichi Bonsai) a thought entered my head. 90% (or higher) of trees for sale there are what I would class as finished bonsai. The same goes for the other places I have visited recently.

Now here on bonsaiTALK, I would say that most of the trees posted in show and tell are raw material that people have trained themselves, ie NOT trees bought as 'finished bonsai'. I may be wrong, but that's my impression.

So, are there more people buying finished bonsai and not posting them or more people buying stock to work on and posting that instead? Whichever, why?

btw, no pedantry about 'finished'. You all know what finished means in the context of this thread...

Regards,

Chris.

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Jonny D

Hi Chris,

First of all I think we are going to get some (not all) people coming on here saying buying finished bonsai is wrong - you haven't done it yourself. Well I'm here to tell those people that there is absolutley nothing wrong with buying finished bonsai.

A finished bonsai allows you not only to have an excellent example of what a finished bonsai looks like but also allows you to practice more advanced techniques than you can on "rawer" material e.g.: ramification. The tree will act as inspriration. It should be noted that finished bonsai should only be bought (IMO) when the buyer no's they can keep it alive. A beautiful bonsai will always be a beautiful bonsai no matter who owns it.

So to answer your question for me I mainly work on and have stock, but do have a couple of examples of finished bonsai. I work on stock because the best bit for me (although there are a lot of best bits) is the creation point where you take what was an uninspiring peice of material and transform it into a bonsai image, along way from a finished bonsai but closer non the less. but I am not adverse to buying finished bonsai for many of the resons I state above (as well as many others), and currently I'm considering a Zelcova and a Azalea.

To some up a little bit (or alot) of both for me.

Jonny.

Lesley

I have to agree with Jonny. Most of my material is beginner potensai but lately (last 6 months) I have purchased some finished trees because I liked them and for inspiration. I have pruned and changed the pots and fronts on some of them. They are mine and I have progressed so that I won't kill them and I'm learning from them and enjoying them. As to the posting issue, I'm still in my infancy w/ the camera skills and the posting skills. These are my biggest goals for the remaining part of the year (along with taking a trip to the bonsai school)!

=('):

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Attila

Hi Chris,

I've bought 3 finished (90%) bonsai so far. I love them and I wish I could afford more. The reason I don't buy them too often is that there aren't too many on the market that I really like. The ones I do usually cost a few thousand $$$. I would rather save that money for my son's college.

Regards,
Attila

mkonig

I am with Attila on this one. I too have bought 2 finished bonsai, but my budget does not allow for the purchase of the real (£500+) thing YET.
I am mainly working with stock plants and material that I can find or collect cheaply. That is teaching me two important things, patience and technique. And when the time (remember that time = money!) comes, I'll be ready for the challenge of looking after a "real" bonsai.

Mike

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TreeBay

Bearded one,

I don't mean to be pedantic, but in the context of this thread, does "finished" mean

"I couldn't make it look much better in 5, 10, 20 years?"

or

"It costs 3x, 5x or 10x as much as stock I could use to create something like it in 5, 10, 20 years?"

I think this is a useful point, in fact it might be the crux of the question, so I hope you won't think I am being a pedagogue (if there is such a word)

Regards,

Matt

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rowan57

i reckon ya made up a new word lol, better add it to the wikipedia so people know what ya mean

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RonMartin(deceased)

Main Entry: ped·a·gogue
Variant(s): also ped·a·gog /'pe-d&-"gäg/
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English pedagoge, from Middle French, from Latin paedagogus, from Greek paidagOgos, slave who escorted children to school, from paid- ped- + agOgos leader, from agein to lead -- more at AGENT
: TEACHER, SCHOOLMASTER; especially : a dull, formal, or pedantic teacher

According to Merriam Webster anyway. ;o)

Treebeard

The first one.

Regards,

Chris.

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"Do not be hasty, that is my motto"
-JRR Tolkien, The Two Towers.
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