Trees & Their Price Tags

hack

I know this is not what our endeavor is about & I know it can probably vary greatly, but I'm am curious to the actual monetary value of some of these finer bonsai specimens. I know the value is different to each of us but I'm talkin' straight up ducket$.
It looks like it's similar to other art forms in the fact that the name & notoriety of the artist has a lot to do w/ the $value.
I know there has been trees presented to museums, given to political dignitaries & things like this, these trees of historical significance must be big money. But what would some of the nicer common man trees value($) at? I see trees that go for $100 to $500+.

How about something like this, if it we're fer sale, what kind of a tag would it have? How about similar trees by lesser known artist?


I don't plan on buying soon but just curious & trying to put it on the ol' bell curve.

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TreeBay

On the west coast, I would expect a well-designed California Juniper like that, (that appears to be a convention tree styled by one of the visiting masters, Kubota and Kamiya) to sell for around $15K. If that tree were in Japan, where collected Juniper is becoming increasingly rare, it would probably be at least $50K in this condition and much more after it had been refined.

However, Cal Juniper doesn't do that well in Japan, I understand.

Regards,

Matt

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pillsPMD

yah... so i saw one for $$795

Jay

Hi all........ Pills, you posted
Posted by: pillsPMD
yah... so i saw one for $$795
I think the pot was probably over $500... To me the value is the value! The artist is the one who brought the tree to its present value but thats it. I would not pay more for a tree from artist "x" than artist "y" or novice "z". These trees, the ones with super high price tags are mostly out of the common persons reach. Knowing that killing trees is always possible, I could not take on a tree of this level and feel comfortable.

Yes... I have purchased trees that are on their way to being Bonsai but I do not feel at this time I can invest in (near) finished trees. OK I'm ranting enough is enough...sorry

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pillsPMD

oh... i was just saying that the most expensive one i've seen was 795, compared to 15 K + that doesn't seem like anything.

the pot didn't look like it was worth 500 dollars at all... but who knows.

Jay

Pot prices really go up when you start getting into the larger sizes. Check it out for your self. A Tokoname pot 22 1/2 by 17 1/2 by 5 1/2 is nearly $650.00. The pot in the picture looks even larger than this. I admit this is a high quality pot, but does the tree not deserve it?

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Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

Tony

It seems to me that bonsai growers really take *a scalping on these large pots. I'm sure it takes a good potter to make a large pot that will stand up to the elements over time but it's hard to justify the percentage increases as the size gets larger. *You'll even see the same kind of jumps in price when buying plastic or mica pots and those, I believe, are injected molded and no harder to make than the small ones. I think they do it cause they can get away with it. To bad they don't sell these things by the pound hey?

Tony

Jay

Tony, I agree with you about the injected type pots. There may be a premium deserved but not to the level that it is charged. As for the top quality pots, they are harder to make and have a greater failure rate in production. If these factors are taken into account you can understand a higher price. As for the level of increase, I can not say, but a large increase is reguired to make these profitable.

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Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

bonsaial1

The question is for finished bonsai? if this is the case then the question has allready been answered fairley well. If your talking about bonsai stock then this can raise a wole new bucket of roots. There have been posts on other forums that number in the 100's of posts argueing back and forth as to what the perceived value of stock is. IMHO, two dimensional art (paintings) is something that should be collected and admired. It can be displayed on the wall and people can assume that you know something of the art you collect. The value can be cataloged, and looked up. It can be followed in magazine price guides and the such. BUT, the art never changes, it continues to escalate in value due to its static nature. Bonsai, on the other hand will increase in value or decrease, based on the current owner. The artist will bring the beauty to the surface and refine it over many years. The collector sometimes may let a tree get out of shape and lose the refinement of twenty years in just a couple of seasons. Thats why many wealthy bonsai collectors have a staff of bonsai masters taking care of their trees.

This brings us to you and I (about time). This is where you want to pay close attention. I am going to give you the secret of my 18+ years of wisdom doing bonsai. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON HAVING TWENTY CUTE BONSAI IN TRAINING. Spend all the money you can save and buy great stock from the get go. (heaven help me if Ripsgreentree reads this, I'll never hear the end of it).

I used to have lots of little one gallon junipers sitting around, that I would cut out and pot up in one or two years, and cal them bonsai. I guess if thats what your means can do that allright too. Its just better to buy a really great plant in say 5 gallon container thats been chopped once or twice, had its roots cut once or twice and has had some branches cut back for ramification. This kind of stock can sell for 25.00-100.00 dollars for two gallon material. Five gallon material will run from 75.00 - 500.00 on average. This is the only way I know to get the quality bonsai that every one seeks.

Go to every show, and join a club. This is the only way to find the good stock needed to make the great trees. Find a good bonsai nursery near you, make the trip even if you only get to go once a year. These nursery's specialize in stock suitable for great bonsai. The prices can be scary, but its the only way to get the plants of any size that will look great in a suitable amount of time. You can always buy a dozen junipers and put them into the ground, and let them grow. But, you still may end up with a dozen bigger crappy junipers not suitable for your needs. This is why I would just as soon pay the extra dollars and walk away with one plant that meets all the needs that "I" want with none of the loss of time and effort and money on 12 crappy plants. The stock is out there, it just takes a little detective work.

Pots. Thats another post all together.
Untill next time, Regards, Bonsaial

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