Selecting material for bonsai

Leesa

Al raised a good point in his "Critical Eye" thread about the selection of material for bonsai. Depending on your locale and your level of experience, it can be pretty hard to know what to buy. I am wondering if we could share our experiences on this.

I remember buying a small mugho pine to work with. I got it home and ended up cutting off every branch - not one of them worked! Well - after sending it to Bonsai Heaven - I found out that mughos regrow branches! I think this story addresses a couple of points - first of all - before you go looking - try to learn about the species that your are going to buy - before you buy it. I have seen a number of posts in which the question is asked "how do I take care of this?" Well Ok if it's a gift - I understand. Otherwise - find out what will thrive and what won't first. Believe me- I have learned there are enough other ways to kill a tree - at least start with one that has a chance of living in your particular area. Secondly - there is all sorts of advise about going to a nursery with a root hook and pulling the material out of the can and checking the roots - well I do not have the balls to do that - well OK maybe in a back corner of a very deserted nursery...

I think in time (after lots of mistakes and some good luck) you start to figure out what material will make a good bonsai. I think Rip might be able to help here - this is his area of expertise and we all can't buy his trees - what do you say Rip? What should we look for?

One comment about joining a club - remember that the "donation table" or whatever it is called - often is the repository for material that a more experienced club member has given up on. So - approach it with caution. I have had better luck on Club Sales - where members sell (i.e., it is worth selling??) some of their material. I have got some pretty good bonsai that way. And - keep track of who sold it - they may be a valuable "advisor" - sometimes it's like putting your baby up for adoption.

For those of us who live in the boonies - mail order may be another option. I am not sure if we are supposed to make referrals (Matt - XX this out if it is not OK) but I have had good luck with Evergreen:

http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/index.htm

I suggest checking out the website for Brent's article - he has some great articles that are worth checking out (IMHO). I have asked him to pick me out good Shohin material for example and in at least 3 instances - he has not let me down. And - he is reponsive to questions on his material.

So that's my humble thoughts on the topic - let's here about your tips on selecting??

Leesa

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Carl_Bergstrom

Leesa - great question.

I could probably write volumes on this, but let me start with a few remarks.

• Know your material. You've got to know a bit about the species before picking your material. Branch structure is irrelevent on a dawn redwood because they bud from the trunk like crazy, but it's crucial on a black pine because they're the exact opposite. Know enough about the species you are buying to be able to know what to look for.
  Will it bud back? Can one layer it easily? How fast will it grow? Is it a good species for bonsai in the first place? And so forth. How do you know these things? Read. Ask here. Talk to people at a club meeting. Learn the hard way by trial and error if you have to.
• Don't fall into the beginner's trap of buying trees because they've "got wierd roots" or because they "look funky and all twisted-like." Messed up material doesn't make for old and rugged bonsai, it makes for poor bonsai, plain and simple.
• It's been said before, repeatedly, but look at the root base. You want a good spread of roots coming from the same level all around the tree.
• Look at the condition of the tree. No point in buying material that is already weak, especially if you're going to start training right away.
• Try buying more than one of a given species. I try to always get at least two. They don't both have the be large expensive stock. Just two of the same species and cultivar, of any size. That way I can better separate out species characteristics and repeatable responses from the fluke occurances that happen as I work with the tree.
• Be very careful about buying grafted material. Graft scars don't necessarily go away, and they can get worse if the understock swells faster or slower than the graft.
• Perhaps most importantly, have a plan in mind. In general, don't buy a tree unless you know how you want to style it. Sit there, figure out where the branches will go, what you'll do with trunk line, the whole deal.

I'm sure there are a lot of other things that I forgot to mention, but this will get us started.

-Old Mister

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In love with trees

Jay

Well Leesa, as a novice I have progressed (Ithink) to the point where I try and look at a tree with a few main guidelines.
1- Is this a type of tree that will do well in my area (zone 5/6)?
2- Will this tree winter well without needing special attention I do not already give to my other trees?
3- Is the growth rate of this type of tree acceptable to me? Can I wait for it to grow? Or will I be long gone before its ready to train?
4- Is this the size that I want it this tree?
5- What does the Nebari look like? This is the hardest part to change, I think?
6- Does the trunk have good movement and taper? Again something hard to change, not as hard as the nebari!
7- Are there good branch placements, I know you can work this, but if you can get them at the beginning why not?

These are items on my check list..... will be looking for other suggestions to add to it!!!

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

Bonsainut

Jay and OMC,
Cheese, you guys are geting good, you just keep pouring it on wid the good ideas. I may just sit back and lurk...

Carl_Bergstrom

Bonsainut, you'd better not! Some one needs to keep the rest of us in line. But thanks for the kind words...

Cheers,
OMC

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In love with trees

bonsaial1

When I go on a buying trip, which can be anytime, even at work. I have just a few things in my head that I look out for. They are pretty simple.

1.Will it be Chokkan or anything else. I feel that there are only two styles, chokkan(formal upright) and everthing else. When picking out chokkan stock, the trunk has to be broomstick straight and have some taper. While everything else can be adapted from all the stock thats left.

2. Trunk to working tree ratio. You can buy a twenty foot tall tree. If the tree you want is in the bottom 2 feet, will there be branches there to prune back to, to add suitable taper? If you start with 2 foot material, does the trunk taper in that 2 feet, and does it look proportional to the height of the tree.

3. First, second, back branch. If the stock does not have at least these to work with I just pass it by. The branches must also have foliage near the trunk on the branches. It is easy to remove foliage, but takes too much valuable time to grow it.

4. Overall good feeling. Does the tree talk to me? If I question any of these things I just pass it by. It may sound crazy but you will know when you reach the point in bonsai when a plant will talk to you. It does not pay to waste a lot of time on stock that will never be anything. If the tree is for practise, go for it.

Thats it. Those are the only things I keep in mind when buying stock. These ideas have changed alot in the past 5 years. I expect them to change in the next 5.

Bonsaial

bonsaial1

Hmmm.... no pics yet? maybe..... yea, here I go. This is a shimpaku juniper that I bought a couple of years ago. It is in a three gallon container, and I only paid 35.00 bucks for it. I bought two, and will post the other one after. This the stock as bought from the nursery. While it seems like a bush now, I made sure that it had all the criterion that I look for in a plant.

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bonsaial1

You can already see that there is interest in the trunk. There is plenty of foliage to work with and the foliage is pretty close to the trunk. After an initial styling, and then let the tree rest. This is how we're doing now.

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bonsaial1

The back of the tree. I might change my mind on the front and back, who knows?

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