Another Mirai Tree Sale in a few days

Juniper — Backcountry Bonsai

We collect two different junipers: Rocky Mountain Juniper (j. Scopulorum) are some of the very best and most highly sought after trees for bonsai! These junipers endure some of the harshest weather imaginable; they are full of character, with live veins curving and twisting around
www.backcountrybonsai.com www.backcountrybonsai.com

Feel free to inquire about available trees. Please note that we have limited stock available at this time. The majority of our trees are going to bonsai professionals around the country before they ever hit our site. You can look for trees we’ve collected at nurseries like Bonsai Mirai, Crataegus Bonsai, Dogwood Studios, Eisei-en and First Branch Bonsai.
 
Matte91 said:

Juniper — Backcountry Bonsai

We collect two different junipers: Rocky Mountain Juniper (j. Scopulorum) are some of the very best and most highly sought after trees for bonsai! These junipers endure some of the harshest weather imaginable; they are full of character, with live veins curving and twisting around
www.backcountrybonsai.com www.backcountrybonsai.com

Feel free to inquire about available trees. Please note that we have limited stock available at this time. The majority of our trees are going to bonsai professionals around the country before they ever hit our site. You can look for trees we’ve collected at nurseries like Bonsai Mirai, Crataegus Bonsai, Dogwood Studios, Eisei-en and First Branch Bonsai.
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Yeah I reached out to them to try and buy a tree but never heard back. Seems like they have plenty of business from the Big Kahunas!
 
Scorpius said:
I will say that Ryan Neil is sure full of himself. Not the type of person I would want around me no matter his skillset. Elitism is not something that should ever enter the bonsai world.
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I never got that sense but I’ve never met him. He does seem confident in his knowledge though always willing to learn so I find it hard to knock that.

If you don’t think elitism belongs in bonsai you probably shouldn’t look at the Japanese model 😅
 
Scorpius said:
I will say that Ryan Neil is sure full of himself. Not the type of person I would want around me no matter his skillset. Elitism is not something that should ever enter the bonsai world.
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Yeah I’m not getting that vibe either. There is a fine line between cockiness and confidence, and i personally feel he is just incredibly confident. Id drink beers with him for sure if ever given the opportunity.
 
Shogun610 said:
Phew thought I was the only one.. that was last year I messaged them. Oh well more motivation to just DIY
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Colorado said:
Yeah I reached out to them to try and buy a tree but never heard back. Seems like they have plenty of business from the Big Kahunas!
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Sorry guys. It’s Just you two. I’m in constant conversation with them and have a yard full of their trees.
 
Scorpius said:
I will say that Ryan Neil is sure full of himself. Not the type of person I would want around me no matter his skillset. Elitism is not something that should ever enter the bonsai world.
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Care to expand on this part? Because I have been a Mirai live member since 2019 and I don't see that at all.
 
Maiden69 said:
Care to expand on this part? Because I have been a Mirai live member since 2019 and I don't see that at all.
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I haven't seen "elitism" from the man. I think that characterization is lazy and cynical...I've seen him talk in person at workshops. He's engaging and enthusiastic and personable TO EVERYONE even those with trees they didn't buy from him. I think people assume he's "elitist" because he sells expensive trees. That's shortsighted and unfair. It is a VERY good thing to have a high end market for bonsai served by someone who is extremely knowledgeable. That helps drive the entire bonsai market to the better end. People are no longer satisfied with the crap that passed for "good" two decades ago. I, and a few others here, were around back then. Believe me, things have improved dramatically since people like Ryan have entered the market.
 
rockm said:
I haven't seen "elitism" from the man. I think that characterization is lazy and cynical...I've seen him talk in person at workshops. He's engaging and enthusiastic and personable TO EVERYONE even those with trees they didn't buy from him. I think people assume he's "elitist" because he sells expensive trees. That's shortsighted and unfair. It is a VERY good thing to have a high end market for bonsai served by someone who is extremely knowledgeable. That helps drive the entire bonsai market to the better end. People are no longer satisfied with the crap that passed for "good" two decades ago. I, and a few others here, were around back then. Believe me, things have improved dramatically since people like Ryan have entered the market.
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Sure. I'm cynical and lazy. Right...... Thanks pal.
 
Scorpius said:
I will say that Ryan Neil is sure full of himself. Not the type of person I would want around me no matter his skillset. Elitism is not something that should ever enter the bonsai world.
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Not at all.

I met Ryan in Louisville (can't remember the year). He did a presentation on a large RMJ. He then spent the rest of the day alone(-ish) styling the tree in one of the convention rooms. I sat down with him, watched him work, asked questions, discussed bonsai philosophy, and found him VERY approachable.

He was in New Orleans for our "Louisiana Day of Bonsai". I was busy as a vendor, but got to see how he did his presentation and spoke with the audience. Again, he was very approachable.

When I saw him in Houston a few years ago, I attended his bald cypress demonstration. This was after I wrote a very critical article here and on the Mirai forums regarding what is and is not a bald cypress. He took my criticism very well on the live-stream he did after I wrote the critique. He met me in peace and friendship in Houston when I told him who I was. Approachable. Easy to speak with.

Ryan is confident because of his horticulture degree, his internship in Japan, and his numerous accolades from bonsai artists. But he is not "full of himself". I've met such people. I've dated such people. I've been such people. Ryan is not confident of his abilities to the point of arrogance. He is not condescending when explaining a concept to beginners or defending his work. He comes across, in person, as a regular guy. He just happens to have incredible skill and expertise in bonsai and speaks with an authoritative voice.
 
rockm said:
He's engaging and enthusiastic and personable TO EVERYONE even those with trees they didn't buy from him. I think people assume he's "elitist" because he sells expensive trees
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To be fair, he does frequently throw out lines like "This is what makes Mirai so special", "This is what nobody else understands", or "You won't get this anywhere else" in some of his Mirai Live streams. That kind of "Mirai is better than everyone" messages goes a long way toward the elitist stereotype

That being said, I don't think I've ever seen him be elitist, rude, or speak poorly of a person. Seems like a rather polite guy in person
 
That's marketing my man. Customers want to feel like they're getting more than a youtube tutorial for their monthly dues.
 
And to be fair, he was head and shoulders above most people for a long time. Now he seems to have a little more competition with Bjorn's Bonsai U and Michael Hagedorn leaning more into digital teaching
 
Srt8madness said:
That's marketing my man. Customers want to feel like they're getting more than a youtube tutorial for their monthly dues.
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Exactly. He's selling the brand.

His comments are the answer to my question: "Man oh man. Why am I spending good money to get better access to Mirai knowledge?"
 
Wood said:
And to be fair, he was head and shoulders above most people for a long time. Now he seems to have a little more competition with Bjorn's Bonsai U and Michael Hagedorn leaning more into digital teaching
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Perhaps, but I'm not aware of Bjorn's and Michael's attempts to reach me.

Simple axiom in business: If you're not first to market, you need to be better.

To get a slice of the limited bonsai-subscription money, an artist needs to compete at Ryan's level. There might be artists out there who could run laps around Ryan in the areas of horticulture and design. Without marketing skills, we may never know who they are. Ryan appears to be firing on all cylinders.

I do see one area where all artists are lagging: Muggles. The general public just isn't all that into bonsai. They love to see beautiful trees, but too many of them think the art form is too hard to do. Get an artist to break that barrier and they could make big money without actually being good at bonsai.
 
Gonna shill for Bjorn here for a moment, to provide a different perspective

To me, Bjorn's videos provide higher value than Ryan's. They're concise, information dense and well organized. Mirai Live streams frequently end up 2-3 hours long with Ryan frequently meandering a bit about topics, and multiple per week. I like to take notes frequently while watching these videos, and keeping up with Mirai would take up a significant amount of my non-work time

Bjorn also seems to do a good job with the muggles too. He's got a massive YouTube channel and produces a lot of great looking entertainment-style content, which is great for casual audiences. Those videos get followed up with shorter, free versions of his Bonsai-U videos, and a lot of them are using nursery material or something similar
 
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