Are these Potentillas worth to purchase?

[petr_b]

Hello, I saw these Potentillas (I think they are fruticosa) for sale not far from my home.
They are planted from branch.
The 1st one is 30cm (12'') tall and is for $80
the 2nd one is about 21cm (8.3'') tall for $60

Do you think it is a good price for them?
Thank you

 

[LuZiKui]

This is a new species to me but it looks pretty cool.

Enjoying potentilla in bloom - Bonsai Tonight

Potentillas are one of a small number of bonsai varieties that bloom in summer. Notes and photos of a shohin specimen in bloom.

bonsaitonight.com

I think I prefer #2 and it's also cheaper. It's always hard to judge value in other countries but $60 doesn't seem crazy for a decent pre bonsai. I'd bring the apex of it down and once you repot you'll have a very cool little tree.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I do not have any experience with these plants, but I would say that is a decent price for good-looking material - assuming you can keep it alive and clean it up. Just glancing at the description on the Internet, it looks like an interesting flowering shrub.

 

[petr_b]

thank you for your quick response!
I thought about it the same way.. IMO they have pretty nice trunks and shape.. so I gonna take em
thanx guys once again!

 

[Hartinez]

I’ve seen potentilla make great bonsai and for those prices I’d say these are a great purchase.

 

[RoadManDenDron]

#2 is my favourite

Keep in mind they don't heal cuts well so it is preferred to leave a jin and even lime sulfur it white

There are not many deciduous you can say that about!

 

[leatherback]

the second one is cool and more interesting than 1 it seems.

To get these to throw bods, make use you keep them growing well, and prune ahrd in spring / late winter. Removing flaky bark helps too.
Deadwood decays just looking at it, so keep that in mind when designing your tree. Branches older than a year are brittle and will typically rather break than bend: Position young branches and let them solidify in place.

 

[petr_b]

guys thank you! it looks more like a scalpture work i will have to penetrate more deeply into these techniques

 

[BrianBay9]

Will they back bud from a hard trunk chop? Does one need to leave green or will the bud from bare trunk?

 

[The Barber]

I have one still in a nursery pot i picked up at a Menards for 25ish bucks, cut the foliage back multiple times this spring, a couple weeks after it always looks like a hedge again. Guessing they need a lot of maintenance. Reminds me of spirea as far as the trunk hasn't thickened much considering the amount of growth and has grown a ton.

 

[leatherback]

Will they back bud from a hard trunk chop? Does one need to leave green or will the bud from bare trunk?

Assuming in good health they will bud from bare wood. Ideally remove the peeling bark so light gets in.

Here they are often are pruned every year to a stump n gardens

 

[minkes]

Will they back bud from a hard trunk chop? Does one need to leave green or will the bud from bare trunk?

From my experience, they back bud really easily from old wood. They have nice subtle flowers and interesting old looking bark from very young age, so they are very good material to play with

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

I've seen smaller ones for sale in Europe for higher prices so I would probably try to buy both and ask for a small discount (€ 120 for the two trees or so).