Attila Soos
Omono
Here is a thread where everyone can vent. There were many threads in the past with similar subject, but I started this one because I've just read Peter Warren's view on this in his interview at the Art of Bonsai website, and wholeheartedly agree with him. Here is what he says on the subject of selecting the best material for bonsai:
Peter often states that this is just his opinion, and thus it is not right or wrong, so feel free to disagree with him. I also took the liberty of highlighting some of the text with bold.
Peter sees cheap garden nursery material as only fit for "practice and discard" purposes. You practice on them at the most basic level, and then give them away to make room for valuable and advanced material, with character. Using them for more than cannon fodder, is harmful for the advancement of bonsai, in the West.
Recently, I talked with someone who was very successful at training young brokers at Merrill Lynch. The failure rate in this business is close to 90% (which leaves 10% success rate), but his success rate was an astonishing 60%. "The secret" - he said, "is to select the right people in the first place. Training them is much less crucial then the selection itself."
I think that it's the same in bonsai: selection of material is the secret. Beginners need to be reminded of this over and over again.
It's not that a talented individual cannot create a good bonsai from less than good material. He can. But why spend a lifetime of struggling with bad material, when you can achieve it in a few years with good material. We are talking about your time here, the most precious thing that you have: your time is your life.
One or the arguments I always here is: "We shouldn't discourage young beginners by telling them that their cheap nursery material is unsuitable for bonsai, or in other words, it's crap".
But let me tell you something: there is nothing more discouraging for a beginner, then to find out that after spending 5 years on his tree, it is still crap. On the other hand, had he spent a little more at a good bonsai nursery (such as Brent Walston's, for instance), after 5 years he would have a great candidate for an outstanding tree.
And yet, the truth remains the same: the number one source for bonsai material in the Western world is still the cheap 1 to 5 gallon, totally useless plant nursery tree.
Discuss.
Peter:
If you want to be practicing bonsai at the highest level then nursery (garden centre not bonsai nursery) material is all but useless and the sooner that Western bonsai moves away from thin trunked garden junipers in ten gallon pots the better. They were not designed for use as a bonsai so they will make poor bonsai. For a genuine conifer with any character then it must be a collected tree (other than shohin). If you want to create deciduous trees then starting from nursery stock will immediately create problems of no taper, poor root structure, poor branch placement and inappropriate leaf size. You would be better off growing from seed to have full control over root development and subsequent growth. It is possible to grow a maple from seed to the highest quality finished tree in 20 years; all you need to do is look to Bill Valavanis’ collection for evidence of this in the West.
Nursery material has the advantage for the beginner in that it is inexpensive and easily available. You can explore many possibilities and designs and also practice techniques such as wiring, grafting etc. However they are just training wheels and should be removed as soon as possible if you are serious about Bonsai. The inexpensive nature of the trees leads to a lasseiz-faire attitude, they are forgotten about and if they die the common response is “well it was cheap anyway”. Until people have a vested interest (time or money) then there will be a lack of improvement as there is no pressure to maintain or improve. This is the dividing line between occasional hobbyist and serious amateur.
Peter often states that this is just his opinion, and thus it is not right or wrong, so feel free to disagree with him. I also took the liberty of highlighting some of the text with bold.
Peter sees cheap garden nursery material as only fit for "practice and discard" purposes. You practice on them at the most basic level, and then give them away to make room for valuable and advanced material, with character. Using them for more than cannon fodder, is harmful for the advancement of bonsai, in the West.
Recently, I talked with someone who was very successful at training young brokers at Merrill Lynch. The failure rate in this business is close to 90% (which leaves 10% success rate), but his success rate was an astonishing 60%. "The secret" - he said, "is to select the right people in the first place. Training them is much less crucial then the selection itself."
I think that it's the same in bonsai: selection of material is the secret. Beginners need to be reminded of this over and over again.
It's not that a talented individual cannot create a good bonsai from less than good material. He can. But why spend a lifetime of struggling with bad material, when you can achieve it in a few years with good material. We are talking about your time here, the most precious thing that you have: your time is your life.
One or the arguments I always here is: "We shouldn't discourage young beginners by telling them that their cheap nursery material is unsuitable for bonsai, or in other words, it's crap".
But let me tell you something: there is nothing more discouraging for a beginner, then to find out that after spending 5 years on his tree, it is still crap. On the other hand, had he spent a little more at a good bonsai nursery (such as Brent Walston's, for instance), after 5 years he would have a great candidate for an outstanding tree.
And yet, the truth remains the same: the number one source for bonsai material in the Western world is still the cheap 1 to 5 gallon, totally useless plant nursery tree.
Discuss.
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