Mirai tree sale

[Orion_metalhead]

I have 4 from the last sale and about a dozen Mirai trees in total.

Your collection is awesome though. The sale trees are really meant for people such as yourself with a real passion and wallet for the trees. Ryan isnt selling air layers or propagated trees which would be affordable for people. But thats not his goal.

 

[IzzyG]

Your collection is awesome though. The sale trees are really meant for people such as yourself with a real passion and wallet for the trees. Ryan isnt selling air layers or propagated trees which would be affordable for people. But thats not his goal.

I think this is true for basically any purchase; at some point, the price of a product/service can only be of “value” if it transcends beyond the intrinsic. In other words, beyond just the value of the tree in on itself and inclusive of other factors such as history, artist’s/brand’s cache, support of the work, etc. There’s also a subjective value; one of the simplest examples is aesthetics. This is true whether we talk about trees, cars, watches, or even socks.

I believe a more objective format for some of these value discussions is to discern the category/breakdown when a monetary amount is placed on a tree. For some, it’s simply the intrinsic value; which I believe is what some posters are referring to as far as “better deals” when compared to other sources. For others, provenance might be more important for them(I’ve seen some intrinsically boring specimens that have a higher value due to its ownership history). And even some, philanthropic efforts might skyrocket the price of an item; donation auctions bank on this for example.

In short, I do think conversations about the value of a tree helps expand the knowledge base for the informed consumer. However, there needs to be some “apples to apples” or objective/categorized aspect to it all. I will say this; even within Mirai’s, Eisei-en’s, Todd’s(and others) sale/collection, there are still value buys that can be found, when all categories are added up. Consumers just need to identify what category they’re looking for with their dollars.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

I think that's a very fair understanding of the situation. I also think it highlights that some are arguing a strawman. If the purpose of the Mirai sale is to make room for Ryan and unload some trees for prices he is happy with, then that's the purpose. I don't think we should be expecting pre-bonsai or prices that are within everyone's grasp.

 

[Maiden69]

Consumers just need to identify what category they’re looking for with their dollars.

The problem is that a big percentage of consumers in this era have skewed expectations. And some just don't understand that running a business adds to the value of the items being sold. In the case of any tree sold by any of the names mentioned, one will not be only paying for the tree, but also for the expertise, the maintenance and training given to the tree, and unfortunately the percentage of the overhead of the business.

It is not the same when say I collect or "grew" a tree at my house and sell it here versus Ryan, that bought the tree from a "known" field grower or collector, then trained the tree for several years and now have it for sale. I can only (or at least I think it would be fair that I do) charge for my time and work. Ryan needs to add the price of the tree, then the amount of hours dedicated in training it, plus the hours that Troy or any of the guys spent watering/fertilizing/maintaining the tree, plus cost of business overheads... A lot of people don't understand this, not only on this hobby, but on any industry. I ran a detailing business for a short while, got trained by some of the higher names in the industry, Yvan LaCroix, Jason Rose, did a few Rupes seminars... in the end people rather pay less money for a substandard job so I closed it down. At that time my sanity was worth more than a few $$$. Thankfully Ryan, Bjorn and other persisted and this is the reason they are the leads in the hobby right now in the US.

I guess I went a little off the Mirai-Tree sale topic... blah.

 

[Cajunrider]

If the market will bear it, then Ryan has earned it. I don’t begrudge the price. If I can afford the time and commitment, I would buy some of Ryan and Bjorn trees. I like them.

I am also OK with comments that you can find better deals out there. They point out to me other venues to get good trees. Once again time and commitment come into play.

 

[rockm]

Click on Mirai's "Gallery" on the website. Use the drop down menu on the left to sort by "available for purchase."Dozens of trees will come up. Scroll through them. Prices are not listed. The majority of those trees are collected, very old, some VERY old and worked to some extent. I don't think they will be what is put up for sale in the upcoming "mercantile," but they are indicative of what Ryan "wants to get rid of"

Tree Gallery

bonsaimirai.com

 

[BobbyLane]

The conifers are absolutely outstanding, and im not even a conifer guy. But I love the wildness and ruggedness captured in a few of those specimens. They look like trees

 

[rockm]

Click on Mirai's "Gallery" on the website. Use the drop down menu on the left to sort by "available for purchase."Dozens of trees will come up. Scroll through them. Prices are not listed. The majority of those trees are collected, very old, some VERY old and worked to some extent. I don't think they will be what is put up for sale in the upcoming "mercantile," but they are indicative of what Ryan "wants to get rid of"

Tree Gallery

bonsaimirai.com

The scale of some of these trees doesn't come through in the photos. This one, for instance, is pretty huge. It's five FEET wide and three feet tall. Many of the trees he offered a while back were also large to gigantic. One spruce, if I remember, had a deadwood spire that was six feet tall. So, scale is also part of the equation for some trees. The larger, or the smaller, a tree can get a relatively bigger price tag. Small scale trees are hard to develop and keep, while large trees have to retain a sense of scale as well and not be just huge chunks of wood with no character. Something to keep in mind when looking at collected trees.

 

[pandacular]

That tree is a remarkable example. I assumed it was like chuuhin sized when looking at it. Still hard for me to wrap my head around the size, which is a testament to the perception of scale that Ryan cares about so much.

 

[IzzyG]

Click on Mirai's "Gallery" on the website. Use the drop down menu on the left to sort by "available for purchase."Dozens of trees will come up. Scroll through them. Prices are not listed. The majority of those trees are collected, very old, some VERY old and worked to some extent. I don't think they will be what is put up for sale in the upcoming "mercantile," but they are indicative of what Ryan "wants to get rid of"

Tree Gallery

bonsaimirai.com

Many of the Mirai trees I’ve purchased were ones I saw through the gallery and then visited while there for class. However, there is one correction; there are very few trees Ryan won’t let go. I can only think of 2 and that’s due to agreements with other parties. So even if the trees in the gallery isn’t listed as “available for sale”, it can be. I’m contemplating 3 that were listed as Mirai’s private collection and have been given prices and terms on them.

 

[Cajunrider]

Click on Mirai's "Gallery" on the website. Use the drop down menu on the left to sort by "available for purchase."Dozens of trees will come up. Scroll through them. Prices are not listed. The majority of those trees are collected, very old, some VERY old and worked to some extent. I don't think they will be what is put up for sale in the upcoming "mercantile," but they are indicative of what Ryan "wants to get rid of"

Tree Gallery

bonsaimirai.com

I looked at the only one bald cypress available for purchase https://bonsaimirai.com/bonsai/bald-cypress-no-2
It is a nice looking tree for sure but I have a very hard time believing that the tree is 100-250 years old.

 

[namnhi]

I looked at the only one bald cypress available for purchase https://bonsaimirai.com/bonsai/bald-cypress-no-2
It is a nice looking tree for sure but I have a very hard time believing that the tree is 100-250 years old.

Someone fat fingered in an extra zero?

 

[IzzyG]

I looked at the only one bald cypress available for purchase https://bonsaimirai.com/bonsai/bald-cypress-no-2
It is a nice looking tree for sure but I have a very hard time believing that the tree is 100-250 years old.

Funny enough, that Bald Cypress is in my collection! One thing to note, almost all(I actually think all of them but not 100% sure) of the Bald Cypress at Mirai is from Mary Madison's collection efforts. There's probably 4-5 raw/unstyled ones left and 3 finished trees. The major differentiating factor about Mary's trees is the area she had collected from, all had naturally stunted Bald Cypress trees. In other words, none of these trees are chopped. The height that you see currently is their original collected height(and would explain the differing age estimates). In addition, if I'm not mistaken, the age estimate is also based off other Bald Cypress trees collected in the same area being cross cut to count rings(the ones that didn't survive for whatever reason) so there is a point of reference(albeit it's all estimates).

 

[pandacular]

anyone with an Instagram account know if they've poster more trees?

 

[Snorlax99]

I looked at the only one bald cypress available for purchase https://bonsaimirai.com/bonsai/bald-cypress-no-2
It is a nice looking tree for sure but I have a very hard time believing that the tree is 100-250 years old.

Every time I look at that pot all I can see is a folded paper plate. Am I broken?

 

[Cajunrider]

Funny enough, that Bald Cypress is in my collection! One thing to note, almost all(I actually think all of them but not 100% sure) of the Bald Cypress at Mirai is from Mary Madison's collection efforts. There's probably 4-5 raw/unstyled ones left and 3 finished trees. The major differentiating factor about Mary's trees is the area she had collected from, all had naturally stunted Bald Cypress trees. In other words, none of these trees are chopped. The height that you see currently is their original collected height(and would explain the differing age estimates). In addition, if I'm not mistaken, the age estimate is also based off other Bald Cypress trees collected in the same area being cross cut to count rings(the ones that didn't survive for whatever reason) so there is a point of reference(albeit it's all estimates).

Thanks for the info. Now the age estimate makes a lot more sense. If the tree has not been chopped at all and are naturally stunted, I can believe it to be older.

 

[pandacular]

Every time I look at that pot all I can see is a folded paper plate. Am I broken?

I don't think so, but I hope Izzy doesn't read this post.

 

[IzzyG]

I don't think so, but I hope Izzy doesn't read this post.

Bwahaha now I can't unsee it! It's one of Tom Benda's pieces and it does look like a folded paper plate(or taco)

 

[IzzyG]

anyone with an Instagram account know if they've poster more trees?

A Sierra juniper that was on a recent restyling stream. It's an interesting one as it suffered quite a bit from the heat wave a couple years back and has since bounced back.

 

[pandacular]

A Sierra juniper that was on a recent restyling stream. It's an interesting one as it suffered quite a bit from the heat wave a couple years back and has since bounced back.

View attachment 502894

ah this looks like the fourth of July stream tree, yeah? this is a nearly perfect Mirai tree for me... but a bit too early for it to go on sale!

I need at least a few more winters (and maybe an IPO...) under my belt before I grab a high end tree.