Nursery stock worth buying?

[dtkabardin]

Is any of this nursery stock worth buying? These are all around $100 at the local Green Acres nursery.
I’d like to get some experience on some trees but at the same time have read that buying bad, cheap stock is going to be more discouraging in the long term. Should I save the money and buy more expensive developed trees from bonsai vendors instead?
Here are my potential options.

Coast Redwood ‘Aptos Blue’


Trident Maple



Olive


River Birch ‘Dura Heat’



Crepe Myrtle



Would love to hear your thoughts, or if my money is better spent elsewhere. My goal is to have material to work on that I can learn from.

 

[JoeR]

The olive and the crepe have a little potential, but I think at $100 each your money is better spent elsewhere. Look at 99 cent bonsai auctions on facebook

 

[Joelshack2362]

Definitely some potential in a few of those trees. I would say $100 or less on learning tress is always worth the lesson before you get to more expensive trees. Depending on what you are looking to do some of these would be cut back alot and then re worked.

 

[JudyB]

The olive looks like the best of the bunch, and they are good chopping subjects to rebuild on.

 

[RaginCajun]

On 99 cent bonsai there was a KILLER collected olive for $69 BIN the other day. That olive in your pictures has potential but will need some work and some time. At those prices I’d pass. Nothing really interesting about them.

 

[dbonsaiw]

I like the crepe myrtle

 

[BrianBay9]

The crape myrtle can also be chopped or air layered easily. Learn air layering, get multiple trees to work with. If it's the sort of place that will negotiate, I'd offer to take the olive and crape myrtle for $150.

 

[Shibui]

Birch are difficult as bonsai at any time. Not too difficult to keep them alive but building branches and ramification is frustrating as they often die back without any real reason. I would not be wasting money on birch.
Trident ample make great bonsai but $100 for a trunk that needs to be chopped hard and grown again and with no previous root work? I suspect you can do better elsewhere, even paying more for a tree that's started. Don't underestimate the years you'll spend developing new trunk, branches and ramification after making that initial trunk chop.
Olives are tough and make good bonsai. I just wouldn't pay that for one because I can dig better trunks on the side of most roads in my area.
Don't know enough about coast redwood but I suspect you'll be frustrated with that after a chop too. Maybe worth it for the experience and knowledge you'll gain but I would not bank on growing a great bonsai from that trunk.
Crepe Myrtle respond to chops well and grow relatively quick. Just frustrating and untidy if you want flowers because it flowers on new spring growth.

 

[clem]

for me, for my personnal taste, none of them are good.
I prefer a younger tree with a thinner trunk (like a good cutting) than a tree with a thick trunk but no tapper and therefore a future big cut and scar (clip & grow)

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Trident, olive and crepe myrtle can all be trunk chopped and will bud back profusely. They are all extremely hardy species and very forgiving of hard work. The redwood and birch are both much more demanding as trees, and cannot be trunk chopped (at least not in the same way, or as easily, as the others).

 

[BobbyLane]

Its a no from me. But what you can do when you're out on the prowl, check for decent branching in the tops of trees, sometimes a tree can have nothing down below, but great air layer potential for a new tree up top. Maybe a multi trunk or clump, So this is what I do now. Also, those trees with the support sticks pushed deep into the pots, will often negate any chance of a balanced root spread. They will hinder root growth on that side, something to keep in mind.
I also check for decent root flare while im at the shop, so im not disappointed when I get the tree home!

 

[dtkabardin]

Thanks fellas, I think ill be passing on these and will be on the lookout for something with more potential.

 

[SeanS]

Out of curiosity, is that the going rate for a trident that thick in the US?
I’ve bought nursery stock tridents with trunks double that thickness for the equivalent of around $20 here in South Africa

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Out of curiosity, is that the going rate for a trident that thick in the US?
I’ve bought nursery stock tridents with trunks double that thickness for the equivalent of around $20 here in South Africa

Around here, the nurseries usually sell stock by the container size - unless it is an unusual cultivar of something. The tree appears to be in a 25 trade gallon nursery pot, which around here might be a $89 - $199 landscape tree, depending how long it has been in the pot, and how tall the tree is (and how expensive the nursery is).

Trees in the ground at landscape nurseries tend to be cheaper, because they haven't been containerized and don't need watering and care. We just picked up a couple of 18' maples from a nursery for about $300 per tree. They were dug up, the rootball was wrapped in burlap, and we had them planted in our yard the same day.

 

[SeanS]

Around here, the nurseries usually sell stock by the container size - unless it is an unusual cultivar of something. The tree appears to be in a 25 trade gallon nursery pot, which around here might be a $89 - $199 landscape tree, depending how long it has been in the pot, and how tall the tree is (and how expensive the nursery is).

Trees in the ground at landscape nurseries tend to be cheaper, because they haven't been containerized and don't need watering and care. We just picked up a couple of 18' maples from a nursery for about $300 per tree. They were dug up, the rootball was wrapped in burlap, and we had them planted in our yard the same day.

Thanks! Our nurseries are a bit more free-form with this pricing, usually using the tree species as their gauge, and then the pot/bag size as their variable. So for instance a trident in a 20L bag will be a different price to say a 20L olive or brush cherry.

FYI our South African rand is currently worth 5c US
(R18/$1 US)

 

[shohin_branches]

If I'm nursery stock shopping I dig around for the discard pile and talk the manager down on damaged trees. I'm cutting most of it off to get it in my car anyway. I try not to go over $40 on nursery stock

 

[River's Edge]

Should I save the money and buy more expensive developed trees from bonsai vendors instead?

You live in a hotbed of excellent Bonsai nurseries within a couple hours driving distance. Talk to experienced Bonsai people in your area and take the time to select better material from the outset. If you wish to save a bit focus on younger stock with good nebari and lower trunk movement. Regardless of how inexpensive a tree might be steer clear of any stock with poor nebari, poor trunkline and any obvious health issues.
Several very active bonsai clubs in your neck of the woods so lots of local advice should be available. Go to Santa Nella for the Shohin convention coming up at the end of January and check out the vendors for a start and lots of experienced people in one place for advice.

 

[JoeR]

The more I thought about your thread

In the same amount of time it would take to refine these, I think you could grow out much younger stock into much better trees.

You should consider getting exactly the species and cultivars you want from evergreengardenworks. You could get several cool species for the price of one of these, at ultimately the same amount of time. And again bonsai auctions is great on fb, but boy you have to prowl those pages like a hawk.

I have young ginkgo, zelkova, pine, kinzu, Barbados cherry, ume, and others if you're interested. Plus seeds.

 

[River's Edge]

Five years of proper development can make a huge difference in the quality of young promising material. Five years with poor material is mostly wasted.
My bias is showing. Why waste time on poor material?

 

[Catagonia]

.
Several very active bonsai clubs in your neck of the woods so lots of local advice should be available. Go to Santa Nella for the Shohin convention coming up at the end of January and check out the vendors for a start and lots of experienced people in one place for advice.

Great advice. Sacramento itself has four bonsai clubs that I know of (great info here https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/s/6R29cvnPG0) (actually, there are a surprising number of special interest gardening/plant art clubs) If $100 is your budget, you could probably find a couple of trees for that at club shows and sales. (If you join, you’ll also have access to advice tailored to our fierce summers and mild-with-a-chance-of-freezing winters, workshops, and lectures at the monthly meetings, often by well-known artists.)


Next ABAS show is in April: https://www.abasbonsai.org/event-details/2025-abas-show There is always a sale/vendors along with the show.

I like nursery stock to mess around with; I’m still afraid I’ll kill my plants. It is getting annoying that I don’t have much in the way of developed trees yet, so I’ll be looking for something soon.