Species suggestions

[tmmason10]

Hey all-

Looking to pick up a new tree to work on and I'm having a tough time narrowing it down to a species. I am enrolled in the Kaikou School and am looking to spend the two years working on good material that gets me closer to presenting in a show.

I currently have Japanese maples, a larch, a ficus, a shimpaku whip I twisted, and a JBP I will be refining. So, I am looking for suggestions from the nuthouse on another species to work on. I am hoping that the tree will be pretty hardy, as I had azaleas that I didn't overwinter properly last year and would like to avoid that again.

My thoughts are a juniper, another japanese maple, possibly a hawthorn, or even a hornbeam.

So throw some other suggestions at me of you have them!

 

[JudyB]

Even before I read what your thoughts were at the end, I was voting for hornbeam... But I can also recommend hackberry strongly as well.

 

[Dav4]

Since you don't seem fixated on a particular species, I would say this: get the BEST tree that you can afford for now. Get to the summer selldown sale...evaluate every descent piece of material that speaks to you, regardless of species. If you can afford it, buy it. If you can't, come back in 3 weeks when the sale deepens by another 10% and hope the tree you covet is still on the table...seriously. The two large yamadori rocky mountain junipers I have posted recently came off those tables...at 70% off!! There's alot of mediocre/problem material to wade through, but there is always great material to be had for a great price if you are lucky. I also got a descent K. hornbeam in a nice handmade pot off of the table for maybe $100 the year I headed south. Have fun, too.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

*cough cough* Get another Ficus or 8.

 

[tmmason10]

Even before I read what your thoughts were at the end, I was voting for hornbeam... But I can also recommend hackberry strongly as well.

So pretty much a deciduous tree that starts with "h"? I do like your hackberry and I saw someone buy a nice one when I was at the gardens one time

 

[tmmason10]

Since you don't seem fixated on a particular species, I would say this: get the BEST tree that you can afford for now. Get to the summer selldown sale...evaluate every descent piece of material that speaks to you, regardless of species. If you can afford it, buy it. If you can't, come back in 3 weeks when the sale deepens by another 10% and hope the tree you covet is still on the table...seriously. The two large yamadori rocky mountain junipers I have posted recently came off those tables...at 70% off!! There's alot of mediocre/problem material to wade through, but there is always great material to be had for a great price if you are lucky. I also got a descent K. hornbeam in a nice handmade pot off of the table for maybe $100 the year I headed south. Have fun, too.

I was also thinking a nice yamadori juniper because of the ones you've been posting. I will definitly heed your advice and scope out the sell down table.

 

[tmmason10]

*cough cough* Get another Ficus or 8.

Should have known! Unfortuntely, I have a bad track record with keeping them alive. Still waiting for my new one to pull through seems to still be dormant. On thr other hand, my grewia caffra bloomed again under the lights, so I may be on to something there...

 

[Ang3lfir3]

The two large yamadori rocky mountain junipers I have posted recently came off those tables...at 70% off!!

Where is this... it seems that for the most part the prices simply keep going in the other direction and the material quality in the other ...at least as far those bonsai places that are within an hour from me .....

 

[tmmason10]

Where is this... it seems that for the most part the prices simply keep going in the other direction and the material quality in the other ...at least as far those bonsai places that are within an hour from me .....

New England Bonsai. They basically like to turn over their stock, to make room for new stock. So they start marking it down 10% intervals throughout the summer. The maple forest I have I only bought because it was 90% off, and are probably 20-30 years old. They need work, but for 90% of I took the gamble

So, any suggestions?

 

[Ang3lfir3]

pricing like that could justify shipping costs for lots of trees ...... who wants to be my inside guy ??

strangely living the "bonsai mecca" that is the PNW ... there are few retailers and even fewer sales .... I've been eyeing a juniper that if it were $200 cheaper I would consider buying ... been sitting for 2yrs .... will probably sit for another 2yrs .... too bad to ... its an interesting and challenging tree ... (store owner does not haggle on prices)

 

[Brian Underwood]

I second the idea of a yamadori Juniper. I have learned a great deal from mine, and wish I had bought one sooner but money is always an issue of course. Nowadays I expect to pay a base price of around 2-4 hundred dollars for anything really worth while. Believe me, I never thought I would say that. In the beginning I remember seeing nice shohin tridents and thinking "who would pay fifty bucks for a tree?!?" Now that prices have gone up substantially at my regular bonsai nursery, I long for the days of $50 tridents... The moral of the story that everyone must reiterate is to buy the very best material you can afford.

 

[stacy allen muse]

?????????????

 

[tanlu]

Gosh, I wish I was in your situation! I only have two large pines (one pitch pine I collected, and an air-layered zuisho JWP) that are technically ready to go into a bonsai pot next year. As a pine person, and I recommend you get yourself either a non-grafted Zuisho JWP or a JRP. Both are rare in this country, and are almost never seen in shows as refined bonsai.

T

 

[tmmason10]

Gosh, I wish I was in your situation! I only have two large pines (one pitch pine I collected, and an air-layered zuisho JWP) that are technically ready to go into a bonsai pot next year. As a pine person, and I recommend you get yourself either a non-grafted Zuisho JWP or a JRP. Both are rare in this country, and are almost never seen in shows as refined bonsai.

T

I have seen some red pines that I thought were pretty nice so not a bad idea. There is an abundance ofe grafted white pines, which I don't think I'll go for. I have seen some like october's and Judy's that look pretty good though.

I plan on collecting some pitch pines someday as they are all over the place on Cape cod, where my parents live. Is yours posted here?

 

[tmmason10]

Any more suggestions out there? What trees do you like to work with? Thank you all for your responses.

 

[tanlu]

Hi Tom,

I posted a thread on my pitch pine right right after I collected it last year in August. I receive some helpful comments on pitch pine and how it responds to bonsai culture. This year it's responding very nicely to its small pot environment with swelling green buds and candle extension =) I'll post a thread on it soon. I would love to collect another one, but they're hard to come by around here in NY. Have you collected pitch pine before?

T

 

[tmmason10]

Hi Tom,

I posted a thread on my pitch pine right right after I collected it last year in August. I receive some helpful comments on pitch pine and how it responds to bonsai culture. This year it's responding very nicely to its small pot environment with swelling green buds and candle extension =) I'll post a thread on it soon. I would love to collect another one, but they're hard to come by around here in NY. Have you collected pitch pine before?

T

Only a sapling that was more of an experiment. Killed it off back in my beginner bonsai craze days(last summer). I'm much smarter now.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I'd go with a black pine or shimpaku, especially because it sounds like the classes go for a couple years. Pines and junipers are the type of tree you pump up for a few months, then work pretty hard...could be a good pace for classes that meet every season or so. You might also do a deciduous tree along with it, since you work on them when there's nothing to do with pines and junis...

 

[gergwebber]

I say go with a fruit tree. they "age" quickly and flower in spring which is nice. prunus americana? or japanese apircot?

 

[tanlu]

Tom, I think Brian has a good point about going with deciduous trees. I have mostly pines in my collection, and I find myself just staring at them with nothing to do, while my Princess Persimmons are constantly in need of some kind of special care. These are the two ends of what I call the species finickiness spectrum. On the other hand, I have two Korean Hornbeams in the ground, which are, IMO, some of the easiest deciduous trees to work with. They have beautiful foliage all year round, disease resistant, and are hardy enough for your local climate.

T