Very cold outside... best place to buy pre-bonsai tropicals?

[Tycoss]

@Tycoss , that avatar tree is really cool, do you have other pictures of it?

That tree is a mountain hemlock on Vancouver Island this is the only other pic I have of it. Loads of great trees in the mountains up there.

 

[Tycoss]

Zentner, as discouraging as our climate is for this hobby, keeping many native and Northern European trees is possible with a little winter protection. When I first started messing with bonsai, I got told that it was a hobby that only made sense for rich old men in temperate climates. I have found native spruce, hardy elms, junipers, pines and honeysuckle have all done well if collected or purchased locally. Prepping trees in situ as SKBonsaiGuy suggested certainly works well, but there are other ways to go about it.

 

[Zentner]

Great advice guys, thanks. I'm in Edmonton but I do make it to Calgary a few times a year. Do you have any recommendations of nurseries/greenhouses in Calgary to scope next time I'm down?

I'll hopefully have some time to hunt some local trees this this Christmas season.