WTB Larger Pre-Bonsai (Trident Maple, Korean Hornbeam, Chinese Elm, Redwood, Coast Live Oak, Pomegranate, etc)

[zeejet]

I'm a beginner looking to obtain pre-bonsai that is a bit further along in the development process and not just 1 gallon nursery stock or saplings/seedling. Those are going to take many years of trunk growth/development before I can do anything to them (other than reports and root pruning) so I'm seeking more mature material to continue developing my skills. Looking for trunks around 1.5-3” in thickness

I’m especially interested in Trident Maple, Korean Hornbeam, Chinese Elm, Redwood, Coast Live Oak, and Pomegranate although I’d be open to similar species.

Even if you don't have anything to sell, any advice on potential avenues for obtaining such materials would be appreciated. I live in San Diego but willing to drive to LA county or order online.

 

[Vallos]

Hello, ZeeJet. for Redwoods, Live Oak, and Chinese Elms, try https://mcbonsai.com/.

 

[snowman04]

Did you have any luck finding what you wanted?

 

[Faisal Ahmad]

If u interested in ficus Family

Ficus Retusa 90%

 

[zeejet]

Did you have any luck finding what you wanted?

I've found pomegranates and tridents at 1" or bigger at nurseries in LA. Japanese maples are available at a lot of places but are always grafted, which would be OK if they are smooth, but they never are. Pretty much only generic green, red, and mikawa seedlings are ungrafted.

Despite hornbeam being a fairly core species for deciduous bonsai, I'm finding it very hard to find at mid-development stages (1" trunk caliper or thicker). There are many places to obtain seedlings and small cuttings online from hobby sellers, but a proper chopped trunk prebonsai is next to impossible to find. There are a handful of listing at exorbitant prices, but that's likely due to the lack of sellers period.

Chinese elm is easy to find, but a bit trickier if you are seeking something other than the banal s-curve shape (basically mallsai) - I already have one such tree and opting to chop it and developing it since the trunk is about 1.2" already. Seiju and Hokkaido varieties show age well, but harder to find specimen with good primary branching from what I've seen.

Another great resource are member sales during the San Diego Bonsai Club Spring Show. A lot of great material at often good prices. Unfortunately, the best stuff gets picked off early by volunteers (members who show up the day before the show). I volunteered this year and all the best material was already gone by the time my shift rolled around. Furthermore, there is much less deciduous (virtually no maples or hornbeams and only a couple of other species) compared to conifers (pines and junipers mostly).

I'm only 5 months into the hobby so I'm not in a huge rush and OK with waiting it out.

 

[snowman04]

Might want to contact these guys:

Cedar Rose Nursery

Cedar Rose Nursery

cedarrosenursery.com

I got a nice bare-root Korean Hornbeam from them last year...

 

[maymcguffins]

I've found pomegranates and tridents at 1" or bigger at nurseries in LA. Japanese maples are available at a lot of places but are always grafted, which would be OK if they are smooth, but they never are. Pretty much only generic green, red, and mikawa seedlings are ungrafted.

Despite hornbeam being a fairly core species for deciduous bonsai, I'm finding it very hard to find at mid-development stages (1" trunk caliper or thicker). There are many places to obtain seedlings and small cuttings online from hobby sellers, but a proper chopped trunk prebonsai is next to impossible to find. There are a handful of listing at exorbitant prices, but that's likely due to the lack of sellers period.

Chinese elm is easy to find, but a bit trickier if you are seeking something other than the banal s-curve shape (basically mallsai) - I already have one such tree and opting to chop it and developing it since the trunk is about 1.2" already. Seiju and Hokkaido varieties show age well, but harder to find specimen with good primary branching from what I've seen.

Another great resource are member sales during the San Diego Bonsai Club Spring Show. A lot of great material at often good prices. Unfortunately, the best stuff gets picked off early by volunteers (members who show up the day before the show). I volunteered this year and all the best material was already gone by the time my shift rolled around. Furthermore, there is much less deciduous (virtually no maples or hornbeams and only a couple of other species) compared to conifers (pines and junipers mostly).

I'm only 5 months into the hobby so I'm not in a huge rush and OK with waiting it out.

What did you end up going with? I started in mid-June with a smaller, established exposed root Chinese elm (shohin I think it's called?) and a 2.5 inch prebonsai Bald Cypress. I wanted to pick up another Chinese elm, but I'm having the same issues with only finding older s-curved ones. I'm looking at field-grown Trident maples or some gnarly looking willow leaf ficuses. My 14 year old daughter finds the gnarly ficuses to be rather fugly, so we'll see.

 

[zeejet]

What did you end up going with? I started in mid-June with a smaller, established exposed root Chinese elm (shohin I think it's called?) and a 2.5 inch prebonsai Bald Cypress. I wanted to pick up another Chinese elm, but I'm having the same issues with only finding older s-curved ones. I'm looking at field-grown Trident maples or some gnarly looking willow leaf ficuses. My 14 year old daughter finds the gnarly ficuses to be rather fugly, so we'll see.

I ended up picking up a medium-sized Trident maple (a few of them had decent inherent taper and more uniform nebari) at Fuji but that’s about it. I’ve gotten a few other trees from other sources (a Foemina juniper and a Siberian Elm from workshops at Kimura Bonsai in Castaic) as well as a coast redwood starter from Eden Bonsai (La Crescenta).
I've procured a few others from various sources not in the LA nursery scene but that's getting into the weeds.

I think Elm varieties are the way to go here in SoCal if you like deciduous. They grow vigorously, respond quickly to pruning (backbuds in just two weeks post-cut whether it’s trimming lignified new growth or major chops to old wood), and do not require a strict dormancy/chill period in the winter to thrive.

Ficuses are also great for SoCal climate but I personally find them uninteresting for the most part and look more like houseplants. Some varieties have very tight and small foliage, which would make decent bonsai. I think their greatest asset is serving as educational material that you can experiment and learn on - although Elms are equally responsive and ‘easy’ while being a much better category overall.

Your daughter has good taste haha - I also hate gnarly and stumpy bonsai. I do not understand the appeal, but that’s kinda the beauty of the hobby - it’s appeal is subjective. I personally do not like messy exposed roots, gnarly/stump nebari, or even sumo-style trunks.

 

[19Mateo83]

I ended up picking up a medium-sized Trident maple (a few of them had decent inherent taper and more uniform nebari) at Fuji but that’s about it. I’ve gotten a few other trees from other sources (a Foemina juniper and a Siberian Elm from workshops at Kimura Bonsai in Castaic) as well as a coast redwood starter from Eden Bonsai (La Crescenta).
I've procured a few others from various sources not in the LA nursery scene but that's getting into the weeds.

I think Elm varieties are the way to go here in SoCal if you like deciduous. They grow vigorously, respond quickly to pruning (backbuds in just two weeks post-cut whether it’s trimming lignified new growth or major chops to old wood), and do not require a strict dormancy/chill period in the winter to thrive.

Ficuses are also great for SoCal climate but I personally find them uninteresting for the most part and look more like houseplants. Some varieties have very tight and small foliage, which would make decent bonsai. I think their greatest asset is serving as educational material that you can experiment and learn on - although Elms are equally responsive and ‘easy’ while being a much better category overall.

Your daughter has good taste haha - I also hate gnarly and stumpy bonsai. I do not understand the appeal, but that’s kinda the beauty of the hobby - it’s appeal is subjective. I personally do not like messy exposed roots, gnarly/stump nebari, or even sumo-style trunks.

I have American hornbeam stumps that will be available this fall if you are still looking. Some have decent taper and movement.

 

[BrianBay9]

Try crape myrtle, especially semi-dwarf varieties. They love the heat, branching develops really quickly, back bud prolifically, and flowers are a bonus. Dwarf varieties have flowers more in keeping with bonsai.

 

[LuZiKui]

@zeejet If you're still looking to buy some trees I'm getting rid of most of mine before I move. I sent you a DM if you're interested.

 

[snowman04]

Only local???

 

[leatherback]

Probably blatantly ovious but.. Are you a member of the san diego club?
I find access to material through clubs to be enourmous. If not from members directly, then through the sources they know.


There seems to be a number of bonsai nurseries around?

Bonsai & Bonsai Supply Vendors

Below are places where you can buy bonsai, bonsai supplies, and bonsai raw material in San Diego and in the Los Angeles area. Additionally, we have included several online vendors. If you know of...

www.sandiegobonsaiclub.com

 

[zeejet]

Probably blatantly ovious but.. Are you a member of the san diego club?
I find access to material through clubs to be enourmous. If not from members directly, then through the sources they know.


There seems to be a number of bonsai nurseries around?

Bonsai & Bonsai Supply Vendors

Below are places where you can buy bonsai, bonsai supplies, and bonsai raw material in San Diego and in the Los Angeles area. Additionally, we have included several online vendors. If you know of...

www.sandiegobonsaiclub.com

Thanks for the feedback Jelle!

I have been attending SDBC meetings since January and know many of the board members. I haven't tried tapping into the network for material yet as I need to offload some poor purchases first (I grow on a large balcony which can only accommodate about 15-20 trees).

That club's vendor's list is mainly for supplies and soil in the area - there are zero bonsai nurseries in San Diego currently (Kuma quietly closed in the last year I think) and most listed sources are in Los Angeles area.

Our Fall and Spring Club Shows also allow club members to buy and sell - volunteers get first crack at the sales but even so, the best stuff is picked off very quickly.

I also tend to be picky and dislike a lot of the things people in my area like to grow. I do not like tropicals or most broadleaf evergreens like olives, bougainvillea, and even boxwood. Call me basic, but I prefer traditional bonsai species like elms, junipers, pines, maples, hornbeams, etc (although some deciduous do not do well here).

At this point I’m not actually too stressed about procurement as I now have a larger network and know my way around the LA nursery scene (a bit of drive).

 

[BrianBay9]

Thanks for the feedback Jelle!

I have been attending SDBC meetings since January and know many of the board members. I haven't tried tapping into the network for material yet as I need to offload some poor purchases first (I grow on a large balcony which can only accommodate about 15-20 trees).

That club's vendor's list is mainly for supplies and soil in the area - there are zero bonsai nurseries in San Diego currently (Kuma quietly closed in the last year I think) and most listed sources are in Los Angeles area.

Our Fall and Spring Club Shows also allow club members to buy and sell - volunteers get first crack at the sales but even so, the best stuff is picked off very quickly.

I also tend to be picky and dislike a lot of the things people in my area like to grow. I do not like tropicals or most broadleaf evergreens like olives, bougainvillea, and even boxwood. Call me basic, but I prefer traditional bonsai species like elms, junipers, pines, maples, hornbeams, etc (although some deciduous do not do well here).

At this point I’m not actually too stressed about procurement as I now have a larger network and know my way around the LA nursery scene (a bit of drive).

Sorry to hear Kuma has closed. Is Cindy still active in the club?

 

[leatherback]

Sad to hear. I find that I typically between the 2-3 groups I attend, I can get my hands on things I really want. And I have 3 good bonsai nurseries within ~2 hours drive so.. Never a dull moment. But GOOD stock is not common.

 

[Gonzoe]

@zeejet If you're still looking to buy some trees I'm getting rid of most of mine before I move. I sent you a DM if you're interested.

You still looking to get rid of some trees?

 

[LuZiKui]

You still looking to get rid of some trees?

Sorry they all went to new homes. I moved last year in the fall and got rid of all but 8 trees. Good luck though!