One of the greatest challenges when getting involved with the creation, styling, and care of bonsai is acquiring suitable material. It's easy to get a plant and start cutting, but does it have the right characteristics to warrant years of care? Sometimes students bring in material for workshops that has one desirable characteristic, like a good base, but no future as a good bonsai in my evaluation. We do what we can and the rationale is explained. Some professionals refuse to work on this material but have they or others before them properly educated those less experienced in how to select a good tree? In an effort to help beginners, as well as those who have been bitten by the bug and have a few dozen or a hundred plants, laying out a basic framework for material selection will set you on the right path or help "thin your herd". Even owners of nice collections may have that "B Team" batch of bonsai that they keep for no real reason. If your taste in bonsai and ability level permit, keeping bonsaithat you don't value as highly actually keeps you from working on your favorites and in turn, achieving your goals. My stock hoarding started almost immediately after reading my first book. Within a year, I had collected around 600 plants of species commonly used for bonsai ranging from rooted cuttings up to massive stumps. It did not help that I had access to thousands of plants via the University of Georgia plant introduction trials. It was only when I looked objectively at my collection that I chosethe best 50 and liquidated the rest. That is when I became serious about growing bonsai to a higher quality standard. There are a number of factors to consider when buying or collecting a plant for training. Understanding each of them will ultimately yield a better collection for you and a more enjoyable experience.
展开▼
