Another Trip To The Market

[sfk]

well two in fact, remember this one?

I went back to ask how much, it was 4,000 baht, at today's rate $132.00 or £80.00, I am not sure if that is good or bad, also at the same market I spotted this one,

also we had called in to pick up the two oblong pots we ordered last week,

170 baht each ($5.60 or £3.40), the rule is 18"
we then made a move to another market of plant stalls, where we saw these,

the pot made from a piece of root stump,

another 3 or 4 on display,

a closer picture of one,

and another with a stump for a pot, great fun looking around, but I would still like to go to Bangkok, bus of course is the cheapest, but I know I will buy some thing so we will have to hire a car or a mini van, we are going to Singapore in two weeks so maybe when we return from there, also I will post a few pictures if we see any bonsai out there, sfk.

[kdodds]

Simply awesome. $132 for that amazing ficus? I'll take ten. Seriously, a trained tree of that quality, at that maturity, well, here in the states it would go, rough guess, at least $2k, probably closer to $6k. The problem at that price is finding a buyer. There are a truly limited number of people who would be looking for another tree at that maturity level. It would, though, be incredibly easy to sell them at ten times the price they're asking.

[sfk]

Dear Kdodds, I had no idea that this tree would be so expensive in the States, some do command high prices in the UK, but I was told that was because each tree had to be quarantined for 6 months in a secure area in case it had some kind of pest or diseases on or in it, perhaps that is why they have such a high price? in any event out of my league even at $132! sfk.

[kdodds]

Well, a lot of the time you'll trees sold as "specimen bonsai" that really, really aren't. For instance, I can find at least a dozen at the moment on ebay that are in the $500 range or less. The thing is, none of these trees come anywhere near to close to approaching the maturity and expertise shown in some of the trees you've pictured. Age not being the same as maturity, of course. Some of them are truly ridiculous. I saw one the other day that looked like someone's dog tore up their shrub and ripped it in half. The "lucky" owner of said dog and shrub then lifting it and saying to himself, "hmm... maybe this would make a nice bonsai, let me pot it and sell it on ebay". Really. So, truly matured, well-designed trees that are also for sale are something of a rarity and don't reach market in any numbers, usually, unless it's an estate sale/auction. Even then, family members are usually proud of the trees and won't let them go.

The only online seller I know of that sells some really nice mature trees online with any regularity is Wigert's. Take a look at these: http://wigertsbonsai.com/store/index.ph ... x&cPath=67
Hollow Creek ( http://hollowcreekbonsai.com ) occasionally has some nicer trees, but nothing like Wigert's, and many of them, honestly, look like they've been collected (either wild or out of a farmed situation) and are fairly new to being potted and in need of quite a bit of work.

[sfk]

many thanks for the links, most are well out of my range, so I will stick to locals! one slight problem out here is that there is no scope for collecting wild trees, only way is to buy them at a plant stall, I am still hoping that a friend will bring over some rooting compound so I can start to plant and train the few 'normal' trees I have bought, sfk

[kdodds]

I don't understand, they only sell cuttings?

[sfk]

No, I have bought 5 small trees that I want to make into bonsai, but I can see that there will be quiet a few pieces that I will have to remove, so as there are no young trees to be found out here I wanted to try to root any unwanted branches, so I have a few more 'free trees’ in a couple of years time. We have just retuned from shopping but called into the plant stalls on the way back, I will post a few more pictures of a few new trees we pictured today, sfk.

[kdodds]

Some of them you can actually try without rooting compounds, like Ficus. The conifers are quite tricky to root, even with compounds. Ficus will even root (some species anyway) in a glass of water.