digging for gold - mostly natives

[jarryd]

hey guys
didnt really know where to post

this is just a post to show examples of great material you can score at an ordinary plant nursery for bargain prices. all these trees were found yesterday at a single nursery with a little bit of scrounging scruffy neglected stock is generally wat we look for as potential material and you will find you get excellent prices on these trees as the owner is just happy to get rid of it, generally the scruffiest best material is tucked away in corners or out of sight. you are basically just trunk shopping but sometimes score well places low branches.

just dont let on your looking for bonsai stock. as soon as the guy saw me chop the trees in half to put in the car he asked was i looking for bonsai. the next two trees i enquired for about price he asked 50 bucks stating they were grown for bonsai i laughed and walked away and asked another nursery employee who didnt know i was looking for bonsai stock who said they were $20 each i got my money out as fast as i could and bailed .

these pictures are after the trees got home the figs have been devided and pruned back to about a forth of their original size same with the calistomon, poinciana and syzygium (lilly pilly)

[FlyBri]

Goodonya Jarryd!

That's almost exactly the way I shop for potential material! Lurking around the corners and the 'Sad & Ugly' sections, trying to snag a bargain. Even if there's a price on the plant, I often express exactly how close to death and 'unsellable' the plant must be when I'm at the checkout, in the hope that I may save myself another dollar...

Of the pics you've posted, I think a lot are potential winners: certainly the tall Moreton Bay Fig and the Callistemon (if only for its unusual size). The 'Rosemary' is more probably Lavender, but I like the twists in the trunk (I've never tried Lavender or Rosemary as Bonsai material, but I am under the impression that they can be done). The Lilly Pilly is an excellent candidate for a layer just above the existing roots (try the 'skirt' method I've mentioned here and abroad), and the 'unknown fig' has some great potential too, especially now that you've given it some decent soil. Sadly, I know nothing of Poinciana, but that is a nice bit of taper it has.

Please keep us posted on the progress of your acquisitions!

Thanks.

Fly.

[jarryd]

yes your right flybri it is a lavender of some sort. i often get the two confused. i will hopefully give it a style soon then order a pot over winter and pot it up next spring. however it is in extremely bad soil so i may opt to repot soon then prune next and style in spring.

[jarryd]

oh and on the callistemon the trunk is about 1ocm thick not 10cm tall an absolute bargain for $4

[Jerry Meislik]

Nice trees.
Keep us posted.
Jerry

[MelaQuin]

The callistimon is the winner of them all.. wonderful movement. My informant has told me to leave lavender alone... not a good subject for bonsai. Keep that in mind before you put too much work into it.

But you are very right to look in all sorts of general nurseries... especially rural ones. Great finds and bargains can be had. And push the 'bad condition' or 'poor contorted trunk - not nice in a garden' and see what benefits you can reap. Just be sure your selections bud back on old wood.

[aaron_tas]

great stuff jarryd

[lackhand]

Any updates on any of these trees? Particularly interested in that callistemon. Great bargain!

[thugdeezee]

Looks like the calli I bought from ya?

[jarryd]

Hey Thugdeezee it is indeed the tree you got from me! hope it is alive and well would love to see an update on it!

[deejay335]

Jarryd, I live and work in a little country town and unfortunately the nursery owner is onto me as far as what I am looking at the 'ratty' trees for, so no bargains for me!

[thugdeezee]

Yeah I haven't done much with it except pot it up but if ya keen i'll put a pic on the thread when I get a chance.

[Rory]

Jarryd, I live and work in a little country town and unfortunately the nursery owner is onto me as far as what I am looking at the 'ratty' trees for, so no bargains for me!

Really? What does he care what you do with them. If he sells them, he sells them. Sounds a bit odd

[JaseH]

I was in a big box store nursery recently and noticed a Dawn Redwood sitting in the corner on special. I later decided I should have grabbed it so rang them up to see if they could hold it for me until I could get back in there about week later - not a problem. I eventually went in to collect it and as I was about to leave the lady in charge of the nursery, a little intrigued, mentioned that I 'looked a bit young' to know about this tree.

I mentioned I was into bonsai and I was interested in working with this tree as bonsai material - the friendly smile dropped off her face immediately and I thought she was going to take it back off me! I dont mention bonsai now when I'm haggling for nursery stock - I think the perception from the un-initiated is of a tortured, butchered plant in a little pot that is more than likely to die from the ordeal.

[Jason]

Jarryd, I live and work in a little country town and unfortunately the nursery owner is onto me as far as what I am looking at the 'ratty' trees for, so no bargains for me!

Really? What does he care what you do with them. If he sells them, he sells them. Sounds a bit odd

Probably realised that once we get them living in a bonsai pot, its worth 10 times what he's selling it for Probably thinking of doing it himself haha