You are correct in saying that it is a blurry line, but we figured that buy allowing the purchase of stock from a bonsai nursery, that said stock will potentially have been developed from a young age to be a bonsai.dansai wrote:And what about stock bought from a Bonsai nursery that had early wiring of the trunk and then left to grow?
Here's one example of what I mean. It came from a Bonsai Nursery and was obviously wired early. It has also been trunked chopped and I have trimmed the new leader too. No other work has been done. Is this eligible?
The imposition of the $50 limit was hopefully going to limit that work on them to a prune or trunk chop or 2. Collectively we have not seen many trees that have much wire work and styling treatment to them, but there are always exceptions.
Ultimately it comes down to your own judgement to apply the rules of the comp, in the Spirit of the comp. If you think an individual tree has been worked before you purchased it that might give it an unfair advantage, then I suggest that you might not enter it
I have some stock in that category, that has been trunk chopped a few times to generate taper and movement but potentially woudl qualify otherwise, that I will not enter because I think they would not be fair in the spirit of the comp.
If anyone were to put a tree that they knew broke the rules but never admitted, then you are really only cheating on yourself
Ken