
You dont have to spend a silly amount. If you were to buy an advanced tree from someone who knows their art-form.. A Japanese maple for instance.. when looking at an advanced tree, say 10 yrs old with branch structure and ramification could range from around $150- $350.
A Japanese Black Pine that sits in a similar window of development should retail for around the $250- $350 mark. Now dont quote me, but I've noted prices of many trees and I know that this is what newbies would expect to pay. A relative comparison of a similar tree, developed by someone with a basic understanding of developing Bonsai trees from raw material would soon realise that Bonsai doesn't have to cost this much!
What I've learnt when looking for potential Bonsai stock or looking at adding another tree to my collection: If I were to pay $150-$250 for a raw material JBP, with that investment I am guaranteed full control over tree as far as its future styling is concerned. That being said in two years time my $150 investment would easily be scratching around the $400- $500 mark when compared to the same tree at a Bonsai nursery.
So again do we grow trees from seed? Yes, but dont expect to be happy with your seed stock until the tree and your investment time is around the 5- 10 yrs of age mark, heavily ramified and not just used as another experiment in developing your skills as a Bonsai hobbyist. In closing, dont kid yourself newbies.. you need to understand Bonsai as a whole before your investments will exceed your visions for them. Something the more experienced in the field should spell out for the newbies from the very beginning
