Ficus Benjamina - Potential and Value

[Blairis]

Hi all,

I hope this post is within the rules & ok in this forum, please let me know if it's not.

I'm completely new to Bonsai but have an interest in it and found the tree below at a local general nursery yesterday while looking for Japanese garden ideas. I like it but have no idea if the price of $550 is fair and, as it's been allowed to grow pretty much naturally, whether it has much potential to shape into a Bonsai style? It's approx 16 years old.

It's obviously a lot of money to spend so I was hoping people here would be generous enough to offer opinions on whether it's a fair price & has potential. Sorry that it's not a better pic.

Many thanks

[AnneK]

Hi Blairis,

I don't know anything about rules. So much depends on what is under that canopy. The nebari looks promising; so therefore that may be what you are paying for. It is obviously the age they claim, in view of the work needed it's probably is a bit high. If you are prepared to possibly miss out bargain and wait. The fun may well be chopping that top and building a stylish lower top. That could take 2-3 years and the the value then could only be $650.

Regards, AnneK

[Mojo Moyogi]

To be honest, it's no bargain, nor does it represent value in my book. Despite being 15-20 years old according to the calendar, this tree has zero years in bonsai cultivation, that is what you would pay a premium for as a bonsai grower.

Cheers,
Mojo

[Boics]

$550 seems like a decent amount of money for a tree like this..
Figs are notoriously fast growing and results similar to this might be achieved in much less time if grown under optimal conditions.
In saying this I too wonder about how much "value" something like this presents..

My belief is that you might just like the tree - rather than understanding or appreciating it's "Bonsai credentials".
Which is completely fair enough.

[DustyRusty]

My

Before you buy it, get yourself to a Bonsai Nursery and have a look around. My guess is if you like this, you'll fall to your knees in uncontrollable spasms of pleasure at what you could buy there with $550.

[Bougy Fan]

I have to agree with Rusty - look in out wiki there are a few good bonsai nurseries here in Brissy. Even cheaper would be to buy a starter and make your own bonsai

[Rory]

My

Before you buy it, get yourself to a Bonsai Nursery and have a look around. My guess is if you like this, you'll fall to your knees in uncontrollable spasms of pleasure at what you could buy there with $550.

Definitely good advice. For all you know, you could be paying $550 for a bonsai that requires heavy cutting back with visible scars, in which case, definitely not worth it for that sort of money. If you are new to bonsai, don't spend more than $50 or so, because no offence, you just might very well kill it in a few years from being a novice anyway. Bonsai are like real estate, never jump in at the first sale, there is always a better house that presents itself in time. Even if you were to spend say $100 each for 5 bonsai tree from a bonsai nursery, you would have 5 times the love. A garden nursery or whatever you want to call it, are notorious for charging way too much for a bonsai tree that isn't even really been looked after all that well anyway.

[Guy]

Grab it if you can't live without it ---- but If I had that cash to splash I could go to a nursery and get two or three good starters AND a couple of nice pots

[ubphu]

No harm in making an offer. Think your decision over and get some advice (which you have done), decide what it's worth and be prepared to walk away. I bought some mature trees from bonsai shows that were around the $50-100 mark to speed up the development of my trees (prob worth over $300 if you bought them from brunnings) at the same time tempted to spend up to $500 for more mature trees but at the end of the day that would ruin all the fun of the journey of creating a great bonsai. My advice is to locate trees from enthusiast that are getting rid of trees because they have too many, rather than a business that needs to make money. From a business point of view it would need to sell for that much after all the time and effort that went into it.

[DavidWilloughby]

Hi Blairis,

Potential and Value, both topics are vey subjective and often come down to a couple of factors.

Potential - Anything has the potential to become something, but that really comes from the knowledge of the species and knowledge and talent of the artist to create something of note to be shown.

Value - The only way to find the real value is, How much the vendor is willing to part with it at and how much is the purchaser willing to spend to have it. If the tree has some meaning to the vendor, then often the price will be high, if the purchaser cannot live without it, then they would be willing to spend alot more to accquire it.

You mentioned that you are new to bonsai and have had an interest in it, another angle to approach this from is rather than investing in trees now , seek out a Bonsai nursery or club or teacher that is local to you and do a course in Bonsai, build up your knowledge first and then you have the perfect foundation for your interest and trees to grow together.

Cheers

David

[Blairis]

I just wanted to say a very sincere thank you to everyone for their helpful replies. Some excellent information all of which I've taken on board.
We’d planned to make the trip out to Australian Bonsai Grower on the weekend but didn’t quite make it - I think we’ll get out there first.

I’m looking forward to spending some time reading this forum & learning from you all.

Cheers

[MoGanic]

Never pay for potential - look and pay for quality.

[Andrew Legg]

Hey Brairis,

The biggest single mistake that people make who are new to bonsai is buying material that is neither suitable nor good quality. Benjamina can be fiddly for bonsai, and that's a load of whack to be spending on a first tree. My advice would be to talk with locals involved in bonsai, find out what's easy to grow in your environment and go from there.

My vote - No.

Cheers,

Andrew