Bonsai in markets in Malaysia

[Ash]

A couple of years ago I was on a research trip in Malaysia and went to visit a large plant market. There were many ferns and orchids and other tropical plants for sale and also about 100 bonsai and bonsai starters. I was quite impressed that the locals thought nothing of lifting in a huge fig for sale just for the day and then nearly busting a valve lifting it out again at the end of the day when it didn't sell. New material was brought in each day so you never saw the same thing twice. I never saw a single tree sell the whole market week. Many were crude and cheap but some of the plants I quite liked, particularly a Ficus microcarpa retusa which would grow well where I live. I very nearly bought it but when you added about $2000 on for bringing it home through quarantine its large trunk lost some of its appeal.

Wrightia religiosa.jpg

Wrightia religiosa

Ficus microcarpa yard bonsai.jpg

Ficus microcarpa yard bonsai were lifted in and out each day

Juniperus chinensis.jpg

Collected Chinese Juniper

Small bonsai.jpg

Small cheap bonsai mostly around 50 AUD

Root over rock.jpg

Root over rock Ficus microcarpa retusa

This is the one I liked most:

Ficus microcarpa.jpg

Ficus microcarpa

cheers
Ash

[Matthew]

Ash
my large melonseed came from china which i imported. It cost me $150 for the tree after all the associated costs (airfreight, customs, quarantine - 3months plus fumigation costs, a customs broker which i highly recommend) the tree cost me round $1200 i think. If you can get some of these figs etc in safety without quantine finding a nasty bug on it etc it maybe worth your while. Nice trees there id kill for the juniper

[Graeme]

Now then, your Ficus is very nice, but it is only a fig.
I, on the other hand, will take that Wrightia you included in your pix thanks Ash.

[Matthew]

Graeme i agree with you on that tree. When i imported some figs next order i was gonna import Wrightia and some amazing old chinese bird plum. i never did get around to that second order though

[Graeme]

My introduction to Wrightia was at the first ASPAC Convention in 19whatever. The Balinese had a few rippers on display at the show. Like you I was going to try and import a few, but lazieness won out. When I visited Thailand a few years later I realised why I hadn't bothered with the Balinese ones. The Thai have Temple Bells to die for, with some of them really huge in trunk girth, costing many thousands of AU$. Once again though I never actually got around to organising an import licence. I even found a variegated form in one Thai nursery (not Bonsai)

Sorry to hijack this thread.