nursery stock vs bonsai starter.

[jme]

Hi all.
I was just wondering if someone could explain to me what the difference is between nursery stock and bonsai starters
Also any pros and cons about buying both
thanks in advance.

[Drac0]

To me at least the difference is that nursery stock is just grown as a normal plant, allowed to grow as it wants. A bonsai starter is grown with it's use in bonsai the target and is shaped, trimmed & trunk chopped, etc as needed to add features suitable for bonsai.

Cheers

[DavidWilloughby]

Hi jme,

To me, the difference between Nursery stock and Bonsai starters is as Drac0 has said, Nursery stock is growth for general garden use and Bonsai starters are advanced cuttings and not much else has been done to them. If you were to then expand it further and get into pre-bonsai stock from a reputable Bonsai nursery (remember, all nurseries treat their stock differently) is that the more advanced bit of stock you get, I like to say you're effectively buying time. You can get a reasonable outcome with advanced pre-bonsai stock, but it still requires a number of years to get it to a show worthy stage.

Cheers

David

[Ray M]

Hi all.
I was just wondering if someone could explain to me what the difference is between nursery stock and bonsai starters
Also any pros and cons about buying both
thanks in advance.

Hi jme,
Nursery stock - These are trees that are purchased from a normal nursery. If you choose carefully you can sometimes find some very good stock.
Bonsai starters - There are two aspects to this statement. Normally a bonsai starter if a small plant in a 2-3inch pot. If you purchase these you are looking at quite some time before they would be considered to be a bonsai. If it is a good bonsai nursery there will be more mature stock that could range from $10 to hundreds of dollars. A good nursery will prune and develop the stock with it's future in mind.

Regards Ray

[ADO]

To me at least the difference is that nursery stock is just grown as a normal plant, allowed to grow as it wants. A bonsai starter is grown with it's use in bonsai the target and is shaped, trimmed & trunk chopped, etc as needed to add features suitable for bonsai.

Cheers

I think sometimes it has much to do with how diligent and attentive the nursery person is. There is a nursery here that has so much stock, I mean tonnes, that there is no way that each tree can be trimmed, pre-shaped or even the basics like root pruning. But, I have got some really nice stock from there and put in the work myself which is half of the challenge. However, there were flaws in these trees that were hard to deal with such as branches with very little foliage close to the trunk and branches growing out of one spot on the trunk etc. But you can be selective and try and find ones with the least number of flaws or at least flaws you can work with.

Other trees I have were well looked after by the nursery and as such I didn't have to do too much drastic work as the pruning etc was done for me. These are nice trees that have the potential to be bonsai within a shorter timeframe. I think it all depends what you are looking for and how much work you want to do. my

Adrian

[Steven]

Some good information already posted but I'd like to add: Really good bonsai stock will have had training done to the roots, base and trunk.

Regards,
Steven

[Jason]

From a beginners point of view here....

Bonsai starters
Pros: Is styled and shaped with bonsai in mind, from the roots to the foliage. Much better and easier to use, especially for a beginner like myself.
Cons: Can be a bit more pricey then something the same size at a nursery

Nursery stock:
Pros: Usually cheaper, and is rough stock so styling is 100% up to you
Cons: Usually requires a bit more work, as it isn't grown with bonsai in mind, so branch placement, nice twisted trunk, and those types of characteristics aren't usually there (although sometimes they are).

Just a few things I've noticed in my limited time doing bonsai. I tend to steer away from nursery stock if I can, but that doesn't mean I don't look thoroughly through any nursery I visit, as you never know what you will find In the end it really depends on where you go, as some nurseries can be just as expensive as a bonsai nursery, and some bonsai nurersies can be cheap, so the pro's and con's above can be flipped on their head

*I took 'bonsai starters' to mean untrained stock, not seedlings, so sorry if I interpreted that wrong

[deepeetee]

Jme,
I see your tag line.
How new are you to bonsai?
Im assuming that you are asking this question, because you have a potential purchase or even purchases in mind?


My 2 cents worth, dont buy anything too young, because it will be a long time before you get to work on it. Im assuming this affliction is starting to bite pretty hard and you want to sink your teeth into something now? (been there...still there, number of trees rising) I would advise to avoid Bonsai Starters, as mentioned they are very young and not a great deal can be done with them for some time. Save your money, rather than buying 20 Bonsai Starters over the next 3 - 6 months, one of each species. Find your local Bonsai Nursery, go and introduce yourself to the owner, have a chat. Find a piece of mature stock that really captures your attention, then find a piece of stock of the same species that is a little less "interesting"/ expensive. Save up for both, and use the less interesting one as your experimental tree. Before you do anything on your good one, give it a try on the other. I wish i had done that.

Ask all the questions in the world... the Ladies and Gentlemen on here are very helpful.

Above all, if you havent already done so, join a club!

And Good Luck

Dave

[shibui]

I was just wondering if someone could explain to me what the difference is between nursery stock and bonsai starters

$$$$$
Sometimes they are essentially the same thing with the price jacked up if they are called starters. I have watched staff at some 'bonsai specialists' just throwing seedlings into plastic starter pots without any regard to roots or trunk

At a reputable bonsai nursery they will spend more time potting up small plants to try to give you the best chance of getting a good start to your future bonsai.

Having said that, there are many great bonsai that have been developed from general nursery stock so always worth looking at.

[jme]

Thanks for all the great info guys. This site is a great 1 for help.
thanks again.

[Graeme]

From my observations, what most of the guys are talking about here isn't 'Bonsai Starter' stock but 'Bonsai Stock'. Bonsai Starters are usually devoid of any training and are actually simply struck cuttings or seedlings, sold in either tubes (of varying sizes) or 4" (100mm) pots. Sometimes the larger 'Starters' get offered to the buying public in 5" plastic pots as well. Normally you will find plants offered in 6" and larger plastics have a minimum of some root prunning performed on them. Obviously the larger the pot the more work done to the plant and the higher the cost. The so called Bonsai Starters can be picked up in most Nurseries, although obviously in General Nurseries they aren't called Bonsai Starters. Where a Bonsai Nursery would be a better source of Bonsai Starters is in selection of varieties more often used in Bonsai, although Pines, junipers and many others can sometimes be found in a General Nursery, especially if they carry a line of tube stock. One source of Bonsai stock sometimes mentioned here often gives me a little giggle. They sell Bonsai Starters in the $9 region, but a walk through their general plant area will give up many of the same varieties in bigger sizez at around $6. Careful buying is the best advice.