Does any one have one of these? is it worth it to buy it trimmed or easy
to trim it yourself?

I'm just starting with camellia -- I can't resist banging my head against
the wall with species unsuited to my climate. My interest in tea won over my
bonsai judgement. (No I don't plan on making any tea, but maybe Ottawa
Oolong could be a good angle -- 3g of production per year).

Check out http://www.camellia-ics.org/ http://www.camellia-ics.org/ for
advice on soils, propagation, care, etc.... An informative site once you get
around the navigation difficulties. I found the soils article quite
interesting (under the journals, New Zealand Camellia Society, no. 124). An
interesting outside-the-bonsai-box perspective on media for container
growing these species. Re trimming, these are made to be pruned (tea
production requires constant pruning) -- so it's easy if you follow the
timing advice on the mentioned website to maintain flower production.

Since trunk scars would detract from one of the main features of these
species (i.e. smooth bark) I'd be careful about selecting a plant that had
been trimmed for reasons other than bonsai design. International Bonsai has
a feature issue on camellia, I highly recommend snagging a copy if you are
keen on these species (C. sinensis, C. sasquana, C. japonica etc...).

Joe
-Ottawa

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