In a message dated 2/22/03 5:49:32 PM, writes:

This is very discouraging. If I start with very small/young stock I
may be dead before the tree is in a bonsai pot. Basically if I want a
finished Bonsai in my lifetime I'll have to buy one.

Like Billy said,some species will require more time than others.

What's the problem in buying a "finished" tree?

When I started with Bonsai 3 years ago,I bought about 10 trees..all of them
were far from finished.As I started to learn and aquire more experience and
principally...got a better "eye" to distinguish between what is good material
and what is not.. I started to buy better "unfinished trees".By better I mean
trees that are ahead in development.
That really helped in my learning and made me work even more hard in my far
from finished trees.

Buying a finished tree by a _good_ artist can be a source of inspiration and
learning.My learning process acelerated and improved just by observing how
those Bonsai artists did with their trees,and after that, taking my own
conclusions,sense and personality and applying this knowledge to my
unfinished trees.
Yes,I have some nice finished trees that I bought and I'm proud I
did.Besides,EVERY Bonsai tree stills needs some developing/care..so even
"finished" trees will need constant atention/care if you intend to improve
those trees.

Bonsai is a patient drove hobby and you need to take that in
consideration.There's ways to cut corners,but you need to know what you are
doing.As you learn what is good and what is not,everything starts to get
funnier/easier ! ;-)

I'm a wildlife photographer/art director,and I think Bonsai have a lot in
comon with photography and graphic design .
You NEED to develop your eye.For me,that's my priority.
A photographer without a "trained" eye is a blind photographer(no pum).

good luck and do NOT give up this rewarding hobby.

Regards,
Carlos Pimenta
Miami,FL

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