On Sat, 22 Feb 2003 15:52:33 -0500, Jim Lewis

wrote:

I don't think anyone can answer those questions for you.
However, generally, you don't put a tree in a "bonsai pot"
until
you are ready to call it a bonsai and display it -- or at
least
do the "finishing" touches on it.



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.


Goodness! How old ARE you, John? I'm 65 and I start new bonsai
almost every day this time of year. I fully expect to see some
of them turn into a "finished" tree. (And not all of them are
tiny trees, either ;-)

And it all depends on how large a tree you want. If bonsai means
(to you) a 4-foot tree, it'll take longer. If you can be happy
with an 11-12 inch tree, it takes much less time -- especially if
you start with a 2 footer. ;-)

I'm afraid, though, that Bonsai is not an American "instant
gratification" paint-by-numbers art form.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

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