I've got an opportunity to procure one of these trees as a replacement for a previously purchased tree that arrived severely damaged.
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Premna, ~30cm tall from the soil
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Juniper, ~45cm tall from the soil
Trying to decide which one to go with. The Premna would be a direct replacement and would not cost me any additional $, whereas the Juniper would be an 'upgrade' and I'd have to pay some extra $ on top.
Should I go for the Premna straight up or go for the juniper with some added $? If the juniper, how much do you all think is reasonable to add?
by ksunnyh
4 Comments
The juniper 100% imo. But Im biased towards junipers. Theyre my favourite type of trees both wild and bonsai. As of the price im a complete newb so i couldnt tell you.
The premna looks nicer in my opinion. It’s mature and has nice taper to it. Could use a better pot but looks like it was taken care of nicely.
Do you have a good winter/indoor set up though? Our winters are too harsh for it and that could be a reason to go with the juniper.
You could make that juniper from a $30-60 nursery stock in like 3 years. I’d go with premna
That placard on the wall says it’s from the 12th Asia Pacific Convention / Bonsai and Suiseki Exhibition held in Indonesia. This doesn’t necessarily mean the seller is in Indonesia but at least likely somewhere in East Asia.
I would question the provenance of trees sold to you internationally from countries with heavy quarantines in place (especially if you have no paperwork on the sale regarding USDA paperwork information).
It may also explain why the first tree was damaged in shipping.
I’m not accusing you of knowingly supporting black market bonsai sales but it is good for your own sake to know what you might be involving yourself in as well as to take into account where these trees might be coming from (stolen? sick? etc).