You can buy from many online Bonsai Nurseries, but due to regional climate differences, you should purchase your Bonsai trees locally so you can be assured that they will do well in the region where you live. Local nurseries are a good place to start. And, if you are lucky enough to have a Bonsai nursery near by this would be your best bet for getting healthy trees. If you do buy online, make sure that you inform them where you live. Trees grown in coastal areas, for example, are a poor choice if you live in a warmer inland climate.

I have seen some rather nice Boxwood tress in one gallon pots at my local Home Depot. Will these make a good Bonsai?

Boxwood trees make excellent Bonsai. Try to select one that has a nicely tapered trunk and a shape that you find interesting. You can keep the tree in the one gallon container, and begin to prune and train it for a season or two, or you can repot it into a 6 or 8 inch plastic training pot. The Boxwood is a fairly easy tree to work with, respond well to pruning and shaping. They also tend to be very healthy. My First Bonsai and Bonsai Care DVDs will provide you with some basic skills and knowledge to get you started successfully. You can buy them individually, or purchase both and save $10.00.

I'm new to Bonsai and was wondering if the Japanese Black Pine would be a good tree to start with? I saw one last week at a local Bonsai show and really liked it.

The Japanese Black Pine is one of the trees most revered by Bonsai enthusiasts, and surely one of the most beautiful and dramatic, but, it is also one of the most challenging trees to develop into an eye catching Bonsai. The Black Pine you saw at the show was probably 20+ years old. This is how long it normally takes to develop a Black Pine into a Bonsai of any merit. Most quality Black Pine Bonsai are generations old, and have had constant and careful care by a skilled Bonsai practitioner. The best trees for the beginner are the Boxwood, Trident Maple, Chinese Elm, and many species of juniper and cypress. The Black Pine is a very slow growing tree, and any mistakes you make in pruning and shaping can take years to correct. All Bonsai trees require patience to develop, but the Black Pine is in a class by itself. If, though, you have a Bonsai nursery near by, and would like to try your hand at the Black Pine, you can usually find a nice one in a 5, 10, or 15 gallon nursery container that is 10 to 25 years old, and has been raised and cared for with an eye to turning it into a Bonsai. These are rather expensive, but they will give you a good start toward a nice Bonsai that you would feel proud to own and display.

Can you give me any assistance in what Bonsai tools to purchase?

Without knowing your particular needs, it is a little difficult to recommend specific tools, but I can tell you to buy the best quality tools that you can afford, and buy them from a reputable dealer. The tools currently being produced in China are of inferior quality and should be avoided. Chinese craftsmanship is improving, but does not match the levels of workmanship found in Bonsai tools made in Japan. The finest Bonsai tools are made by Masakuni Bonsai Tools in Japan, and are quite expensive, but they will give many years of service if properly cared for. There are many good Bonsai tool sets available (see the Joshua Roth tool kit below), but you need to know which tools you need and what sizes you need, or you could end up with a set that doesn't quite meet your specific needs. Whenever possible, buy your tools in person, so you can be assured that they comfortably fit your hands.

Will your instructional DVDs play both on my computer and the DVD player on my TV?

All of our DVDs have been designed and engineered to play on any DVD player - either on your computer or attached to your TV.

In discussing and reading about Bonsai, I keep running across the term training pot, what is it?

Mature and finished Bonsai are displayed in ceramic pots, while Bonsai trees in training, are placed into training pots, which are either plastic, in the case of smaller trees, or mica pots for the larger trees. These are considerable less expensive than ceramic pots. The first training pots are generally rectangle in shape and 4, 6, or 8 inches in length, and 3 to 4 inches deep. The shape is similar to that of a traditional Bonsai pot. Larger trees are generally placed into mica pots, which are heavier and larger. The mica pots can be anywhere from 8 to 24 inches long, both rectangular and oval in shape, and 3 to 6 inches deep. The mica pots are made from a combination of mica and plastic, and are very sturdy. After saying all of this, any pot that is used for training purposes, and is not the final container for your Bonsai, can be considered a training pot.