Importing Bonsai

My plan now is to buy myself a small greenhouse. To start with, Ive found a 5m2 one that doesnt cost more than about, 1000 usd here in Norway. It has polycarbonate sides. Are they tougher than glass btw? Its about 100$ more expensive than glass ones. The thickness is 4mm.
But I gotta have trees to put into it. As of now, I have 2 figs, and a Fukien tea that I would have there over winter too.
Ive been looking quite alot for Ficus trees. Those are my favourite trees. But, the normal gardencentres here in Norway doesnt have much bonsai.
Its practically non-existant. If you find some, they would be either full of wire scars, or they would have been dried out for a week. I almost went in a rage when I came one place and 50% of the trees had lost almost every leaf they had. So, I got some cheap, and got them back to life. Also, nearly every tree has the "s" bend.

I want decent bonsai. I want some that I could be proud of. That took a long time to develop and make great. Learn and fail on. Ficus are so forgiving, that I feel I can take a chance now and then and do something drastic and actually see an improvement. My wish is to have mostly large trees.
Okay, alot longer post than I intended. But do any of you know where to get this? Ive seen chinese companies writing that they transport millions of plants and pots every year, but I havent seen a picture of a single tree, or the price. Im not gonna buy a huge container of them, but maybe 5 -10.
Ive been looking alot at Kaizen, and they have good prices on most things. Theyve got Yamadori and imported ones. But only a very few ficus trees.
I like to go looking for Yamadori, and gonna use alot of time on that next spring. But thats not always enough.
Ive reckon there are a problem importing ficus to England atm? Dont think its a problem here though.
Do you guys and gals have a tip for me how to get a hold on this?

Hello Storm.I would have thought you can get what you want through the Dutch bonsai nurseries. Lodders etc.

Thanks for fast response Will. I'll check it out asap.

Had any experience with any of them btw?

Storm wrote:Thanks for fast response Will. I'll check it out asap.

You could try Mistral in Spain as well.

Storm wrote: Ive reckon there are a problem importing ficus to England atm?

I think, and it is only my opinion, that there isn't any problem with importing ficus to England/UK at the moment - at least not any more so than other material. I would suggest that there is simply no demand for it in the UK mostly for climatic reasons. Why bother with material that is fussy in our climate when we have such a rich treasure chest of our own trees that thrive in it?

If you are looking to fill a polycarb greenhouse and there really are no bonsai nurseries in Norway, then you are really faced with either the collect nothing but yamadori approach or be prepared to travel to get ready made ones. If the latter, I would suggest that your best approach is to tie it in with a holiday in a place where there are decent bonsai nurseries (not garden centres). Do some online research into nurseries in places like the Netherlands and Germany and have a idea of what you want and where it is. Or maybe you could tie it in with a visit to a major show and take advantage of the presence of other bonsai people there, not to mention decent deals with traders.

A great piece of advice that Tony gave me a few years ago is settle for a few really good trees rather than a lot (two words btw) of lesser quality ones. A greenhouse becomes a magnet for every tree you ever see which you think has "potential". I'm not being big-headed here - please just take it from one who has been there and done it that there is a danger that you will amass a lot of stuff that has next to no potential and you will waste a lot of time, money and effort on tending it when you could be focussing on a few good pieces. Countless others on the forum will admit to having done the same.

Good luck in your venture. And don't forget to check if there are issues with taking trees back across your borders.

Storm wrote:Had any experience with any of them btw?

Not personally but a lot of bonsai folk buy from them.

Thanks all. And for the correction Fiona, been wondering about that one everytime I've written it.
Is it really a point of having a greenhouse if I only have specimens from Norway? I would see it as a help to shelter the trees during hard winters..
I like Yamadori hunting, but Its a bit annoying with the long winter here where none of the trees are growing. Thats where the ficus comes into the picture. Ive been thinking about the trip idea, to go see, but I haven't had the budget to that yet. I'll check it in details with the online stores, and see if they can link pictures of the trees that are optional too.
Just for personal interest, I would be most interested in trees that are up to a metre, or even higher.
Been struggling for that size of pots too for that matters.

The greenhouse is excellent for the establishment of any yamadori in winter and spring. Their root systems will get going earlier and recovery will be aided by the shelter from winds and shade that can be provided. If you can afford it, a heated cable bed will improve your success rate further.

Considering the winter day-length in your latitude, you might consider a fluorescent T5 light or HD setup for tropicals, rather than a greenhouse. Or have a warm section in your greenhouse with supplementary lighting.
Iris