Plant City Bonsai

On a recent trip to Atlanta, I visited many places that you’ll probably hear about in upcoming posts, but the highlight was a trip to Clermont, GA to talk with Steve Cratty at Plant City Bonsai.  He took the time to talk with me about almost every aspect of his bonsai stock and even helped me choose a fine specimen to take home (which I’ll talk about in the future).  Plant City Bonsai has many specimens, but most of the stock is for beginner bonsai artists like myself that is a step above nursery material so that your only choices aren’t a $10 5 year old tree and a $500 30 year-old tree.  Steve tries to fill that gap with material that is already started on it’s way to being a good bonsai, but still leaves you plenty of creative control over what the final look will be.  I found the experience to be very enjoying and sorry that I missed Warren Hill, who was appearing there the next day.  I’ve included some pictures of my visit, and sadly, did not video the tour that he gave me. This is definitely a labor of love with Steve and I got that hint that it may have given him a few gray hairs along the way :)

Walter Pall’s Gallery

A bonsai master by many accounts, Walter Pall has one of the best (if not the best) bonsai galleries on the internet.  He works mainly with bigger trees, but he is a true artist with a uncanny vision for what the future should be.  I’ve seen progression shots where I think to myself “Wow, he really screwed that up”, only to see it leaf out a year later and look great.  Here’s some of the trees from his collection and a link to the gallery.