I just recently began learning about the art of bonsai, and have collected some cedars, as well as buying a small juniper from a nursery. I now want to get a maple, but haven't seen any trident or japanese maples at any garden centers aside from some japanese maples at a garden center that were very tall and lanky, and not healthy looking. I found another thread where a use had began training from a trident they got from Brussels nursery. Would this be a better option or should I keep checking garden centers and nurseries?

Typically bonsai nurseries have better material for bonsai than regular nurseries.

leatherback wrote: Typically bonsai nurseries have better material for bonsai than regular nurseries.

You can buy trees from Brussels Bonsai at Home Depot...
Brussels bonsai sells Azaleas with Mint Chocolate, bonsai starter kits with humidity trays, Dwarf Jade bonsai kits, braided moneytree groves, and they ask USD 42,00 (!!!) for this:



It's like going to have a culinary meal at an amusement park. It's not going to taste that great, it's going to feel like a rip off and afterwards you'll still be hungry.