I've been thinking about growing 'proper' pre-bonsai trees then selling them for cheap online in order to provide an entry-level tree that could actually become something wonderful with effort, and also for a bit of profit.
I was thinking that trident maples are fairly fast-growing and easy to care for, so would be a good candidate.

My question is roughly how long would it take to grow them from pencil-thin to 5cm thick (planted in the ground)?
Do you think this is something that could work?

Ed

I expect 3-4 years for that size base level trunk. Another 2-3 for secondary section. Another few years for any more tapering and basic branch development. Meh, you've probably got 10 years before solid pre-bonsai material would be available for your retail.

A tough,but albeit, not terrible idea to get going. The thought has crossed my mind as well. To my knowledge, there are very few true bonsai nurseries outside of Japan. The main one in the states is Brussels Bonsai , but even they are subject to making a buck to keep business going - meaning: they sell mallsai as well. Keep posting.

Although the idea is fun, don't expect to make money. You would be better of working behind a register in your local supermarket, when it comes to hourly income levels.

So do it, but do not do it for the money. It is shit money. People do not pay for this. One of my club members has a nursery, and part of the nursery is for bonsai. Even though the trees are only 9 years old now, he is at the 150E level per starter to break even, time-investment wise. And that does not even take into account the loss because he is not growing commercial trees, which he could flip every 3-5 years, and maintain by machine, instead of hand.

It wouldn't be a primary source of income, I guess I would only be doing it for fun.
Plus I could keep the best trees for myself which is worth way more than money.

Yes, it sounds fun way to learn, grow more trees, than you can keep, and sell the really nice ones, and train the rest, for later. Maybe get enough cash for really cool tools. but then, there's the shipping thing, can one trust UPS to handle such delicate cargo.

BonsaiLearner wrote: It wouldn't be a primary source of income, I guess I would only be doing it for fun.
Plus I could keep the best trees for myself which is worth way more than money.

Part of my garden is (was) for my son, to grow spices, vegetables, herbs, and it has an apple tree in it (that produced quite a few nice apples this year).
It's behind a small fence (to keep the dog out), and I've planted... erm.... 30 I think... hornbeams there. They're on the sides, I cut / chop 'm regularly to keep the kitchen garden part open. They've been there for 2 or 3 years now. When the leaves have dropped I'm going to have a look, see how they've developed.
I hope I can find a few to create a forest with.

Auk wrote: I hope I can find a few to create a forest with.

Make sure to create a topic if there's anything good, I'd love to see them.