I’m in a superb of Vancouver, BC. We have two smaller bonsai outfits near by but the one major garden/nursery, Japan Bonsai owned by Tak Yamaura, has closed down. It’s hard to seek out specific species to purchase around here. I’m wondering if there’s any online or easily reachable nurseries or gardens in Canada that have a large variety of species in various stages of development available to first, purchase but also willing to ship trees to other provinces. I know it’s near impossible to import trees from out of country so I’m hoping there’s options that I haven’t been able to find here in Canada.
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Hi @MrJesseStrong, Contact Anton Nijhuis, he is in BC and collects and sells Yamadori (anijhuis@telus.net). Also importing trees for your own use is not hard. Depending on the species you don’t even need an import permit (see http://inspection.gc.ca/plants/imports/airs/eng/1300127512994/1300127627409) like Picea, Tsuga and Pseudotsuga. For pines, junipers for example you need but it doesn’t have to be specific for a particular species, valid for all Junipers sp. or Pinus sp. for example. You then need to apply for this permit that costs around 35$. The permit needs to specifically name the nursery and where the trees come from and where they are going. Also, each province has specific restrictions. For example, myself being in Quebec am able to import specific species that perhaps British Columbia does not allow in. In all cases the nursery you’re buying from needs to prepare a phytosanitary certificate - even for species that don’t require an import permit. Once you’re at the border to get back in, you’ll need to prepare yourself to wait for the time that it will take for the agents to communicate with the offices and send the information (permit, certificate, etc). I have the permit now specific for pines and junipers collected in Oregon from Nature’s way in Pennsylvania (i.e., collected by Randy Knight) to Québec but I didn’t yet try to do use it. The most important thing is that you’ll need to work with a nursery that is able to provide a phytosanitary certificate for the trees you want to bring in.
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Wow, @rafi thanks you very much for the info! I’ve been practicing bonsai since 2000 but have almost solely relied on Tak for my trees, tools and knowledge. Now that he’s been forced to shut down I’m finding myself having to seek out these recourses and build my own network. I’ll be contacting Anton as soon as I’m home from Italy to discuss some purchases. I really appreciate the guidance. As far as bringing trees across myself, unfortunately some teenage choices prohibit me from traveling to the states. I will, however look into that permit and finding a nursery capable of providing the info needed to bring trees up. Thanks again @rafi you’ve been most helpful.
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