Hi Lori, I hope you won't mind this, but I'm going to suggest you do a lot of reading before spending any money (or even taking a gift). Bonsai are more than cute little trees that you trim sometimes and water weekly, and in fact the learning curve can take the rest of your life (but don't let me scare you off or anything :-). Seriously though, if you bring something home, whether it's a small one from Wal-Mart (with a one-size fits all 'care' tag on it - the kind the trees would literally be better off without), or something larger from a nursery, but you don't have a clue what to do with it - they're not houseplants - it can take less than a week to start killing it off, often with no recovery, and that will likely discourage you from ever bothering again, SO why not first get at least an overview, just a hint of what it's about, and then maybe make a decision. There's a lot of horticulture to pick up on - every tree is different, a lot of environmental things to know about to help decide if your place is suitable for a particular species, not to mention that you really can only grow tropicals indoors, likely with special lighting, humidity, etc., plus what 'ingredients' you need to mix up for a good planting medium (not potting or garden soil), and... the hard part, how to water properly, which may sound strange - "don't you just pour a glass over it every few days?" - but in bonsai nothing is the way you might imagine, and it can take quite a while before you get a couple of trees to live past one season, or year - we've all been there. So, start checking into places like www.bonsai4me.com, and www.bonsaihunk.us/cultural.html for basics of bonsai in general, and (the second one) for great advice on tropicals, though a lot of that may seem quite over the top for you now (and is), but you'll start to pick up on what terms mean, the fact that seasons count when it comes to certain procedures, etc. etc. Also, try to find a local club to join, because being able to see how things are done in person can make a huge difference to understanding (never mind learning the lingo). So, what you shop for matters from the point of view of knowing what to look for (apart from species), and whether a tree is worth the price, whether you really are equipped to keep it alive, etc, and don't get taken by sweet old people selling out of the back of a van someplace who sound so knowledgable - they all have advice, but 99% of the time it's c... as they're just telling you what they know you want to hear ..."Of course you can grow junipers indoors" (NOT), and to water by dunking the pot in the sink twice a week (Definitely not!). It's not hard - as long as you know what you're doing.

Why not start with a Sunset Book on Bonsai ($2 @ a used book store) and then a walk in the local woods? Any local understory growth should be bonsai-able and the price would be right. Also, when something dies (which will happen sooner or later), you can take another walk in the woods. Have fun with it and learn the names of the surviving stuff later.

I've recently set up a website giving basic advice on how to care for and maintain a healthy bonsai tree. It gives beginners information that other sites assume you already know. It's a great place to start in a new hobby as it shows you all the pitfalls people suffer when they buy trees or equipment without some basic knowledge.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bonsai Bonsai Tree

Hi, apart from the fact you are not supposed to use this site to push any product (even if it's bonsai related), I looked through your section on bonsai care on that website, and while it's very nicely presented, there is a serious lack of real information on horticulture, and not much in the way of explanation re terms used and description of procedures - in fact very little at all, with more concentration on pot esthetics (while managing to not even mention the need for drainage holes) etc. I suggest you develop the whole thing a bit more before putting it out here as something newbies should use to learn from, as they won't realize until it's too late that they needed a lot more advice than your site gives now. It's not a 'bad' thing, but nowhere near even adequate for newbies (or others).