You didn't say if you (can) grow outdoor trees where you are (any wind protection?) or only indoor ones, but for outside, try www.evergreengardenworks.com - really reliable, very good stuff. For indoors, try Dallas Bonsai Gardens (forget URL), but be ready for them to not want to ship to you til the weather warms up.

If you are into tropicals, here is another reliable source with good service. They will not ship to northern climes till March.

http://www.miamitropicalbonsai.com/

Hi,

Thanks for the replies so far. I was wanting to order some bonsai now figuring it was safer to ship w/ deciduous trees currently dormant. I have a cold house especially for my bonsai, so they should be ok. As for the tropicals, I can wait till march for those.

Would love to have more links that you know are good suppliers.

Thanks,

RM

They may keep you waiting longer than March - it's about being past any chance of frost (or freezing temps) and that's usually May/June, especially where you live.

Lucy, he said Alaska, think more late April than march.

Hey guys,

It's not too, too cold in SE Alaska. Nothing like way up north in anchorange or fairbanks were neg temps are the norm in winter. We border British Columbia so we're only a bit wetter and colder than Seattle. I'm thinking march/april might be ok.

RM

Oh, ok Author62.

Lucy- He says he's in zone 6, in Southeast Alaska. I'm guessing that he's not too far from the coast, hence the mild climate. I'm in Colorado, and am in zone 5. Hence, zone 6 would have to be considered hot by me.
-Jmcat

jmcat,

well I must say egg on my face for saying it's not too cold here. However, I still think CO is colder! Single/- temps and more snow that usual this winter! As I type, nearly 3-ft on the ground now, w/ 8" of of 14" forecasted already added to it! And that's just for today! More tomorrow! Not that near to the coast. Live w/i a cluster of islands. For the most part wind/inland waters are calm.

And that's why I think of adding to my bonsai collection alot these days; my spring/summer passion.

You said you have a 'cold' house... how cold? And do you understand that a lot more than temperature matters to trees that need to live outdoors? You cannot duplicate outdoor conditions simply by lowering the temperature.

Lucy,

I have an outdoor, unheated greenhouse which protect my bonsai from superlow temps and harsh winds.

As for my house, I keep it at a compfy 70 degrees :)

RM

Anchorage (where I was born and raised) is colder than south western Colorado where I am going to school now, and being up higher in the mountains its a good deal colder here than in denver or C. springs.

Yeah, I guess it depends on where you are in either state. The 3' of snow is indeed a bit more than we have, I do agree. I have often seen in various places that our normal lowest temp in winter is higher than the normal lowest temp for zone 5 (On some maps, at least. Others have other numbers for min. temps for zone 5b that are the same as we get.). However, I am in zone 5 on any map of zones.
Some of CO certainly gets colder temps, and some gets warmer temps. CO has at least a small area of each of zone 2b-7a.
Author- There's one thing you said that I don't understand. You said you weren't that close to the coast, but that you live in a cluster of islands. I am just wondering, how does this work? Thanks.
-Jmcat

jmcat,

of course islands are surrounded by coast as is the case where I live, but we are inland (closer to BC) of the cluster, so we don't get the ocean swells or high winds. Inland waters overall are calm.

I've had good luck w/ hornbeams, maples and some other deciduous. I'd like to branch out w/ some tropicals that can be kept indoors most of the time.

R~

Here is a link that might be useful: SE AK map

Ok, thanks for the clarification.
-Jmcat