I think the saying goes that only fools go where angels fear to tread and I can only imagine that the bonsai angels must have been terrified to tread in Canada, given the shortage of bonsai nurseries here.
They are a very specialized type of enterprise.
Of that there is no doubt, but there are people in Canada who would love to be able to add to their collection of bonsai or would love to be able to find some good sources of pre-bonsai trees and just cannot find them anywhere.
You can trust me on that point.
I've spent many, many hours online personally, trying to source outdoor bonsai for people.
You would imagine that with our infamously cold climate, Canada would be a hot bed (sorry about that- simply couldn't resist) of hardy outdoor plant activity, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The majority - in fact the overwhelming majority of bonsai growers, specialize almost exclusively in indoor trees.
You'd think there would be some attraction to growing outdoor trees and taking almost half the year off, but apparently the demand only exists for indoor trees.
I don't understand how that can be when all the most wonderful examples of bonsai are outdoor.
Trident and Japanese maples, Junipers, Larch and Japanese Black Pine, not to mention Hornbeams.
How can anyone choose a Ficus - and don't get me wrong- I really like so many of the Ficus, but given a choice between them and a Crabapple or Cherry- take me outside.
The main ingredients that you need to start up a bonsai nursery are a balance between time, money, space and skill and like many other things there are trades offs.
The more time you have, the less money you'll need.
For example, if you cannot afford to invest in mature stock, you can plant seedlings in the ground.
You'll need to leave them in place for a few years and allow them to grow mainly unchecked so that the trunk can acquire some girth.
It's an important feature of a desirable bonsai.
At the same time it will be necessary to use a sharp spade and cut one side of the root ball each year to keep it in check.
During the field growing stage you can begin some preliminary shaping of the tree although the real work will come later.
From the field, your bonsai will be dug and transplanted into nursery containers to continue the work of shaping the tree and to continue the job of keeping the root ball in check.
Some trees will not respond well to root pruning (I could show you several dead Mugo pines to support that point).
Until your bonsai graduate to a training pot, it's unlikely that they will see much in the way of heavy pruning or wiring, those jobs will come later.
The bottom line is that at a minimum you'll need 7-10 years before you have any saleable stock.
As far as field growing your own stock is concerned, the more space you have the more mistakes you can make because you can't expect a 100% survival rate.
Once potted, the most difficult thing- aside from remembering to water and feed, will be to find a safe place to winter your outdoor bonsai-to-be.
Even a tree as hardy as a Siberian Crabapple, needs insulation from a zone 6 winter when the entire root ball is packed into a small pot that can be frozen solid if left unprotected.
Because of the challenges to effectively protect potted bonsai over the winter, your first trees should be among the hardiest selections available.
While many people prefer indoor bonsai, I am so much more enamoured of the outdoor types that none of this seems like a lot of trouble.