Bonsai Mirai Live

[Lars Grimm]

Don't you realise, every time you pause the video, Ryan literally stands still, unblinking, mid sentence, until you resume again.. please stop pressing pause!! He has to eat and go toilet at some point!

And now the serious part of my post:
I'd like some negative point of views on this please.. I'm not one for overwhelming positive feedback on everything. It's good and all but I feel like it's too one sided. Gotta be some differences, drawbacks, stuff that could be done better..

I do think signing up for a year is way too much of a commitment. But from what LittleJoe919 said, sounds like you can cancel mid way and not pay it all any way.

One reason things are one-sided is that there is really nothing out there to compare to. The YouTube videos from Graham Potter get a ton of views but they are old and not produced any more. They are also shorter in length, but have great music! Bjorn's YouTube videos are great but they are more of a travelogue show and tell. The education series on Bonsai Empire are also very good but they are more limited in topic and less detailed than Mirai Live. None of these sources have interactive components. I'm not aware of any other major video content sources.

I completely agree with @BobbyLane about the lack of deciduous focus. My understanding is that Ryan's training was mostly on junipers, pines, etc so he doesn't have as much experience with deciduous. That being said, he has a few streams with a deciduous focus, or at least deciduous applicable concepts. I only do deciduous and I still get a lot out of the other streams.

The major downside for many people seems to be the price (although you can read about work arounds above) and the chat logs that appear overly populated with beginner questions. There is also not the ability to stream offline. Finally, if you are not available during the time when he does the stream live you can't participate in the interactive component. I personally only watch the stream after the fact, but am fine with that.

I hope that helps.

 

[ConorDash]

One reason things are one-sided is that there is really nothing out there to compare to. The YouTube videos from Graham Potter get a ton of views but they are old and not produced any more. They are also shorter in length, but have great music! Bjorn's YouTube videos are great but they are more of a travelogue show and tell. The education series on Bonsai Empire are also very good but they are more limited in topic and less detailed than Mirai Live. None of these sources have interactive components. I'm not aware of any other major video content sources.

I completely agree with @BobbyLane about the lack of deciduous focus. My understanding is that Ryan's training was mostly on junipers, pines, etc so he doesn't have as much experience with deciduous. That being said, he has a few streams with a deciduous focus, or at least deciduous applicable concepts. I only do deciduous and I still get a lot out of the other streams.

The major downside for many people seems to be the price (although you can read about work arounds above) and the chat logs that appear overly populated with beginner questions. There is also not the ability to stream offline. Finally, if you are not available during the time when he does the stream live you can't participate in the interactive component. I personally only watch the stream after the fact, but am fine with that.

I hope that helps.

Very good and accurate summary. Thank you!
Funny thing, I spoke to Graham Potter on the phone last week, about a purchase. Was nicer this time than the first.

 

[JudyB]

I agree that there is probably value for deciduous focused people in this course, but far more for conifer folks. When looking for a teacher, you should be looking for one who has the same focus as your intended goals. That's why Owen Reich is a perfect fit for me, he likes flowering, fruiting, deciduous, and rarer species.

 

[Lars Grimm]

I agree that there is probably value for deciduous focused people in this course, but far more for conifer folks. When looking for a teacher, you should be looking for one who has the same focus as your intended goals. That's why Owen Reich is a perfect fit for me, he likes flowering, fruiting, deciduous, and rarer species.

What educational activities does Owen offer?

 

[JudyB]

I have him over for 1 on 1 twice a year. He also does study groups, but I can't find enough interested in my area. Those are 3-4 times a year. He is ready to build his nursery in TN soon, and will offer more programs there I am sure. If you are interested, you can contact him, and figure out a time he's in your area to do a date. He also does workshops and lectures at clubs.

 

[chicago1980]

 

[chansen]

What educational activities does Owen offer?

I can only echo what Judy said about Owen. My club had him out twice (we tend to rotate who we bring in... in other words a group of people are bad at making decisions...), and I attended both times. He was great, knowledgable, and willing to work with whatever you brought in. We have a very experienced member in the club (took 3rd in the Artisans Cup), that has awesome trees. And then there are others that are working with regular nursery stock. Owen spent equal time with everyone, and helped them move their trees forward. On top of that, he's just a good dude.

 

[JudyB]

On top of that, he's just a good dude

Indeed. Nice to work with someone so down to earth and accessible, but who also has the goods. (knowledge!)

 

[rockm]

One reason things are one-sided is that there is really nothing out there to compare to. The YouTube videos from Graham Potter get a ton of views but they are old and not produced any more. They are also shorter in length, but have great music! Bjorn's YouTube videos are great but they are more of a travelogue show and tell. The education series on Bonsai Empire are also very good but they are more limited in topic and less detailed than Mirai Live. None of these sources have interactive components. I'm not aware of any other major video content sources.

I completely agree with @BobbyLane about the lack of deciduous focus. My understanding is that Ryan's training was mostly on junipers, pines, etc so he doesn't have as much experience with deciduous. That being said, he has a few streams with a deciduous focus, or at least deciduous applicable concepts. I only do deciduous and I still get a lot out of the other streams.

The major downside for many people seems to be the price (although you can read about work arounds above) and the chat logs that appear overly populated with beginner questions. There is also not the ability to stream offline. Finally, if you are not available during the time when he does the stream live you can't participate in the interactive component. I personally only watch the stream after the fact, but am fine with that.

I hope that helps.

I'd agree with the above, plus the conifer-heavy content. I've only seen glimpses of his deciduous stuff.

The herd of beginner questions, unfortunately for more advanced folks, is to be expected. It's judgy of me, but if you're spending that kind of money for such a knowledgeable resource, you're wasting it (not to mention a lot of other people's time and $) if you don't have the basics down before you subscribe.

 

[peterbone]

I find a lot of his work mainly based around conifers, juniper, pines the like. ive not really seen much deciduous content from him apart from the segment on mirai live when he discussed a larch and Linden. however, ive recently seen him doing some work on a Beech forest. i think if youre really into conifers, juniper and pine then you should probably sign up, i could be wrong. i'd love to see more of his work with deciduous trees though.

Last week's post growth management video features one of the best chinese elms I've ever seen. That video is also free. One of the things he mentions in one of the other free videos is that a tree is a tree. Most principals can be applied to both evergreen and deciduous.

 

[BobbyLane]

Last week's post growth management video features one of the best chinese elms I've ever seen. That video is also free. One of the things he mentions in one of the other free videos is that a tree is a tree. Most principals can be applied to both evergreen and deciduous.

Cheers Peter, do you have links to those two free vids or are they only accessible if you sign up? would love to see the Chinese elm

 

[yenling83]

I'm a fan, Ryan's putting out some fantastic videos

 

[tstrum]

I signed up this month on the tier 2 month to month plan. Only because I didn't have the cash to pay all at once but I could do smaller outlays on a monthly basis. I would like to pay the yearly price someday to get the 1 free month. We'll see when if that ever happens tho.

As far as the content/production, it's first class. We don't have any masters nearby and our club can't afford to bring anyone in nor can I afford any trips for workshops etc. so this is the only access for me to this kind of knowledge. I'm fairly new to bonsai and this spring I made so many mistakes and lost several trees as a consequence. Watching these videos I've been able to understand the "why" behind many of my mistakes. That's Ryan's MO: understanding the why behind everything we do so that we can make correct decisions based on knowledge and not just habit. He also explains lots of unusual "how-to's" that no ever teaches. For example, in the repotting video he took time to explain how to chopstick the soil properly including the correct angle the chopstick should be held at haha

Love the videos and worth every penny imo

 

[rockm]

These are some of the best reviews. Locally I'm surrounded by a lot of long time Veterans, & all of them tip their hat to this platform. To see people 50 yrs + actively on line pursuing Bonsai is amazing in many ways.

Wow...why??? I'm well over 50 and I don't consider myself THAT old. You probably won't consider 50 old, either once you pass 40...;-)

 

[VAFisher]

I'll be 47 next month and sometimes that feels pretty damn old...

 

[peterbone]

Cheers Peter, do you have links to those two free vids or are they only accessible if you sign up? would love to see the Chinese elm

 

[R3x]

Cheers Peter, do you have links to those two free vids or are they only accessible if you sign up? would love to see the Chinese elm

Just go here: https://live.bonsaimirai.com/archive You will find all the free videos there without the need to subscribe.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

The herd of beginner questions, unfortunately for more advanced folks, is to be expected. It's judgy of me, but if you're spending that kind of money for such a knowledgeable resource, you're wasting it (not to mention a lot of other people's time and $) if you don't have the basics down before you subscribe.

This is the main thing I am struggling with. Last night there was a session on azaleas with Peter Warren. I asked a question that was very specific and directly related to what he was talking about at that very moment. My question was never asked, but instead we got to hear a question about whether people create deadwood on an azalea.

I almost feel like they should release a one page overview of the subject at hand that people have to read before they can ask questions. People don't own azaleas, have never kept azalea bonsai, and have never read an azalea book or article, and yet they fill up the chat channel with questions that would have been answered already if they had bothered doing the slightest background work. I am almost considering dropping my Tier 3 membership because of this issue - I am not getting any value from the "advanced" features of the Tier 3 membership if the Tier 3 members are mostly beginners asking lazy questions.

 

[R3x]

This is the main thing I am struggling with. Last night there was a session on azaleas with Peter Warren. I asked a question that was very specific and directly related to what he was talking about at that very moment. My question was never asked, but instead we got to hear a question about whether people create deadwood on an azalea.

I almost feel like they should release a one page overview of the subject at hand that people have to read before they can ask questions. People don't own azaleas, have never kept azalea bonsai, and have never read an azalea book or article, and yet they fill up the chat channel with questions that would have been answered already if they had bothered doing the slightest background work. I am almost considering dropping my Tier 3 membership because of this issue - I am not getting any value from the "advanced" features of the Tier 3 membership if the Tier 3 members are mostly beginners asking beginner questions.

I have communicated with Ryan on totally different matter in the past. I sent him an e-mail and received answer. We exchanged few more. What I'm trying to say is that you should definitely try to bring this to his attention and I am sure he would consider it for the benefit of his customers.

Truth is this was in the time before Artisans Cup and way before he started Mirai Live. Still I think he you should (a t least try to) contact him about this. After all - you're and admin of one of the biggest/best bonsai resources there are.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

you should definitely try to bring this to his attention and I am sure he would consider it for the benefit of his customers.

I don't think this issue has anything to do with Ryan, per se. I think it is just a sad statement of the world we live in. People don't want to learn - they just want to be fed information. It's like the kid in class who sits in the front row and before the teacher even starts the lecture the kid starts raising his hand and asking questions.

Years ago, I was assisting a visiting master from Japan when he was working on a client's trees in his yard. As I was helping him, I asked a single question about what he was doing. He responded "In Japan, an apprentice does not ask - he watches and repeats." I didn't ask another question for 8 hours, LOL. And I found that I learned a lot more if I just kept my mouth closed and assumed that everything he did had a reason for doing, and that by observation I would figure it out.

If they have a stream on bald cypress, I don't start the stream by spamming the chat channel with questions. I don't own a bald cypress and I have zero experience with the species. Instead I sit quietly and watch the stream and learn. There have been several streams where I haven't made a single comment in the chat channel. Too many people don't have any experience and they start out by spamming questions with whatever tumbles into their heads. I'm not kidding when I say that the stream might only be ten minutes old and already there are ten beginner questions in the queue from people who have zero experience with the topic at hand. Shut up already and watch the stream!

This was very different from what I expected. I thought that the Tier 3 members were going to be more advanced, and that the chat channel was going to have a side "advanced" conversation going on while we were watching the stream. This is definitely not the case.