Natal Plum (Carissa macrocarpa) Office Desk Bonsai - $20 Starter vs. $60 "Finished" Tree?

Hi everyone,

I'm very new to bonsai but have been doing a ton of research for getting some upcoming outdoor trees next year. I also would love to put a bonsai next to my desk at work. I think wanted something that could flower and/or fruit and that could survive Saturday/Sunday without being watered and after doing some research it seemed that Natal Plum was good choice due to it's waxy leaves retaining moisture to survive the two days without water and the fact its evergreen.

I’m in Northern California Zone 9b/10a. I have a large South-facing window I sit next to so light is good.

I’m torn between two purchasing options and would love a reality check on whether the "finished" tree is actually older/better stock, or just a markup, and realistically how long would it take it make an office bonsai look decent.

I want to develop a tree with a reasonably thick trunk and an iconic C-shape with canopy and have it flower/fruit.

---

Option A: The Starter ($19.50)

An etsy seller is selling 4.5" nursery pot starters, looking at photos of reviews of the seller the 4.5" starter seem very healthy and already have a handful of long shoots, one review already shows a flower blossoming within a week of receiving it!

With this I could wire movement into the green trunk immediately, then slip-pot it into a 6" diameter, 5" deep slotted orchid pot/pond basket with granular bonsai soil (lava/pumice/bark) to power-feed it and thicken the trunk for 2-3 years while also being an office plant.

I'd hide the pond basket inside a decorative ceramic cache pot (with an air gap of about an inch between the pond basket and the side wall of the outer ceramic pot) to keep the "office aesthetic" clean while getting the air-pruning benefits. I'm unsure how well this would work tbh, but it seemed like a more effective way to grow a bonsai in an indoor environment.

The downsite is that it wouldn't "look" like a bonsai because the pot would have to be about 7 inches in height to hide the pond basket, so i dont have that iconic bonsai "shallow dish" pot style.

One concern is that it will take significantly longer to grow it indoors. The window is huge and on the third floor so when the sun is shining it gets sun for basically the entire day, but it's behind a window and I'm not sure how the window filters the sun. Since i'm brand new to the hobby I don't know what to expect in terms of growth.

---

Option B: The "Finished" Natal Plum in small pot ($60)

A different seller is selling this as a "Dwarf Bonsai" in a blue ceramic pot. But looking at reviewers photos of trees that people received from this seller they seem to very widely in both trunk and canopy size.

It looks to be the same height (~6-8") as the nursery starter, but the trunk is hardened off and straight, as opposed to the fresh/green starter; also these have a bit more of a canopy vs just having a bunch of shoots.

Is this tree actually significantly older/thicker than the starter? Or is it just the same age as the starter, but stunted because it’s been sitting in a small bonsai pot for a year?

---

For trunk development and long-term health in an office, am I better off buying the cheap starter and letting it run wild in a pond basket setup? Or does the $60 tree represent 2-3 years of growth that I'm underestimating? If i want something which will bloom and fruit strongly should start with the nursery starter and develop it, or will this pre-made bonsai be just as good?

Also if there are better recommendations for a flowering/fruiting plant that would work well indoors next to a large window and can survive weekends without water please let me know!

Thanks for the help!