How about we bonsai, why not?

Haha, if you grow it in the ground for a while, sure.

 

Y'know how I said birch were tricky and difficult trees to work with? One just won the best deciduous tree in the national show.



Really a remarkable accomplishment, both aesthetically and horticulturally.

 

It's not mine, I don't know the details. My guess is it was a sapling she or he found somewhere, dug up, then spent 5-10 years training the branches.

 

Remember how I said that my youngest daughter loves Bonsai trees? Well, I thought you'd appreciate this. This was the first year (3 years ago this coming Christmas) that she received her first Bonsai (so correction in my original post to you, I purchased her 5 over the last 3 years, lol).

Her facial expressions were priceless when my husband handed her her first tree

 

Holy cow, that's amazing. She's a doll! Wish we were in the same country so I could send you and her a tree!

 

Thank you

And thank you for your kindness - we would have happily accepted!

 

::took specific note of the spider cages in the backround::

 

Yo ero, I meant to ask, how interested are you in like... a SERIOUS bonsai.



My local greenhouse is shutting down so I'm kind of having a fire sale on my trees. I paid $200 for this one (actually from a guy who the exact same thing happened to) and could part with it for the same, but it's a big tree. It's also a great species to learn on, especially in Florida.

Care would be watering it once or twice a day (depending upon heat and wind). Fertilization regime would be whatever you want to use twice a week through the growing season. Uhh... if it heads to 40F or 50F maybe take it inside for the night. If this all sounds good, I'll wire it up for you, remove the wire with a wire cutter when it starts to bite in.

 

My level of seriousness has been seriously contemplating how to set up a watering system for when I'm not able to be at the house. That will involve buying material, digging, and research if that indicates my level of seriousness

After reading quite a lot of the link you had posted me, I think I could manage taking care of and working with one plant. I tend to really get into artsy projects and I would only have time to fit one in a regular routine.

The neat thing about my home is I'll probably be able to keep it inside (as long as it's sunny outside) more often than what most people would, in my bathroom at least. I have a skylight in there and it gets so bright you think the lights are on inside, so plenty of sun AND moisture from taking a shower. Giving it a place to stay in the winter that will be comfortable will be easy. I'm in North Central Florida and during the colder months it's regularly 40 degrees at night.

Anywho, is this something you would have to send next spring? Also, don't forget to add 20$ to whatever you charge for the MAP membership! Gotta' cover those membership fees xD

 

Nah, I'd rather send it now so I don't have to overwinter it - the health of the tree is severely compromised with indoor Pennsylvania winters. This will become a quality tree in time.

I'm trying to figure out automatic watering systems as well

edit: https://adamaskwhy.com This guy is out in Florida and has a very well detailed blog.

edit 2:

Everyone says this when they start. Then you realize that really the only time commitment is watering and one or two prunings/stylings per year. So you wind up getting another one. And another one. And another one. Then it's all "gooble gobble, gooble gobble, one of us, one of us!"

Edit 3: I wish you were up here so I could show you how I do things (not that that's the right or proper way, just, it's how I learned lol) :[

 

Oh good sir, this tree will be much more of a project than the tree itself! There's one particular section of the yard that I want to make really nice, and I've been planning on making the bonsai the center piece. It'll be an area to sit and lounge around in the yard, so the piece the tree sits on is going to have to be nice too. That means both stone and woodworking projects! Not to mention just the yard work as well : P.


As for the self watering system, I'm thinking about doing something with a soaker hose. These are hoses made out of a material that allows water to soak through. What I'm wondering is if I repotted the plant with a soaker hose coiled inside the soil and the attachment coming out the bottom, if that would hinder the trees growth. If anything I could always just have a set up for when I leave where I lay the soaker hose around the rim of the pot whenever I'm gone for a while.

Beyond that, all I would need is a timer that releases the water from the spicket on the side of the house for a specific amount of time. All of these things are easy purchases at Home Depot, no more than maybe 150$ for top quality stuff.

I'll check that blog out when I have some sitting and reading time. Let me know via PM when you're ready to send and we can figure everything out ^__^.

 

They're waiting for a cuddle from you

Just finished painting the room they live in; didn't want them to be poisoned by paint fumes so they lived in the living room for a couple days over Christmas

 

That'll look great! I think ti will be much happier with you.

Sometimes the old ways are best. I don't think that would be great for the plant and after a few years the roots will have totally grown into and over the soaker hose. I'd advise just using the soaker hose for when you're out of town.

No worries, I'll wire it up this weekend and ship it out

 

Could you potentially leave an indoor Chinese Elm Tree without watering for 2 weeks when you go on holiday? Or will it have died upon return?

 

No, it will die. Can you find someone to drop by once a day?

Haha, well, I mean... You could do that, but I certainly wouldn't trust it. It would be a minimal amount of water and depending upon your substrate almost certainly wouldn't be enough.

Everything in horticulture is a relationship between air, water, fertilizer and substrate. :]

 

Bonsai newbie here. Just picked this guy up. Simple Juniper. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

Keep it outside, they like a lot of sun. Fertilize every two weeks during the growing season from Spring through Fall. Use a high quality fertilizer - fish emulsion, green dream, biogold, Jack's, cottonseed, rapeseed, etc. Don't let it get bone dry, water often enough to accomplish that - could be twice a day during a windy hot day, could be once every couple months in the winter. Where do you live?

 

Hey Phil, is this a good fertilizer? I was looking for a high potash feed:
http://www.gardenhealth.com/product/bonsai-food