-----BONSAI TREES-----

Is anyone else here into bonsai trees?????????? They are sweet!

too ill...i always liked them maby i might pick one or 2 up, they cost alot...any tips? on buying takeing care of....drop um

I had one, but that shit died, even though I watered it like they said I

should and kept it in a good spot :(

Coffie Crave

your best bet is dont buy one, make your own. When summer comes pick up some nursery stock and trim it and wire it. Bonsai's that are bought are often not cared for and are overpirced. Go with a juniper or a pine species. They dont die easily and you can fool around with them alot.:idea:

I dont really care about them, but today they brought me this:

http://www.fuckthebuff.com/tesseract/bonsai.jpg'>

I like it.

whoa, that's really nice tesser. what is it, a ficus?

you should dunk it once a week in lukewarm water, and prune it to keep it small. ficus like a tablespoon of bleach in the water about once every two months.

i am, i think i'll go steal one today

i did a school project on them for asian studies, i remeber getting the impression they took ridiculus amounts of trouble and effort but they are pretty cool.

weird. I was sitting on the couch watching TV 20 minutes ago, and some truck add on TV had a guy sitting with a bonsai tree next to his chair, and I thought to myself "I should get a bonsai tree....those things are cool"

12oz is reading my mind.

how expensive are they?

those little trees are cool and all but they have the life span of your common mosquito. Even if you follow all the directions for caring...they die. if you cough near it, the damn tree will die. If you cast a shadow on a bonsai tree it'll die.

I once thought about mine really hard, bam that shit was gone

didnt the old dude form karate kid have a bonzai tree?

I once saw a book full of trees similair to the last one on that first post, but the bleached wood was used in a much more dramatic way, the shapes were more dramatic as well. They were all done by some old Asian guy who climbed around in some mountains over there to find these things (they were pretty damn big- usually two to four feet in any given direction). Anyone have the slightest idea who I am talking about?

Personal experience- they fucking die no matter what you do.

My dad is super into all this Bonsai tree stuff. Right now he's working on like 20 trees, non of which he bought, and they're all doing fine. A couple of them are really gnarly with all the wiring and stuff. He started like a year ago and it has slowly consumed most of his free time. From what I've heard, buying them from stores is usually dumb for most of the reasons above. He just went to a couple of free seminars to learn the basics, then went to work searching around for trees. Supposedly the best place to find crazy-ass trees is next to train tracks, since the trains come from all over the place and sometimes drop a seed or two as they go. This way you can find stuff that wouldn't normally grow in your area. Now your benching missions can serve a dual purpose.

they're fresh

i love plants.

you can get little ones for very cheap.

i got a bonsia tree but it prolly isnt that good i got it for like 10.00 at target while ago its pretty tight though

my dad had one he got at an aikido seminar.

it died, but he didn't really care to much for it anyway.

i've never had one, but i am the proud owner of 3 taro plants i grew from roots bought in chinatown. if you want a pretty easy plant to grow, try it...although they are tropical and it's getting a little nippy outside. they're beautiful too, velvety looking leaves.

http://www.ahs.cqu.edu.au/info/science/psg/AsianVeg/Taro_files/image012.jpg'>

http://www.kualoa.com/images/nursery_taro2.jpg'>

http://www.pondsplantsandmore.com/Images/Taro_Green_Colocasiaesculenta.gif'>

who ever here wants to get a bonsai. DONT BUY ONE. read a book ar something and find out how to do it by yourself....it saves lots and lots of money.

BONSAI RULES!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D

whoever said you should go climb mountains searching for bonsai trees, fuck that, you should, maybe, if you know how to take care of bonsai trees. but if you don't leave the nature where it is. it's like anything, you have to start small, tesser's ficus plant is a good starter bonsai, or like ceto said, junipers and pine trees make good plants because they are hard to kill. you should buy your plant, or you can start one from seed, but that is really time consuming, and will take forever to get any results, let alone positive ones. i have one bonsai in my possession, it's a small juniper, and we get along great, it likes the outdoors so whenever i don't feel like taking care of it i put it outside and it takes care of itself.

my dad used to make those for fun and to relax. it's really pretty neat. he used to have several around the house when i was a teenager. i don't thinkhe has them sitting around anymore. none last time i was there.

first pick up a book. do as much pre research as possible. find a species that works well in your climate. also realise that the hobbie takes years to master and you wont see any results for months when it comes to bending and forming a shape in your tree. pruning needs to be done regularly in order to keep a palletable shape.

i wouldnt go hunting in the forest for bonsai unless you know tree species fairly well. bonsai trees are extremely fickle trees. they can die very easily. especially if you upset the root ball.

when buying a bonsai pay close attention to any wire marks in the trees themselves. inexperienced staff will wire the trees but will forget to take them out once the tree is in position. pines especially since the scar marks will be with it forever. also if you buy the tree that is displayed outside rather than in a greenhouse, be aware of the various types of insects to look for such as spider mites, aphids, and fungus.

prices for trees range according to types and breeders. first go with a cheap tree and just see if you can keep it alive for a few months. they dont take too much work but are sensitive to amounts of sunlight, are extremely suseptive to insects, and should be misted regularly. for best care, i suggest even adjusting your tap water to the proper ph for your tree. plum, and cherry trees are very pretty, with plum blooming in february/march and cherry in march/april.

best bet, if you can find a bonsai class that is being held in your area that will help you greatly to get started. i can just walk outside and ask any ojiisan [old man] for tips. have fun but dont go too expensive my first tree died after 6 months.

bonsai trees are bad ass. I'd get one...but I already know I'd kill it. You can also get artificial or "preserved" bonsai....just as expensive as the real shit.

Question for the bonsai wise:

How big an effect does heat play?

I've got a great spot for a tree but it's really close

to a radiator and it get's pretty hot. I figure the water

will dry up quickly from the temperature, so more frequent

waterings might be needed, but is there anything else to consider?

there is so much nuance to bonsai. to know your tree for sure you really have to find a knowledgable shop owner, join the bonsai society in your area, or find some really nice books on the subject.

as for heat, hot weather trees do well in the heat. do you rent, then maybe you don't want a hot weather tree. you want a pine tree which needs lots of water, but has a cuticle to protect the leaves. are the leaves strong or wispy? for example, i don't think a japanese maple would do well near a heat source. no plants will take radiant heat well however, can you diffuse the heat somehow? bonsai trees are good indoors, but don't over do it, remember how big mr. miyagi's yard was. . .start simple.

Originally posted by 23578

do you rent, then maybe you don't want a hot weather tree.

ummm... I dont follow. I do rent but that's not going to keep me from having heat in my pad.

I guess it's just going to be a matter of experimentation.

Thanks for the info.

. . .you rent, then your next place you may not have a spot by the heater. it doesn't really matter though, most hot weather trees do great at 65-70 degrees F. what is that 22.4-25 degrees C?

gotcha!

I plan on being in this place for the next 5 years, so it's a non-issue.

I guess that my big concern is being near enough light without getting

a draft from the windows. My place is a little drafty and I know that's

usually death for plants, even ones way more rugged than Bonsai trees.

I'm a metric guy so 22-25 C' makes perfect sence to me.

How often do they want water( (relative to size obviously)? And is misting them a good decision?

i'm not a pro, but for mine (juniper), i just give it a good soak in the sink every week. fully submerge it in lukewarm water. it doesn't need misting. misting is a good idea for leafy bonsai though. i wouldn't make too a big deal out of it, if you can take care of house plants that is. i think you should keep your bonsai out of the window a bit, or it may get a bit burnt.

keeping anything near a heater is not a good idea. bonsai should be watered when the soil gets to near bone dry. over watering will kill it and under watering will kill it. i`d say average watering routine is around 2-3 times a week, with a light mist once a week. also be sure to have a hole for the excess water to come out of, then be sure to dump the water out instead of letting the plant reabsorb it. a good place to keep it is a place that will most likely have a light on. windows tend to be more harmful then good. not enough sun, cold drafts, chances for attracting bugs. even a desk lamp will keep the plant alive, just keep it off the tv set, electronics etc.

also i would suggest getting a no pest strip. they are really cheap from any hardware store that will keep away potentially fatal bugs. if you do get bugs its a real bitch to get rid of them. chemical sprays killed 3 of my trees, [$200 worth, ouch!] because i bought a tree from an outdoor bonsai show and it had spider mites which soon spread to my other 3 trees. i was unable to get ahold of any organic pest killers and red pepper/garlic wasn`t working.

is it true that you can get little bonsai trees that grow mini-style fruit, or have the rumors had at me again..?