Juniper Indoor Bonsai Tree

Another great bonsai for beginners is the Juniper indoor bonsai tree. The Juniper bonsai was my first bonsai approximately 28 years ago and  is still one of my favorites today. We all remember Mr. Myagi pruning his juniper bonsai and I'll bet that many people became bonsai enthusiasts from watching him! Though junipers are probably best suited as an outdoor bonsai, they can be easily grown indoors with a little extra TLC.    The photo shows one of my Juniper indoor bonsais on my computer desk at the window that it gets 5-7 hours a day of direct sunlight. I take  great care to keep my bonsai properly watered...not too much or too little, and make sure the pot has good drainage. I mist my Juniper bonsai a couple  times a day with a very mild foliar fertilizer to both feed and hydrate the foliage. When we have several overcast days, I have a florescent light fixture that I light the bonsai with for 14-16 hours a day.    Though my Juniper indoor bonsai tree is grown indoors, I do give it a  'time out' period from December through February. I place it out on my  covered porch to allow it to have a dormant period. In March, I unpot it to check out the root system to see if it is 'root bound' or has any other issues before I bring it back inside to my computer desk. I enjoy tending to my indoor bonsais and believe they are as therapeutic as they are aesthetically stimulating... Positively, Truman

Chinese Elm Bonsai

Occasionally people tell me about a bonsai tree they tried to grow a few years ago and usually ask me which bonsai I would recommend to a beginning gardener. Though I have several in mind, I prefer the Chinese Elm for a beginner's first indoor bonsai tree. For this bonsai specimen, the pros far outweigh the cons.    The Chinese Elm is a very hardy tree, both in and out of doors. As an outdoor bonsai, the tree will lose its leaves in the winter. As an indoor bonsai tree, it will keep its leaves and remain green throughout the winter and does not need a dormant period. This elm is resistant to most diseases including Dutch elm disease.     The soil of this bonsai should be kept moist but not soggy or over-watered. Make sure the pot has ample drainage and basic potting soil for best results. For fertilizer, one with a little extra nitrogen during the growing season will aid in extra growth and use less fertilizer in the winter months.    What I like most about the Chinese Elm is the ease of training and shaping the bonsai. When the tree is young, you can wire wrap the trunk and branches to begin gradually bending and shaping the tree to whatever style you would like. The trunk can slowly be bent into a twisted upright, cascade, or windswept shape...or, just let it grow upright like a normal, healthy elm would grow. The bonsai in the photo is an 8 year old small leaf Chinese Elm "shohin" bonsai whose trunk I trained into this interesting shape. This bonsai is 8" tall above the top of the pot and the pot is 4"x 5-1/2"...a rather small bonsai... but indeed, beautiful.    As far as the cons, I'm sure there may be some...but as of yet, I have not encountered any. I sincerely hope that many of you will find, as I have, that the Chinese Elm is truly a great indoor bonsai tree for all. Positively, Truman

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Indoor Bonsai Tree                       Foliar Fertilizer    Foliar fertilizers are a unique way to deliver nutrients to your indoor bonsai tree. Foliar fertilizers not only feed your bonsai through the foliage, but also by soaking into the bark. These fertilizers are generally mild to weak and sprayed in a light mist onto your bonsai. The foliar fertilizer I used on the Bougainvillea bonsai is a 7-9-5 ratio by Dyna-Gro and the recommended usage is 1/4 tsp per gallon for daily watering and 1/2 tsp per gallon to promote growth.    As you can see in the first photo of the Bougainvillea bonsai, the leaves were yellow and wilted and I wanted to bring some immediate attention to my little tree. At first, I misted and watered the bonsai  with the foliar fertilizer 2-3 times a day. After about a week, I cut back to misting and watering once a day...and 4 weeks later you can see a noticeable improvement in the appearance and vitality of my little tree.    Avoid over misting; the foliage should have a light mist on it rather than be dripping wet. The pot should have adequate drainage to avoid damaging and rotting the roots. Also, the prime time to mist your indoor bonsai tree is late in the evening. That's when the leaves of the bonsai and basically all plants open their pores to absorb the moisture of the dew falling. Since there is probably no dew falling in your house...a light misting of foliar fertilizer should 'dew'.  Happy Bonsai-ing! ~ Truman

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Elite Indoor Bonsai Tree

Texas Ebony    The Texas Ebony, once classified as Pithecellobium flexicaule, is now classified as Ebenopsis ebano, a legume. Texas Ebony is native to northern Mexico and south Texas and makes a great indoor bonsai tree due to its hardy constitution. The wood of the Texas Ebony is used to make furniture and wooden utensils and finishes to a smooth reddish-brown surface.    I think the Texas Ebony makes a really neatly shaped bonsai. The compound leaves are oval and add an elegant canopy to the zig-zagged branches. White and yellowish flowers adorn the tree in the summer and the seed pods contain several marble-sized seeds that have been rumored to have been used for a coffee substitute.    I have included two photos of my Texas Ebony bonsai...the photo of the bonsai on my drawing table illustrates how the leaves fold up at night or in low light conditions. The second photo displays the bonsai in its new pot and shows off the out of ordinary foliage. The hardiness and beauty of the Texas Ebony certainly make it an indoor bonsai tree for all seasons!  Positively, Truman

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Indoor Bonsai Tree

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August 29, 2010

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  I recently had my indoor bonsai trees out on my covered porch for a few days of pruning and I noticed I had fire ants in my bonsai...and I wasn't sure how many of them I had until I picked one of the pots up. Within 2 or 3 seconds, hundreds of fire ants were scurrying angrily out of every crack and crevice! I didn't know what to do at first...thought about it for a while. I didn't want to remove the dirt and have to re-pot them in the heat of the summer...and I didn't want to take a chance of poisoning my bonsai with a harsh pesticide. I certainly didn't want the ants to eat the roots! A flurry of ideas went through my mind and after considerable thought, I narrowed my order of battle down to 5 options...not knowing at the time, that I would end up using all 5 before the ants were totally annihilated! "Annihilated" is such a harsh word...and ordinarily I have a deep abiding respect for ants and bees. And, had the ants not set up camp in my bonsai, they would have never been in any danger from me...for the next 8 days, the ants proved to be a very formidable adversary.

   My first option was to fill my bathtub and place the pots of bonsai in the tub to try to drive them out. I placed the bonsai ( all 12 of them) in the tub and left them submerged for an hour. The ants were floating on the surface of the water and rafting up in small swarms. I took the bonsai out 1 at a time and rinsed them off in my kitchen sink with the spray hose to remove any ants that were clinging to the tree. It took a couple of hours to get them all off and I was satisfied that the ants were either gone or dead. When I awoke in the morning and went to check it out, not only were the ants still there, but they had rebuilt all their tunnels overnight! They either held their breath for an hour or had a new hatching of ants...or both!

   My second option was to over water my bonsai several times a day to try to convince the ants that they should move on to higher and dryer ground. After 3 days, the ants showed little sign of wanting to relocate.

   My third option was to use a well known ant bait to take back into the mound to kill the queen or queens. After 3 days and no noticeable decline of the ant population, I gave up on that idea. It probably would have eventually worked if I had given it more time...but it was almost as if I could hear the ants chewing on the roots of my bonsai and felt I should proceed on to the next "sure" thing!

   Option #4 was to use a liquid insecticide soap to soak the soil of the bonsai. At the end of the day, I couldn't see any positive results; so the next day I went to a nursery and bought a granulated insecticide that is formulated for ant mounds in flower beds. I sprinkled about 1/4 the amount of the granules recommended on the soil of the bonsai and then poured water gently into the pot to dissolve the insecticide. In the morning, the ants were dead or gone. I waited a day to make sure the ants were gone and then flushed to soil to remove the insecticide. I then installed high tech, no cost ant guards to prevent ants from climbing the legs of my potting table ever again! The ant guards consisted of 4 - 1 liter plastic bottles with the tops cut off and about 3 inches of water in them. I then placed each of the legs of my potting table inside one of the plastic jugs with water and made sure the legs were not touching the sides of the plastic jugs... 2 weeks later, we are still "ant free".

Truman Anderson

409 599 7112

honesttruman@yahoo.com

Indoor Bonsai Tree

Indoor Bonsai Tree

   There is some controversy about which bonsai grow better indoors and which ones grow better outdoors. Zelkova bonsai, serrisa bonsai, azalea bonsai, juniper bonsai, and ficus bonsai are generally considered to be more adaptable to indoor life than the more hardier bonsai types. Pine, cypress, oak, etc. are more suitable, generally speaking, to an outdoor environment. These assumptions are for the most part based on just standard daily care of the bonsai; whether indoor or outdoor. With the use of florescent grow lights, many bonsai considered to be outdoor bonsai can successfully be grown indoors.

   The small florescent lights that look like spiraled incandescent bulbs work great with flexible light fixtures that can be pointed at the bonsai. These can either be wall mounted or a desk top model and should be within 12 inches or so of the bonsai. These lights can either be turned on and off manually or connected to timers to insure the bonsai get 14-16 hours of light as well as 8-10 hours of darkness. Bonsai grown indoors should also be checked daily to make sure they are getting enough water and the water should have low mineral content like distilled or rainwater. Your bonsai should be fertilized lightly a couple times a month with a good liquid fertilizer to make sure they are getting the proper nutrition.

   I will be including some "how to" articles for building your own stands with oriental styled lanterns for your bonsai grow lights. These are very stylish and can either be free standing or wall mounted...and easily customized with your own personal touch! Happy bonsai-ing!

Truman Anderson

409 599 7112

honesttruman@yahoo.com

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Indoor Bonsai Tree

Welcome to the Elite Indoor Bonsai Tree site! I will be bringing you many interesting articles and how to FYI's about indoor bonsai. In time, I hope that many of you will grow to love communing with your bonsai through pruning, shaping, feeding, watering...and... simply watching them grow and mature! I look forward to meeting and communicating with like-minded bonsai enthusiasts and welcome any questions or comments you may have. Happy bonsai-ing!

Truman Anderson