bonsai trees

[rottunpunk]

ok can anyone recommend a good bonsai book that i can get in a normal bookshop

cuz ive tried everything and my first bonsai is really sufering even though i got it to grow again i took it home for the summer and put it with my brothers which is doing ace and now its started to wilt again

and im scared im gonna do the same to my new one which has pretty pink flowers on it

any help would be greatly recieved
cheers
:p

[IRJ]

ok can anyone recommend a good bonsai book that i can get in a normal bookshop

cuz ive tried everything and my first bonsai is really sufering even though i got it to grow again i took it home for the summer and put it with my brothers which is doing ace and now its started to wilt again

and im scared im gonna do the same to my new one which has pretty pink flowers on it

any help would be greatly recieved
cheers
:p

There's a pretty good one for beginners called Totally Bonsai. It has good diagrams and covers everything you need to know, and I think it's relatively cheap. It has good info on keeping your bonsai alive so it sounds like it'd help you.

[rottunpunk]

coolies
ill take a look
thanks irj

so do you have bonsais?

:p

[Phlebas]

I am by no means an expert on bonsai, but I have a small five or six year old cherry tree, and I'm eyeing a nice plum tree about the same maturity. I like the ones with white flowers, as you can tell. I'm really more experienced with orchids, but here goes:

From what I have read in books (free at Chapters) and heard from speaking to growers, the most important issues are sunlight and humidity. Keep a spray bottle near the tree and spray the leaves, branches and growing medium every time you pass by... you can't over-spray bonsai, they love it. The light issue is a bit more species-specific, and also depends on whether it is outside or inside. A good rule of thumb is at least 2 full hours of direct sunlight per day, preferably with a few more hours of diffuse sunlight as well. Temperature is less critical (unlike orchids) and most bonsai are comfortable and happy at "room" temperatures, and even quite a bit more or less, too. Keep in mind that the higher the temperature, the faster water evaporates (regardless of relative humidity) so the hotter the environment, the more important to increase watering and spraying. Get yourself a combination thermometer/hygrometer so you know exactly what your environment is.

Go check out Chapters (or your local equivalent)for more free info! There are some good books that have pictorial descriptions of repotting techniques, root trimming and so on. Bonsai is an art form, but I just like white flowers and try to get a good bloom every year. I don't shape or train or get all artsy about my trees, really. I just try to keep them happy so they flower for me.

Good luck! Let me know how it goes, I'd love to hear more.

[rottunpunk]

cheers dude

i havent really been spraying them-so maybe thats the problem

my first one is groing some new shoots now-so hopefully it wont look so bald in a bit-it was doing great where i put it until the cat decided she liked eating it so i moved it and it went wrong from there

my second started dropping leaves when i was knocking them to dead head it (even though its meant to be rubbery so it wont) and i havent touched it since but ive been watering it a lot more now

thanx for the advice -ill go get me a spray bottle

:p

[Phorest]

Just out of curiosity rottunpunk...what kind of Bonsai are you raising? I'm about to order a Chinese Elm to keep on my balcony...so I guess you could say I'm a bit interested in Bonsai growing. :tongue:

Anyone else on here do any bonsai-ing?

[rottunpunk]

heyo

well the first
which did die but my mummy looked after it 4 a couple of months so its ok now (well she really just put it outside and left it to do its thing) is a sinesis

and the second one which is quite ill looking but its growing some leaves cuz i put it in a really bright window is a crassula sarcocaulis
but im scared of whats gonna happen to it when the sun runs away for winter-dya know of any lamps or something i can buy to keep it alive? its meant to be evergreen but it only has a little of that left

oh yeah and i got a pine in one of those grow your own kits
i have to take the seeds out the fridge and plant them 2nite-lets prey it grows

did you get your one yet phorest? how is it?

:p