rhineholt Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 However, I know nothing about them. All I know is they look really cool. I was wondering if somebody could point me in the right direction for this! Maybe a starter kit or something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rani Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 [quote name='rhineholt' timestamp='1335842468' post='546305'] However, I know nothing about them. All I know is they look really cool. I was wondering if somebody could point me in the right direction for this! Maybe a starter kit or something! [/quote] amazon.com believe it or not. 'Rani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhineholt Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 [quote name='Rani' timestamp='1335842779' post='546306'] [quote name='rhineholt' timestamp='1335842468' post='546305'] However, I know nothing about them. All I know is they look really cool. I was wondering if somebody could point me in the right direction for this! Maybe a starter kit or something! [/quote] amazon.com believe it or not. 'Rani [/quote] I was actually just looking there. Do you have any recommendations on which to get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rani Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 [quote name='rhineholt' timestamp='1335843980' post='546309'] [quote name='Rani' timestamp='1335842779' post='546306'] [quote name='rhineholt' timestamp='1335842468' post='546305'] However, I know nothing about them. All I know is they look really cool. I was wondering if somebody could point me in the right direction for this! Maybe a starter kit or something! [/quote] amazon.com believe it or not. 'Rani [/quote] I was actually just looking there. Do you have any recommendations on which to get? [/quote] Japanese elm and juniper are considered beginner trees. But bonsai clubs are everywhere. You can go to any search engine and put in "bonsai" and your zip code and there may be a bonsai or nursery near you. 'Rani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhineholt Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 [quote name='Rani' timestamp='1335846714' post='546314'] [quote name='rhineholt' timestamp='1335843980' post='546309'] [quote name='Rani' timestamp='1335842779' post='546306'] [quote name='rhineholt' timestamp='1335842468' post='546305'] However, I know nothing about them. All I know is they look really cool. I was wondering if somebody could point me in the right direction for this! Maybe a starter kit or something! [/quote] amazon.com believe it or not. 'Rani [/quote] I was actually just looking there. Do you have any recommendations on which to get? [/quote] Japanese elm and juniper are considered beginner trees. But bonsai clubs are everywhere. You can go to any search engine and put in "bonsai" and your zip code and there may be a bonsai or nursery near you. 'Rani [/quote] Wow, youre right! There's a place the next town over. Maybe i'll make a stop by there whenever I'm in the area! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendetta_revived Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Bonsai trees are cool as hell. Plus, if you're real lucky, [img]http://suisekibonsailife.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/dscn29281.jpg[/img] You may just run into someone who teaches you martial arts and gifts you a car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhineholt Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 I want a new car! This is perfect. hahha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venger Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 had a juniper for years (15) but they take constant maintenance and are very tricky. we went away for a week and something happened either it dried out or i over watered when i got back but it went into shock and died a slow death. It was like losing a family pet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 [quote name='vendetta_revived' timestamp='1335869352' post='546326'] Bonsai trees are cool as hell. Plus, if you're real lucky, [img]http://suisekibonsailife.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/dscn29281.jpg[/img] You may just run into someone who teaches you martial arts and gifts you a car. [/quote] I lol'd. Love Mr. Miyagi! [quote name='Venger' timestamp='1335890978' post='546336'] had a juniper for years (15) but they take constant maintenance and are very tricky. we went away for a week and something happened either it dried out or i over watered when i got back but it went into shock and died a slow death. It was like losing a family pet. [/quote] This has been the one deterrent from me getting one. I actually had one as a kid but it died because, well, I was a kid, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rani Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 The thing about most plants and trees is they generally do best with minimal input from humans. My office and my apartment are both beginning to look like a tropical forests with plants all over the place, although at the moment at home, everything has to be kept out of reach of Little Miss Keiko, the new kitten. I have a basic watering schedule, and fertilizer pellets or spikes in the right season, in locations for the lighting they prefer, and other than that I leave them alone. Well, except for talking to them constantly. Hell, I talk to the big trees outdoors..... It's a bit of a pagan/buddhist/native american thing, I think...... So pick something based on the location where you plan to put it - low light, bright, direct sun, whatever, and give it water and fertilizer when recommended and it will be with you for years and years. It's one of the things I love most about bonsai. Since they're actual trees rather than houseplants that tend to spread out all over the place, they're slow growing and happy in their little containers with just a minimum of attention. 'Rani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryno Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 So, these are basically mini trees? Specials seed or do you just trim them often enough they look like mini trees? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhineholt Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 The more you talk about it Rani, the more I want to just order this bonsai tree I found on Amazon for 20 bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rani Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 [quote name='ryno' timestamp='1335937005' post='546393'] So, these are basically mini trees? Specials seed or do you just trim them often enough they look like mini trees? [/quote] Believe it or not, they are the very same trees as the ones that grow 30 feet or more if left alone in the wild. (I've seen redwood bonsai.) Plants tend to conform to their environment, same as fish do. Want to keep your fish small, keep your tank small. Two foot long Koi are just goldfish that grew as big as their ponds. So if you keep a tree in a small planter, it's going to stay small. Keep pruning it over the years and it will stay tiny. Take a long at some of the really old bonsai in Japan that are hundreds of years old. They're pretty good sized, but still not as big as they would be if they were allowed to grow freely in the wild. The only thing I would warn you about mail ordering bonsai, is that if anything happens to the tree don't let it discourage you from continuing to work with bonsai. The trauma of transport can sometimes cause issues..... Just a mild warning because more often than not, it will be just fine. 'Rani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rani Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 [quote name='Venger' timestamp='1335890978' post='546336'] had a juniper for years (15) but they take constant maintenance and are very tricky. we went away for a week and something happened either it dried out or i over watered when i got back but it went into shock and died a slow death. It was like losing a family pet. [/quote] I don't know if anyone knows this trick..... But when you have to go on vacation, take thick cotton cording and a big bucket of water. Dunk the cotton cording into the water until it's sopping wet while you water your plants. Then take one end of the cotton cording and insert it into the soil of the planter. As the plant drinks and dries out the soil in the planter more is drawn out of the bucket through the cotton cording which acts like a wick.. So it waters itself for up to two weeks while you're off having a good time. Even longer depending on how big the bucket is you're drawing water from. My grandmother once watered nearly 60 African Violets while she went off to Europe for 3 weeks with this particular trick. 'Rani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryno Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Dang, now I really want some of these! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhineholt Posted May 4, 2012 Author Share Posted May 4, 2012 [url="http://www.amazon.com/Special-Bonsai-Starter-Japanese-Juniper/dp/B004A6F0Z0/ref=sr_1_8?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1336156237&sr=1-8"]http://www.amazon.com/Special-Bonsai-Starter-Japanese-Juniper/dp/B004A6F0Z0/ref=sr_1_8?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1336156237&sr=1-8[/url] Rani, what do you think? Or should I get this one? [url="http://www.amazon.com/9GreenBox-Bonsai-Juniper-Tree/dp/B000XY08PK/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1336156237&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.com/9GreenBox-Bonsai-Juniper-Tree/dp/B000XY08PK/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1336156237&sr=1-1[/url] I like the second one better.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rani Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Either one you're probably going to have to train yourself. Both are reasonably priced. Junipers need a fair amount of light, so you'll have to put it outside a lot of the time or get a plant light for it later on. You might be okay in a sunny window in Chicago. In California it would scorch under the glass, but probably not there. So pick whichever one you like and go for it. When it comes to the training part, you can either order a book, or check the various websites available for instructions and hints. I'm actually visiting a bonsai nursery this weekend, so might be coming home with a new addition myself. Why not..... I'd done nothing but buy pipes lately, lol..... 'Rani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhineholt Posted May 4, 2012 Author Share Posted May 4, 2012 For some reason, I thought these were like those mini cacti in the sense that all you have to do is water them. I guess I'm mistaken... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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