I am something of a bonsai enthusiast. I prefer making my own bonsai from scratch, instead of buying pre-made plants (I have a very good reason for this--most bonsai you buy are mass-produced in China and have received completely half-a**ed care more times than not. As a consequence, a lot of the plants you buy are on the verge of death or past it--they can still look good for weeks after they have effectively died.) I make my own pots.

Here's a specimen that I just got done potting. The species is Shiny Xylosma (xylosma congestum) and I originally bought the plant as Garden center stock. It is currently in a training pot that I created that is deeper than a normal bonsai pot. This is b/c the plant was originally in a gallon container, and making it fit into a shallow (1.5"-2" deep) bonsai pot would probably be fatal. I plan to leave it in its current pot for about a year, and then transplant it into a smaller pot.

The soil is predominately cat litter (it makes a damn good soil and is cheaper than imported akadama soil from Japan) with some good potting soil added in.

The first shot is of the whole plant, and the second shot is a closeup of the pot that it is in.

cool dude. You'll have to keep us updated as you progress...

omq if i partake of the bonsai tree will the orientals liek me

anyway, keep posting dude, wanna see progress

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elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
  do other babe}
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Sweet! I do a little, minimal bit of Bonzai too. I had to get a new plant after, exactly what you said, one of my plants died after 3 weeks of looking healthy. I ended up checking the roots and they'd been dead for at least a week before I even got it. So now I'm using the same kind of stock plant, but one hand-grown at a local place specifically for gardens. I told him I was using it as a Bonzai and he was delighted because he said that his plants tend to do really well if you know what you're doing.

I'm not at all an expert, but I do have fun with it. I'm a fantastic vegitable grower, so I know a general lot about plants, and because of that am able to keep my mother's garden healthy, and figured I'd try bonzai.

JediKirby

meow

Yeah, you bought one of the plants that gives bonsai a bad name. Enthusiasts call these things "mallsai" since they are bought at shopping malls and garden stores.
The worst thing about them is that they are rooted in clay (covered with a thin top layer of decent soil to trick newbies) . This wretched clay literally suffocates the roots by holding in excessive water and causes root rot (which is probably what happened to yours). Also, a lot of mallsai comes with those damn pebbles that are glued on top and most people don't know that those have to be chiseled off immediately. Also, mallsai are chronically underwatered when they are on the store shelves, and underwatering a bonsai is the best and most effective way to kill it.

If you want to learn the ins and outs of bonsai, try this site:

bonsai4me.com

The site has extensive articles and information available and has taught me most of what I know.

Will do. The tree's leaves have since turned bright red since that photo was taken, and I'm going to post pictures soon.

The Xylosma species is usually evergreen, but in my climate it tends to be decidious.

Exactly. Those pebbles, clay, rotted roots, the works. It was a big waste of 15 dollars.

BANZAI!

...
Sorry.

So... could you just briefly explain what bonsai is? It seems, from a casual glance, to be taking Zen-like minimalism a bit TOO far by trying to grow a supposedly cool-looking plant in the smallest rootspace possible. Perhaps its the harbinger of an overcrowded future.

Someone woke up on the dystopian side of the bed this morning...

The purpose of the art of bonsai is to create a miniture tree that has the appearance of a mature tree of normal height.



The plant is kept small through pruning and root trimming, and all of the features that help to convey age are done artificially.