Tropical Bonsai I love bonsai trees, not just the horticultural and styling aspects but being able to display them regularly in my home. I try to have at least one bonsai tree in my dining/living room every day. In my opinion this is why one grows them. When you bring a bonsai tree into your life and home, you are adding a natural element that will encourage you to embrace the creative areas of your personality. Once you begin to cultivate a unique bonsai, you will enhance your life with proximity to nature. Many of my bonsai friends keep their trees in their gardens only to be enjoyed when one ventures outside. Although this is certainly a pleasure, their individual trees are not always fully appreciated in an area where the weather is not always sunny and dry, and winters mean freezing or below freezing temperatures. Such Winter conditions inevitably mean that indigenous bonsai trees require a dormant period. In other words, they are certainly not left in their usual garden display areas and care must taken to keep them in a frost free temperatures. I know for a fact that some of my bonsai friends have lost bonsai trees worth hundreds of pounds in severe winters. Why Tropical Bonsai? Tropical bonsai trees are different in this respect. They must be brought indoors as outdoor temperatures fall. Although some tropical bonsai will survive near freezing temperatures for a very brief period of time (usually less than an hour), I generally like to bring my tropical bonsai indoors when the nightly temperatures fall regularly below 50 degrees F. Bringing one of my tropical bonsai into the living/dining room (which is kept at a higher temperature) for a day or two presents no problems even in the middle of the winter. I, therefore, am able to enjoy my tropical bonsai indoors all year round. Also, I find that displaying individual bonsai trees in this manner gives me a chance to evaluate the present styling. Adjustments that need to be made become more apparent. Furthermore, I am also able to work on my tropical trees the year round. Lastly, I am often told that growing tropical bonsai is not easy and keeping them alive over the winter is difficult. Let me address this. If you can grow indoor house plants you should with little or no effort be able to grow indoor tropical bonsai. Indoor or Tropical Bonsai are trees which normally grow in tropical climates. These trees have never experienced cold-sensitive conditions and would not know how to handle such conditions. They do not like extremely dry or arid conditions, so they are generally watered when the compost feels dry to the touch, so should be checked daily in Summer. They also benefit lots of sun. Tropical Bonsai may be kept on a sunny windowsill year-round. During the summer they love to be outside, but they will do well indoors. The air inside the house is very dry, so the use of a pebble tray or frequent misting is important. Tropical Bonsai like to be fertilized year-round. They will need pruning 3-4 times per year, and root pruning or re-potting every 2 years in the summer. Bonsai in this group include Serissa, Bougainvillea, Figs, Fukien Tea, Olives, Jade, Sageretia, Natal Plum, Jasmines, Palms, Gardenia, Brazilian Raintree, Jaboticaba, Podocarpus, Pomegranate, Schefflera, and Buttonwood, Adenium obesum, Jacaranda Mimosifolia, and African Baobab
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 19:03:49 +0000
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