bonsai vs baby plants.

[mrme]

I dont want to jump in to this bonsai stuff as I know my plants will die. So i figured I would start off with a few baby plants from the flower store.

Their trucks are thin and they are far from being bonsai.
I am wondering if i can still stunt their growth and keep them trimmed to look like a s tree shape.

I feel like a variety of these put together would look ok despite the lack of the "bonsai look"
They are under a light full spectrum, I just bought them.

Why does every one use aged trees. Do new baby trees not work the same way ?

 

[cmeg1]

Really no reason why the size of the tree is a concern.Especially if it is just for hobby purposes.Depends on what level of bonsai we are talking about here.I find baby plants quite a lot of fun.
Heck,I started all my trees from seeds.My oldest tree is not three years old yet.The one below in last photo is only 1.5 years.

 

[Eric Group]

A baby tree looks like.. Well.. A baby tree. It will have no trunk girth, only a few large leaves popping off of a tiny trunk and look like what it is- a baby tree. The goal with bonsai is to create an impactful image that is a representation of a large tree (or in your case a grove/ forest of larger trees) displayed in miniature in a pot. To accomplish this you need some trunk and you deed to develop ramification and miniaturize the leaves. The baby Ficus you have here won't look like anything but a baby tree for years to come.

Doesn't mean you can't plant a bunch of them in a pot and call it a forest.. Go ahead if you like. Just saying that you need to create some perspective to make an image that looks like small versions of older mature trees.

 

[mrme]

Really no reason why the size of the tree is a concern.Especially if it is just for hobby purposes.Depends on what level of bonsai we are talking about here.I find baby plants quite a lot of fun.
Heck,I started all my trees from seeds.My oldest tree is not three years old yet.The one below in last photo is only 1.5 years.

That is really reassuring, I just find it a bit scary that I don't see nice pictures of baby plants ANYWHERE on the net. They are always bonsais, I cut off some of the leaves of my baby benjamina. I don't know how old it is by the stem is like a wire or as thick as a flower stem.
The branches grow up with vigor I imagine this is cause it is young. The leaves are huge. I read some where that cutting off leaves will allow for new leaves to grow in that are thinner ?

Is it too early to cut of the leaves ? Is that even an option this young in the plants life ?
I also have a jade. as you see in the picture. not sure what to do with that.

I have a crazy idea of cutting off the bottom leaves of the jade and wrapping something around the stem. or putting a slit straw around the stem. . maybe this will encourage it to grow up towards my grow bulb more like a tree ?

These poor plants, they were so happy when i rescued them from the store.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Why does every one use aged trees. Do new baby trees not work the same way ?

Wabi-sabi (侘寂) represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience.

The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete".

If an object can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi.

Age is an important factor - as is a sense of wear or use. Young trees do not capture the same aura. Note - the tree doesn't HAVE to be old... it just has to LOOK old.

 

[mrme]

A baby tree looks like.. Well.. A baby tree. It will have no trunk girth, only a few large leaves popping off of a tiny trunk and look like what it is- a baby tree. The goal with bonsai is to create an impactful image that is a representation of a large tree (or in your case a grove/ forest of larger trees) displayed in miniature in a pot. To accomplish this you need some trunk and you deed to develop ramification and miniaturize the leaves. The baby Ficus you have here won't look like anything but a baby tree for years to come.

Doesn't mean you can't plant a bunch of them in a pot and call it a forest.. Go ahead if you like. Just saying that you need to create some perspective to make an image that looks like small versions of older mature trees.

Yes I would love to have a bonsai. But I want it to be indoor. So with the little experience I have I just know it will die. the baby plants are 6 $ a bonsai with a big trunk is 100+$..

down the line i will hunt for a tree. but my last attempt at was kinda pathetic lol..

 

[mrme]

Wabi-sabi (侘寂) represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience.

The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete".

If an object can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi.

Age is an important factor - as is a sense of wear or use. Young trees do not capture the same aura. Note - the tree doesn't HAVE to be old... it just has to LOOK old.

I am using these babys to avoid falling in the trap of dishing out 100$ and having a plant indoors that dies.

I am in a some what of a "rush" to have some thing to display while I learn the ropes and see if my plants survive indoors with this full spectrum bulb in the dry Canadian indoors.

But I feel like no one has experimented with baby trees. There's no pics of it on the net. Why ?
a bit more greenage and a bit more smaller leaves on the Benjamin and I think it will be OK to display and play around with. I can live with a small trunk to save 100$ for now.

 

[mrme]

Really no reason why the size of the tree is a concern.Especially if it is just for hobby purposes.Depends on what level of bonsai we are talking about here.I find baby plants quite a lot of fun.
Heck,I started all my trees from seeds.My oldest tree is not three years old yet.The one below in last photo is only 1.5 years.

I think those are sufficient to start. your leaves are really small. Im not sure why their are so few leaves though. a bit more greenage and it could look kinda like a tree. Its no bonsai, but put a bunch of them together on a rock that looks like a cliff and i think that would be appealing to the eyes.
But again. I have yet to see such a setup for some reason.

 

[mrme]

If you look in the back ground of my picture you will see my dieing evergreen lemon cypress thingy.

If it would of survived, i think it really did look like a real tall evergreen. If I had been able to separate out the trunks some how (even if half the tree would of been lost) I think it would of looked really cool.

Just drop some fake snow on the ground with a little cabin under it and it would of been really good.
The tree really looks like mini tall evergreen in my opinion. When I saw it I thought it would cost 40$ plus.

For example this tree , though it is older then mine, is not that bad for the time being. A few of them together and you have a park
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0087L5JNM/?tag=nicoler-20

 

[wireme]

Baby plants, partially its a matter of scale. If you want to see examples on the net of young small trees being trained and used then try a google image search for super mini bonsai. You'll see some fun young plants and some very small older material as well.

 

[Anthony]

Mr.me,

take heart, look seeds, and rescured children.
Good Day
Anthony

[1] Sageretia from seed - maybe 4 years old - 7" [ 18 cm tall ]

[2] Fukien tea and maybe a Xanthoxylum [ spelling ]

[3] Found seedling -> 4 years training

 

[cmeg1]

http://m.blogs.yahoo.co.jp/fwnt1093/MYBLOG/yblog.html/

Here is a great link,enjoy . It is an awesome blog.

 

[mrme]

Mr.me,

take heart, look seeds, and rescured children.
Good Day
Anthony

[1] Sageretia from seed - maybe 4 years old - 7" [ 18 cm tall ]

[2] Fukien tea and maybe a Xanthoxylum [ spelling ]

[3] Found seedling -> 4 years training

Wow these are really great ! Why cant I just buy one like this for cheap ? Are these indoor or out door ? you think they would grow under my florescent bulb with a 6400 spectrum ?

If so i would definitely buy these seeds.
you did a good job with them. Love the first one

 

[mrme]

These are so cool . They are just like bonsais ! Unfortunately They are too small for the space i have to fill.

But I was thinking maybe it would be better to have a bunch of these put together on a rock or cliff like rock.

I don't get it though. How can they be so small. im looking at my jade and benjamina and cant imagine it that small.

At that height wouldn't they just be trying to grow a stem and be green all over ?
How do you get it to skip the height growth and go straight to leave development ?
CAn i do this with my 1 foot benjamina, like cut it down? or my jade ?

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I don't get it though. How can they be so small. im looking at my jade and benjamina and cant imagine it that small.

At that height wouldn't they just be trying to grow a stem and be green all over ?
How do you get it to skip the height growth and go straight to leave development ?
CAn i do this with my 1 foot benjamina, like cut it down? or my jade ?

Remember, as I've said, your Jade and benjamina can't be that small. The leaves don't reduce enough. And, as I've also said, You can't cut your benjamina back hard. It won't like it.

 

[Anthony]

Mrme,

on another topic, I think I left you two sites to read up on, dealing with growing under lights,

http://www.fukubonsai.com/2b2a2a.html

http://www.fukubonsai.com/1a9a.html

You can grow Benjamina as a miniature, if you use a single to 3 leafed cutting. But as Ryan said the leaves will resist shrinking down. However there are smaller leafed cultivars of the Ficus, so just look around.
Additionally look for Elephant Bush [ Portulacaria afra - dwarf jade. ] you can make miniatures of that one.

http://www.bonsaiboy.com/catalog/jadecare.html

Example -

http://www.bonsaiboy.com/catalog/product380.html

The Sageretia theesans is Sub-tropical and very good for indoor growing under lights [ see Jack Wikle ], can go as low as zone 7, if grown outdoors all year long. However, the trees [ mallsai ] are trained for mostly warmer indoor temperatures.

Test, test, test -------- with cuttings.

Good Day
Anthony

 

[mrme]

Mrme,

on another topic, I think I left you two sites to read up on, dealing with growing under lights,

http://www.fukubonsai.com/2b2a2a.html

http://www.fukubonsai.com/1a9a.html

You can grow Benjamina as a miniature, if you use a single to 3 leafed cutting. But as Ryan said the leaves will resist shrinking down. However there are smaller leafed cultivars of the Ficus, so just look around.
Additionally look for Elephant Bush [ Portulacaria afra - dwarf jade. ] you can make miniatures of that one.

http://www.bonsaiboy.com/catalog/jadecare.html

Example -

http://www.bonsaiboy.com/catalog/product380.html

The Sageretia theesans is Sub-tropical and very good for indoor growing under lights [ see Jack Wikle ], can go as low as zone 7, if grown outdoors all year long. However, the trees [ mallsai ] are trained for mostly warmer indoor temperatures.

Test, test, test -------- with cuttings.

Good Day
Anthony

I tried to take some leaves and put them in water, they did not grow in to plants or show any roots. ill try a cutting of 3 leaves.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I tried to take some leaves and put them in water, they did not grow in to plants or show any roots. ill try a cutting of 3 leaves.

Ficus won't root from leaf, try actual woody cuttings.

 

[Anthony]

Mrme,

two ficus to get you on your way.

[1] Grown from a cutting with 3 leaves taken in Florence, Italy.[ around 1984 ]
Unknown type, but leaf is never shiny, weeps though [ Ryan ?]

[2] Grown from a cutting, 3 leaves, taken from a heap at a Bonsai Class. [ leaf has darker green, surrounded by lighter green [ Ryan ? ]] maybe 4 years old.

[a ] Taken earlier this year.

[b ] Taken October this year.

Keep the faith.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[augustine]

The only requirement is that you enjoy the activity, nothing wrong with young plants. However experienced people will not consider your plants to be bonsai. Why will you kill them all?

Do some reading, you'll understand. Find a club and go to a few meetings.