Why you cannot keep bonsai trees indoors

[Clicio]

Well, I live in a tropical country, which means high humidity, no cold winters and plenty of natural sunshine, even indoors if you have a big window or a balcony.
I have lived in a flat for many years, growing bonsai inside.
Once I got a proper garden outside, the very same bonsai that were struggling indoors, began to thrive.
The main reason was that inside I would water less, spray less fungicides and insecticides, use less fertilizers because of the furniture, wooden floors etc. and of course, lack of wind. And dew. And polinizers. And one of the main problems was the constant temperature inside, with no big difference between day and night, which seems to have a huge impact in the overall way plants like to grow.
Now they are outside, and surprisingly I work much less trying to keep all of them alive. In fact, even if I don't care at all for two or three months, just watering them, they do their thing and grow.
So to summarize: there is no such a thing as "inside bonsai", it's just a trick to sell more tropical saplings to newbies.

 

[rusticana]

There are ones that can be done. Good light is critical. I also keep my place relatively cool. Never trees from a temperate climate unless they range into the subtropics. Mine I bring indoors so they have a huge advantage being outside once it warms up. Mostly in full sun. So they can store up energy for the lean period. Podocarpus, pomegranate, serissa and Montezuma cypress are my examples.

 

[MSGhero]

I think a better way to say this is "It is near impossible for someone new to horticulture to learn what they need to know, to be able to grow bonsai indoors, in less than one year".

I've been growing orchids under lights, for over 45 years. Most of this time my collection was over 1000 plants. Growing sub-tropical and tropical trees under lights is do-able after the long internship I've served raising orchids. I will say "summer outdoors" makes life much easier. These days, I'm retired and downsizing. I only have 5 or so trees that are subtropicals or tropicals. Only one Ficus, A fun Bursera, love the fragrance, not much for looks, a new gardenia and a few others.

I would say, it would be impossible for a beginner to get the horticulture down without major mortalities the first 5 years or so. But if you know the horticulture from other under lights plant hobbies, just getting the light intensities up and air movement up to prevent heat gain in the leaves, it is possible to do some trees well.

This is a much better first post to this thread to be honest. For the people in "New York City condos" who would put the tropical outdoors if they could, the first post here discourages them from even trying when they might have otherwise built a love for the hobby. Just because the tree would grow multiple times more outside doesn't prevent you from growing it indoors and moving it outside when you're finally able.

For non-tropicals, the first post is absolutely the first thing people should see.

 

[ajm55555]

I would put it like this:
Can you replicate the native environment of a tree in your apartment?
Environment is light, temperature, seasons, etc including all the interactions with other life forms a plant might need.
The closer you get, the better the result.
Answer: most likely not enough.

 

[MaciekA]

I have become convinced that the best way to convince people to grow bonsai outside is by the ruthless principle of Fuck Around and Find Out. The passion with which outdoor growers (myself included) try to convey this idea is, IMO, pretty fruitless. Interacting with a relative torrent of indoor-tree killers over on reddit weathers you down to this perspective. People are going to do whatever they want to do, but photosynthesis and hormones will either bring them back to earth one way or another, or confirm that yes, 500 Watts is enough for portulacaria.

 

[BrianBay9]

I have become convinced that the best way to convince people to grow bonsai outside is by the ruthless principle of Fuck Around and Find Out. The passion with which outdoor growers (myself included) try to convey this idea is, IMO, pretty fruitless. Interacting with a relative torrent of indoor-tree killers over on reddit weathers you down to this perspective. People are going to do whatever they want to do, but photosynthesis and hormones will either bring them back to earth one way or another, or confirm that yes, 500 Watts is enough for portulacaria.

Yes, my response after getting pushback to outdoor growing is, "Then view this the same as you would cut flowers". Cut flowers are often in the $50 - $100 range from a florist. They look great for some period of time. You expect them to die and be replaced.

 

[dbonsaiw]

Was at the mall a few days back and was surprised to see a bonsai store. The trees there were basically dead and dying. No set up for lights or anything else. Not sure what they were thinking.

I have a very limited number of tropicals - just vachelia and P Afra at this point. Outside they seem to do better, but I must say they are doing fine indoors under 3 lights and inside a reflective tent. The house tends to be very dry, especially in the winter, but the tent maintains a fair amount of humidity even with the zipper open. I could probably use some airflow.

The pics show the difference between the vachelia when I brought them in after a haircut and about 3+ weeks later.

 

[Aaron the Great]

I got a tree once, it's species was "Bonsai" and I didn't know if it was an innie or and outie. It was a privet and I kept it inside at my radio desk and kept a plant light right over it. The leaves were wavy but I kept it alive for about three years and I defoliated it, and then it died. The main trunk and canopy that it had when I got it, never really grew much but I think that I got nearly a hundred suckers off it. Now only my ficus and Norfolk Island Pine are inside when its cold. I feel luck in that I have a 15X30 bonsai garden in the back yard, but almost all of my trees died last year
I have a bunch of health problems where I spend most of my time in bed. So I'm encouraged to keep my trees outside as sometimes going outside to water my trees is the only exercise I can get. I want to get me one of those wire bonsai trees like this:

I'm sure that I can keep it inside. My other hobby is amateur radio and my desk has a bunch of wires and I think that something like this would fit in on my desk.

 

[Sjfrank]

Probably the biggest misunderstanding people have when starting out in bonsai - and the greatest mistake they make - is to think that they can keep bonsai trees indoors. With only a few exceptions, all bonsai trees must be kept outside, or they will die a quick and certain death. Even the short list of tropical trees that can be kept indoors would do better if they were kept outside. I wanted to create a thread for people to discuss this subject - and the horticultural reasons why this is true - so that we can avoid unnecessary tree deaths and the disappointment bonsai beginners feel when their first efforts end in failure.

Sadly, I have found that some retailers even sell their bonsai trees like they were houseplants - or label them as "indoor bonsai" to differentiate them from "outdoor bonsai". There is no such differentiation. They are all outdoor bonsai... though a tiny percentage may be kept alive indoors if the proper environment can be provided. This is certainly the exception and not the rule.

Worst yet is people who post on social media fake information like "I kept my bald cypress indoors and it did fine!". This thread is here to debunk that nonsense.

I will be editing this post as I have time - to create a lasting resource here on the site.

I'm new and wish i found this site - I got a tea leaf and a Ficus and the tea leaf is dropping all its leaves. I wanted to have something to do in the winter here(Connecticut USA) but I really wish I just waited until spring and got something I can keep outside all year. But thought it would be interesting to have a couple through the winter. I just cant get enough sun. I hope to keep it alive through the winter but i think Im going to take the L on the tea leaf. Live and learn.

 

[TrevorLarsen]

I have not experience in growing indoors, but hearing Jack Wikle interviews really blew my mind. I have shared his work on this site before, but I am curious what the consensus on Jack is. I have just seen his interviews and read his paper, so I have no idea if it is doable or not. From what I have heard people seem to think only Jack could do what he has done, but his success has really blown my mind. Here is his work I have found.

https://jackwiklebonsailegacy.com/

And here is his paper.

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

I totally would have believed indoor growing was impossible, but like I said Jack has made me question things.

 

[nuttiest]

Noooooooo! This is not a Jack Wikle thread. I Implore you to start a whole new thread on Jack but this thread is about why you can't grow inside and 90% of the posts are unsupportive/ oppositional / exception to the rule.
It's Christmas shopping time and many will get bonsai gifts. They will look at the tag from the retailer that sold it, maybe get a mouthful of shitty advice and proceed from there.
It is what to do/ say about that when they have trouble and land here, if it might not be too late to save.

 

[Gabler]

Noooooooo! This is not a Jack Wikle thread. I Implore you to start a whole new thread on Jack but this thread is about why you can't grow inside and 90% of the posts are unsupportive/ oppositional / exception to the rule.
It's Christmas shopping time and many will get bonsai gifts. They will look at the tag from the retailer that sold it, maybe get a mouthful of shitty advice and proceed from there.
It is what to do/ say about that when they have trouble and land here, if it might not be too late to save.

This is a public forum where users post their thoughts and opinions. Controversial opinions are expected. Regardless, reading this thread makes it pretty clear that indoor growing adds a lot of extra challenges, even if many posts are about exceptions to the rule. If someone still decides to grow trees indoors, that's his own fault.

 

[coh]

...From what I have heard people seem to think only Jack could do what he has done, but his success has really blown my mind. Here is his work I have found.

I've heard people say that too. I've also heard others claim that Jack just happened to find the only 2 (or however many) junipers in the world capable of being grown completely indoors under fluorescent lighting. Of course, both statements are completely ridiculous. Easy to do? No. Impossible? No. Recommended for beginners? Probably not, but then again beginners tend to lose lots of trees whether they are inside or outside.

 

[BrianBay9]

Go ahead. Grow indoors. Spend lots of money. Kill most of your trees. It's all up to you.

 

[nuttiest]

This is a public forum where users post their thoughts and opinions. Controversial opinions are expected.

Sorry Trevor! Overreacting here.

 

[penumbra]

I'm new and wish i found this site - I got a tea leaf and a Ficus and the tea leaf is dropping all its leaves. I wanted to have something to do in the winter here(Connecticut USA) but I really wish I just waited until spring and got something I can keep outside all year. But thought it would be interesting to have a couple through the winter. I just cant get enough sun. I hope to keep it alive through the winter but i think Im going to take the L on the tea leaf. Live and learn.

I have had my Fukian Tea inside under lights for at least 6 years now. It is healthy, but they are generally untidy plants that require a lot of clean u pruning.

 

[dbonsaiw]

My 2 cents - it is far easier to grow tropical indoors for the winter than it is to do the same with deciduous or other temperate trees. Probably not impossible, but close to practically unrealistic to create dormancy conditions indoors. My guess is that one is like 99.9% sure to kill their temperate trees growing indoors.

Maybe a little off topic, but on Nuttiest’s comment regarding Christmas gifts, it pays to purchase these gifts from a nursery in a similar climate as you. I had a few nice gifts struggle (and die) because they came from (reputable) bonsai shops in a warmer climate that just didn’t have the chance to acclimate to a NY winter. The tree were nice and otherwise healthy, but just couldn’t adjust fast enough.

 

[coh]

Go ahead. Grow indoors. Spend lots of money. Kill most of your trees. It's all up to you.

Being the most obnoxious poster in a thread doesn't make you right - it just makes you obnoxious.

Side note - what the hell do they put in the water supply in Fresno?

 

[TrevorLarsen]

Sorry if me posting about Jack was mistake. I just think his work is very much worth being aware of when discussing the topic of indoor growing. Obviously like I said I have no idea if his method is actually something non-Jacks can do. I would never suggest to a newbie that his method would likely work for them.

 

[DonielDoom]

I'd imagine pests and disease become a much different challenge when attempting to grow indoors. The lack of a typical ecological community seems like a recipe for certain undesirables to have free reign. Treatment measures also seem to be a logistical burden in indoor spaces, especially ones shared with people or pets.

I speculate that a trees natural pest resistance lowers in relation to overall vigor, too, making it more susceptible to health issues.

It seems near certain that a tree will be in deficit of something it requires to maintain and build health indoors. I interpret that as it being weakened to some extent, and ironically more prone to pests, disease, and other stressors. The snowball gets big quickly.