A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum bonsai trees

i pretty much know nothing about these bonsai trees my questions are. humidity, root growing room, light, watering and how cold or hot to keep them. and also anything on how to make ivys explode in growing.

Bonsai are grown from different kinds of plants with different needs. So what works for a cedar kept miniature or a or pyracantha, may be different lighting, humidity, etc.
Ivies need lots of light and regular water to grow. When looking at commercial fertilizers, the first number is nitrogen. And nitrogen improves green growth. So a fertilizer with a 9-4-4, would give you green, for instance.

ok two more questions whats the last two numbers on the bag? and i was reading something about phosphorus for the roots of a plant if you know any details on that i would apreciate it. "see signature"

N-P-K, Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium(potash).
The easy way is nitro for green growth, Phos for strong stems and growth, and potash for good root. There is a lot more science to it than that and too much of any of those is not a good thing.

bonsai trees are just normal trees or bushes pruned to resemble a full grown tree. Most that you see in photos are old enough to had time for the trunk on the bonsai to broaden making it look more professionally done. Altho about once a year you need to take them out of their pots to trim their roots and replace the soil. After you prune the young plant to resemble a full grown one, if some of the branches arent in the right place or growing the right way then wrap some copper wire around those branches and bend them the right may.

also if you want your ivy to grow good, give it some extra potasium because they are mostly roots anyway.

Bonsai's are fun, what type ofo tree did you get, I had a juniper that lasted almost a year before I killed it and now I have a jade bonsai thats about 4 years old, that keeps threatening to die, then we give up on it and it comes back to life. I also have a jade that about 8 years old and going strong, I like braiding the branches on it.

Jade trees do thrive on neglect lol.

some good bonsai specimen are california juniper, japanese maple, and red cedar.

A Bonsai prefers morning sun with protection from afternoon sun in summer. Filtered sun in the afternoon is okay. If your Bonsai is placed against a wall make sure you turn it around every two weeks. If the tree is not turned every two weeks it may grow out of shape as it grows towards the light. Do not place a bonsai pot directly onto concrete if it will be subject to direct sunlight for long periods. The heat generated off the concrete coupled with the small amount of soil in a bonsai pot can bake the roots of the tree and kill it.

Correct watering is the most important thing to learn about caring for bonsai. Most trees need more water in summer than they do in winter. The more leaves on a tree and the larger the leaves will determine the amount of water a tree requires. Be careful not to overwater in winter, especially deciduous trees as a tree with no winter foliage uses very little water.

Bonsai should be fertilized once every two weeks during spring and early summer. With deciduous trees do not fertilize in spring until two weeks after the leaves have opened. Fertilize twice again in Autumn, two weeks apart. With deciduous trees fertilize when leaves start to change color in autumn .