How do you feel about............

[bluemoon]

Bonsai trees?

I was given one for Christmas by someone very special (no2 son) Actually it was a very thoughtful gift. I love GYO, love trees and I paint. So an art-form which involved trees and growing things is perfect. - or at least it should be, if I'm honest I've never been entirely comfortable with the idea. To make matters worse I visited a U.S. web-site to find out how to care for it only to find that their home page almost entirely consisted of a disclaimer which told of how they were often accused of tree cruelty, but how this wasn't true and they were nice people who loved the natural world and had the deepest respect for all living things...... really.....honest.

Now whilst I accept that this is a little OTT I sort of know what their critics mean. Someone elsewhere said that there's an element of the foot-binder to it and I understand that too.

My tree is very beautiful and came from a specialist nursery so I'm lucky, and it's doing well. Apparently the ones you find in DIY stores and supermarkets have not been raised as you might expect, but have been grown as a crop in the soil, then dug up and stuck in an often inadequate pot just prior to sale, which is one of the reasons they don't always live for very long - the other being that they need to be outdoors, but they're usually treated as houseplants.

The one I have is very precious to me simply because of who gave it to me, so I'm hanging on to it (and I have since bought it a 'friend'; a tree on its own just wasn't right) But I admit I do look at them and wonder.......

[rustylady]

Me too - a friend gave me one as a present and it was a lovely thought but I was never quite comfortable with it. I cared for it as instructed but it eventually gave up and died.

[bramble]

Am i missing the point here. They are just trees that have been dwarfed so you can have the joy of watching it grow and helping to shape it. There are all kinds of fruit trees and others which are grafted on to dwarf root stock and everyone seems to find it acceptable.
Enjoy your tree and treasure it because of the person who gave it to you.

[Seahorse]

I'm not really comfortable with them either. I think they're interesting, beautiful even but it somehow feels like they've been denied their potential. Probably not entirely rational but that's how I feel. That said, I would enjoy yours bluemoon, because of where it came from.

Bramble - I don't like those grafts where you get two trees (apple and pear etc) on one trunk either!

[smallblueplanet]

I think bonsai are fabulous trees. Its not like they're GM is it!? Everyone growing stuff in pots are they some sort of 'foot-binders'? Lol!

I would love a properly grown bonsia, especially a maple, but I'm not sure whether I'd have the skill needed to look after them. Don't you have to trim roots and stuff? Anyway get yourself some books from the library if you haven't already. Oh and don't treat them as houseplants they belong outdoors.

I've several acers in pots the biggest tree is about 4ft high, I suppose their all bonsai'ed, just not as extreme. We've also a grafted plum tree with two varieties of plum on it, that makes me a bit 'twitchy' - I always used to joke that grafts were 'the devils work'!

[bluemoon]

It's more of an emotional response really (so probably not logical) it's because they could be huge majestic things but are confined in a titchy pot - sort of feels 'wrong'. I've joined a local bonsai club (sad, I know) and they're going to show me how to do the root pruning and training when I take them along there for a night out. I've read a fair bit on the subject since Christmas and the subject is fascinating and many of the trees are very beautiful; it's just that I still have this lingering doubt......

[JanieB]

I was given a bonsai "kit" a few years ago. Part of the instructions were to soak the seed in water then put in absorbent paper and store in the fridge for a cuppla days. Ooooh, guess what. Someone in the family saw this piece of paper in the fridge and chucked it.

I still have the rest of the kit but no tree .

Would still like to use it but don't know what seed to use instead.

[shirlthegirl43]

I have some beech seedlings which I grew from beech nuts. I don't have space in the garden for a full sized beech tree and didn't really expect them to grow. I hope to use some in a hedging capacity where they will be cropped - does that make me cruel for trimming the hedge? I see nothing wrong with bonsai - yes they could be a full sized tree, but remember, most of the houseplants we have actually grow to a much bigger size outdoors somewhere in the world!!

[bluemoon]

I was given a bonsai "kit" a few years ago. Part of the instructions were to soak the seed in water then put in absorbent paper and store in the fridge for a cuppla days. Ooooh, guess what. Someone in the family saw this piece of paper in the fridge and chucked it.

I still have the rest of the kit but no tree .

Would still like to use it but don't know what seed to use instead.

Look on e-bay. A friend bought me some Cedar of Lebanon seeds when she realized I was getting hooked, but they have many other different types. The advice from the club is not to put them in the freezer but to sow them with a minimum of compost covering and place the pot/tray outside. Pop the pot into one of those net bags that oranges come in to keep the birds from eating the seeds and then let nature take its course. Many trees take two years to germinate so don't give up if they don't appear this spring, but if the weather is particularly mild over the next few weeks you could occasionally seal the whole thing inside a carrier bag and put it in the freezer overnight to give them a fake frost. - there should be less chance of them getting thrown away then too. Once germinated the saplings need to be left in their original container for a year before re-potting and training. Another way is to find a friend with a tree and ask if you can pinch one or two of the year old saplings growing around its base - they wouldn't survive anyway and you'd save yourself a year.

[Farmer_Gyles]

i'd love some bonsai trees - probably in a nice little bonsai rockery garden
the ones i've seen on telly look like miniature versions of the full size things - the ones i see in shops / garden centres never look as good as the ones on telly
when i get more time i'll do some reading before i buy any!

[Headfry]

Wow, I thought I was the only one and totally daft.
I have the same sort of uncomfortable feeling, they are beautiful yes, but I do feel as if they have been almost abused in some kind of way. daft I know.

[HeyWayne]

Can't say it had really crossed my mind - if it had, it was only fleetingly. I guess all pruning could be deemed as "cruel" to a certain extent - it's not natural in the truest sense, cutting bits off trees that would otherwise keep growing. However I think bonsai trees are beautiful and I'd love to have the time, patience and skill required to keep one.

Enjoy yours!

[bubblewrap]

The only point I would make is bonsai trees usually live as long as "normal" trees