Why you cannot keep bonsai trees indoors

[Attmos]

Don't get me started on how terrible I am with this species! I have completely removed the life from three. I feel that is enough success for one person's contribution to species population control.
Fukien Tea, from my understanding, is exceptionally temperamental. Pretty sure they are tropical, but they don't like desert climate at all. If whatever you are doing is working, then keep doing it.
Two schools of thought:
Common sense says "If it ain't broken, don't fix it."
Government thinking says "If it ain't broken, fix it till it is."

If you add at least a USDA zone (a slightly more specific area, such as state, would be even better) will help us give you better custom advice.

I have a Fukien. It hasn't really grown any since I got it about 5 years ago, but it's been indoors that whole time and does produce little white flowers, sitting in a west facing window. It's actually recovering from mealy bugs or aphids (whichever look like white webs) at the moment, like a champ.

I've heard they're temperamental too, but I'm not seeing it. Think I'll move it outside this summer and see if I can get some growth out of it.

 

[just passing by]

came across this thread trying to learn something about bonsai trees and all I found was hypocrisy. let me explain:

you guys seem to have no trouble with mutilation, distortion, torture etc but when it comes to indoor bonsai, that's where you draw the line? I'm not saying you're wrong but putting a tree in a pot isn't exactly natural either because it's not grounded anymore either. the pot essentially is "indoors" for the tree itself. guess what: we probably aren't supposed to live indoors either, we're part of nature are we not?

so this whole jabbadabiddibi about "dry air", "no airflow", "99.9% does not equal impossible" and "you're not wearing sunglasses indoors" is all a bunch of people talking about the way they perceive the world, in other words a lot of unknowns. at the end of the day everything is made of quarks and atoms, infinite space in between those and various frequencies holding them together, flowing through them -like schumann resonances- or certain ones propagating bloom while others inhibitting their cell division.

what I'm trying to say is you're bonsaiing your notion of morals into a pot that suits your standpoints based on beliefs or business concepts, critizicing some people while at the same time putting yourselves on pedestles or moral high grounds. it's a bit fascist if you think about it (of a mild degree compared to other variants).

here's something to ponder about: if I cut a bit of a tree, a tiny branch, and make it grow somewhere else - is it still the same tree or is it another "entity"?

who cares, it's just cell division, vibration and cancer. we came from space dust and this is not a real problem.

 

[BrianBay9]

came across this thread trying to learn something about bonsai trees and all I found was hypocrisy. let me explain:

you guys seem to have no trouble with mutilation, distortion, torture etc but when it comes to indoor bonsai, that's where you draw the line? I'm not saying you're wrong but putting a tree in a pot isn't exactly natural either because it's not grounded anymore either. the pot essentially is "indoors" for the tree itself. guess what: we probably aren't supposed to live indoors either, we're part of nature are we not?

so this whole jabbadabiddibi about "dry air", "no airflow", "99.9% does not equal impossible" and "you're not wearing sunglasses indoors" is all a bunch of people talking about the way they perceive the world, in other words a lot of unknowns. at the end of the day everything is made of quarks and atoms, infinite space in between those and various frequencies holding them together, flowing through them -like schumann resonances- or certain ones propagating bloom while others inhibitting their cell division.

what I'm trying to say is you're bonsaiing your notion of morals into a pot that suits your standpoints based on beliefs or business concepts, critizicing some people while at the same time putting yourselves on pedestles or moral high grounds. it's a bit fascist if you think about it (of a mild degree compared to other variants).

here's something to ponder about: if I cut a bit of a tree, a tiny branch, and make it grow somewhere else - is it still the same tree or is it another "entity"?

who cares, it's just cell division, vibration and cancer. we came from space dust and this is not a real problem.

I would reply, but to what?

 

[NMbonsai]

Ok, who dosed the original poster?

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

I think @just passing by either lives under a bridge or on the end of a pencil.

 

[NMbonsai]

Not the original poster, just the troll previous to Brian's comment.

I think @just passing by either lives under a bridge or on the end of a pencil.

 

[NMbonsai]

@just passing by: "That's just like, your opinion, man."

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Not the original poster, just the troll previous to Brian's comment.

Yeah, that's who I was referring to. I believe @Bonsai Nut started this thread.

 

[just passing by]

@just passing by: "That's just like, your opinion, man."View attachment 591013

 

[just passing by]

I think @just passing by either lives under a bridge or on the end of a pencil.

 

[leatherback]

 

[Cajunrider]

came across this thread trying to learn something about bonsai trees and all I found was hypocrisy. let me explain:

you guys seem to have no trouble with mutilation, distortion, torture etc but when it comes to indoor bonsai, that's where you draw the line? I'm not saying you're wrong but putting a tree in a pot isn't exactly natural either because it's not grounded anymore either. the pot essentially is "indoors" for the tree itself. guess what: we probably aren't supposed to live indoors either, we're part of nature are we not?

While we say it in jest sometimes, most of us don't think what we do to bonsai as mutilation, distortion, or torture, rather what we do is presenting a challenging environment to a tree to channel the tree natural responses to grow the tree into the shape we like. When it comes to indoor bonsai, we draw the line because, unless we put heavy investment into lighting and climate control, the challenge to the trees is usually too much and the trees die.

so this whole jabbadabiddibi about "dry air", "no airflow", "99.9% does not equal impossible" and "you're not wearing sunglasses indoors" is all a bunch of people talking about the way they perceive the world, in other words a lot of unknowns. at the end of the day everything is made of quarks and atoms, infinite space in between those and various frequencies holding them together, flowing through them -like schumann resonances- or certain ones propagating bloom while others inhibitting their cell division.

what I'm trying to say is you're bonsaiing your notion of morals into a pot that suits your standpoints based on beliefs or business concepts, critizicing some people while at the same time putting yourselves on pedestles or moral high grounds. it's a bit fascist if you think about it (of a mild degree compared to other variants).

I and many I know have zero notion of morals when it comes to bonsai. It is all about our artistic expressions in the form of trees in pots.

here's something to ponder about: if I cut a bit of a tree, a tiny branch, and make it grow somewhere else - is it still the same tree or is it another "entity"?

Nothing to ponder about at all for me. It's just another tree propagated from a bit of a tree.

who cares, it's just cell division, vibration and cancer. we came from space dust and this is not a real problem.

I wish you good vibration!

 

[Attmos]

came across this thread trying to learn something about bonsai trees and all I found was hypocrisy. let me explain:

you guys seem to have no trouble with mutilation, distortion, torture etc but when it comes to indoor bonsai, that's where you draw the line? I'm not saying you're wrong but putting a tree in a pot isn't exactly natural either because it's not grounded anymore either. the pot essentially is "indoors" for the tree itself. guess what: we probably aren't supposed to live indoors either, we're part of nature are we not?

so this whole jabbadabiddibi about "dry air", "no airflow", "99.9% does not equal impossible" and "you're not wearing sunglasses indoors" is all a bunch of people talking about the way they perceive the world, in other words a lot of unknowns. at the end of the day everything is made of quarks and atoms, infinite space in between those and various frequencies holding them together, flowing through them -like schumann resonances- or certain ones propagating bloom while others inhibitting their cell division.

what I'm trying to say is you're bonsaiing your notion of morals into a pot that suits your standpoints based on beliefs or business concepts, critizicing some people while at the same time putting yourselves on pedestles or moral high grounds. it's a bit fascist if you think about it (of a mild degree compared to other variants).

here's something to ponder about: if I cut a bit of a tree, a tiny branch, and make it grow somewhere else - is it still the same tree or is it another "entity"?

who cares, it's just cell division, vibration and cancer. we came from space dust and this is not a real problem.

...................

On a certain level, I feel a frustration with this site... but unlike "just passing by"... I've learned that it's more a frustration with the actual difficulty of the hobby.

 

[BonsaiDruid]

When my studio space houses my overwintering turtles (aquatic and terrestrial), the temps (75-82F) and humidity (70%) were high enough to keep my several tropical bonsai and my pomegranate doing well enough to get through the long cold winter season here in NW Indiana. Once the weather warms enough, I do the 'bonsai shuffle' for a couple more months until the night temps get consistently warmer. Then they get to stay outside until mid-September when the 'shuffle' must begin again.

 

[Enaud]

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.

My Juniper Bonsai was a gift. It has not only made it through the winter here in the Northeast but is thriving. Tree is estimated to be around five years old. It is placed in a very large easterly facing window. Avid gardener but new to apartment living, indoor Bonsai. Would like to prune but now sure if it's a waste of time. Do not know how to prune it. Have all the tools just nervous. Any suggestions, info would be appreciated.

 

[Gabler]

My Juniper Bonsai was a gift. It has not only made it through the winter here in the Northeast but is thriving. Tree is estimated to be around five years old. It is placed in a very large easterly facing window. Avid gardener but new to apartment living, indoor Bonsai. Would like to prune but now sure if it's a waste of time. Do not know how to prune it. Have all the tools just nervous. Any suggestions, info would be appreciated.

Keeping a juniper indoors will eventually kill it. Missing one winter won't necessarily kill a temperate plant, but missing two or three winters is too many. A few species, like Chinese elm, can go indoors for five or more years before they begin to decline, but they all eventually succumb.

 

[caffeinated]

mutilation, torture? Man, I hope you never come across someone mowing their lawn. All those blades of grass cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. and, oh shit, you'll never guess what I brought home to my wife for Mother's Day, a collection of decapitated flowers...

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

mutilation, torture? Man, I hope you never come across someone mowing their lawn. All those blades of grass cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. and, oh shit, you'll never guess what I brought home to my wife for Mother's Day, a collection of decapitated flowers...

And all those cereal killers in the great plains annihilating all those stalks of wheat and corn...

 

[shohin_branches]

mutilation, torture? Man, I hope you never come across someone mowing their lawn. All those blades of grass cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. and, oh shit, you'll never guess what I brought home to my wife for Mother's Day, a collection of decapitated flowers...

My team name for the 24 hour bike ride I'm doing in July

 

[nuttiest]

I always wonder what percentage of apartment dwellers know which direction their back door faces.