foshizzle1349
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What kind of bonsai is this? Bought it at the store

Like the subject says. I have no idea what kind of bonsai this is. Let alone know if it is an outdoor or indoor plant. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you
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rainbowgardener
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The glossy notched leaves are very distinctive:

Image

Fukien tea, aka Carmona.

It makes a good indoor bonsai. All trees benefit from a summer vacation outdoors, but Carmona should come back in if temps are consistently below 60.

But yours looks to be in very rough shape. How long have you had it? Are those pebbles glued on? If so they need to come off. Indoors it needs a lot of light and should be on your best sunny window sill or else have supplemental lighting (a lamp shining directly on it, from close up).

imafan26
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It looks like mall sai. Fukien tea are pretty tough. there is a wound on the trunk you should keep an eye on. It is not the kind of wounding that is usually purposely done to bonsai. It has been cut , but not really shaped. The pot is large for the tree so make sure you don't over water. Do not use saucers and use the chopstick method to check when it needs to be watered. I don't know what kind of soil it is in or if the pebbles are just on top. The moss does not look that good either.
If it is not in good soil, I would repot it. Right now even a good potting soil would be better than what it is in. It does not need a lot of light but would do better if gradually acclimated to better light.

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rainbowgardener
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Here's some general tips about bonsai care: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1479

and the non-forum part of this website has a number of little articles about bonsai: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/bonsai/

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rainbowgardener
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imafan: re the trunk wound: it is not the kind of wounding that is usually purposely done to bonsai

Given the placement of the wound, I wondered if whoever was mass producing these little rooted cuttings might have made the notch to help with being able to bend the trunk there?

Since OP never came back after posting that, I guess I can say that is the ugliest little excuse for a bonsai I have ever seen. I hope he didn't pay much money for it. It's chances of survival are slim.

I think mallsai are like all the little live chicks they used to sell at Easter: mass produced, bought on impulse because they look cute, by people who have no idea what their care entails and destined to die.

imafan26
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I think more likely the branch was getting too hard to bend and it was forced so it cracked.

This zigzag bending and "C" arcs are common in mall sai. Usually they are just potted plants that aren't even trained, just chopped and put in a bonsai pot and called "bonsai".
Bonsai emphasizes the trunk and structure of the tree and tries to imitate nature in miniature. Trees don't naturally grow in a zig zag or "C" configuration and they don't have all their tips sheared off.

Usually bonsai still has a terminal end, a pyramidal top. Broom style, which I don't even consider really bonsai is the most unnatural. The branches are trained out horizontally and layered between the tiers just enough to see the trunk through them. There should be symmetry and balance. Even a windswept tree has balance just by the placement of the tree in the pot. Most good bonsai are not centered in the pot, unless it is an upright, but the slant forms are usually off center. Even forests have a pyramidal shape and the spacing is carefully planned so that each tree can still be seen in the forest.

A beginner should really study the art first. Mall sai are usually impulse buys, but usually overpriced and not really good examples of the art. If anyone is really interested in bonsai, they can do the research and find the right beginner plant for their location and pick up a starter at a nursery and start the pre bonsai training, which usually means top work, but not necessarily a bonsai pot, but maybe a smaller pot to start downsizing the root. It is best to choose stock that has character and take a long time looking at it to see its potential.

I have a bougainvillea in training now. I am getting a lot of advice since I have never trained a bougainvillea before and it is more challenging since it has a naturally rangy habit so not as easy to coax as a ficus, juniper, or geometry tree that has a good shape to start with.



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