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Stormwatcher
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Advice on a Bonsai that will Do Well Indoors?

I'm being sucked in. :shock: The more I look at all the cool projects people have, the more I want to get some experience actually training something.

I'm looking for something that will do well as an indoor tree, be hardy, readily available, and affordable. Preferably somewhat fast growing, so I can see results to what I do in a couple weeks. I've been browsing and I think I'm leaning towards a Schefflera?

Which brings me to another question: How in the world do you decide what to make a tree look like? There are so many options, its hard to choose and I begin to feel like I should just close my eyes, point to my screen, and randomly pick one... :?

Sometimes, I am impatient. :P

Haesuse
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Stormwatcher wrote:I'm looking for something that will do well as an indoor tree, be hardy, readily available, and affordable.
not sure such a thing exists... if you took "do well as an indoor tree" off the list, then there would be a lot of choices...

Sometimes, I am impatient. :P
not good for bonsai...

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Stormwatcher
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I'm learning patience. I'll probably learn it faster when I start getting more into bonsai ;)

What about tropical/sub-tropical? That's what I thought the Schefflera was?

Haesuse
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Stormwatcher wrote:I'm learning patience. I'll probably learn it faster when I start getting more into bonsai ;)

What about tropical/sub-tropical? That's what I thought the Schefflera was?

others might better answer the question than I can. yes, schefs will grow inside. but will they be "hardy"? I dunno.

my indoor schefs do fine, but they aren't bonsai'ed and their internodal length is fairly long, and they grow pretty slowly, indoors. my outdoor schefs, however, do fantastic, and could EASILY be bonsai'ed. matter of fact, I've got 3 right now, just growing roots and getting healthy, waiting on me to pot them up for training.

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IndorBonsai
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The Schefflera is a very good indoor Bonsai, they grow pretty fast and are pretty hardy.

Also, the Ficus is a really good indoor Bonsai, there are several different species to choose from. Ficus grow pretty fast too and are hardy.

Here are 2 different species of Ficus, the small leaf one is a ficus to little to large, the large leaf one is a golden gate ficus I think. Neither one had the species name when I bought them.
[url=https://img194.imageshack.us/I/ficus11.jpg/][img]https://img194.imageshack.us/img194/9097/ficus11.jpg[/img][/url]

[url=https://img188.imageshack.us/I/ficus12.jpg/][img]https://img188.imageshack.us/img188/1071/ficus12.jpg[/img][/url]

You might like the Natal Plum, it is also really good for indoor bonsai, a fast growing tree with very shiny dark green leafs. These trees are in some serious training rite now so not the best looking :)
[url=https://img190.imageshack.us/I/nt12.jpg/][img]https://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9621/nt12.jpg[/img][/url]

[url=https://img189.imageshack.us/I/nt11.jpg/][img]https://img189.imageshack.us/img189/1531/nt11.jpg[/img][/url]

[url=https://img518.imageshack.us/I/nt13.jpg/][img]https://img518.imageshack.us/img518/5933/nt13.jpg[/img][/url]

There are many different kinds of trees/plants that are great for indoor bonsai. This is just a couple of my bonsai that I grow indoors. I also have a dwarf schefflera ( hawaiian umbrella tree ) that I like very much :)

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bonsaiboy
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The "list" of indoor bonsai is much larger than most people realize, encompassing a huge variety of trees found in the tropics all over the world. The scheffleras are very easy to take care of, suiting all your requirements (indoorable, hardy, and fast-growing) and they make decent bonsai. Some people like to say that they do not make good bonsai because they don't branch well and they don't have tree-like growth. The solution is to defoilate them whenever they are being pruned. This will encourage much branching, and they will achieve a more tree-like form. Other bonsai are just as good, but I would recommend sticking with the Scheff as your first tree.

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Stormwatcher
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Thanks guys! The pictures are extremely helpful.

I assume I can get one of these at a garden center, Home Depot, Lowe's, something like that?

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Gnome
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Storm,
I assume I can get one of these at a garden center, Home Depot, Lowe's, something like that?
Yes, those places will almost certainly have Scheffs. A couple of things to consider; look them over carefully and try to find one with an actual trunk. Often these are really a group of young trees planted in a single pot in order to give them a fuller appearance. Of course if you want more than one that's another thing.

I have seen variegated Scheffs. I have owned other variegated plants before and found that they are not as vigorous as the plain varieties. I'm not sure that this holds true for Scheffs. but I thought I would mention it. Perhaps some of the others can offer some insights.

One more thing, just to avoid any confusion, the word 'hardy' can have more that one meaning. In horticultural circles it usually means able to withstand freezing temperatures. In this context Scheffs. are not hardy, at least as far as I know. If by hardy we are talking vigorous and able to withstand less than ideal conditions then that's a different thing altogether.

Norm

kdodds
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bonsaiboy wrote:The "list" of indoor bonsai is much larger than most people realize, encompassing a huge variety of trees found in the tropics all over the world.
Ditto. Some of what I'm currently working with:

Brazilian rain tree, Podocarpus, Chinese elm, Grewia occidentalis, Barbados cherry, Serissa foetida, Luma apiculata, Anisodontea spp., Neea buxifolia, Kingsville boxwood, Monterey pine, Schefflera, Ficus, etc. There are literally hundreds of different species to work with that are appropriate. I don't buy into "there's no such thing as an indoor tree" logic that so many elitist "outdoor" bonsai enthusiasts are proponents of. By their own logic, they should not attempt bonsai at all, since there's no such thing as a "potted tree" either. The best was some guy who once said (on another board) that "if God intended trees to grow indoors, then they'd grow there naturally". Well, I guess if "God intended" trees to be grown in pots, we'd all have a lot less digging to do, now wouldn't we? ;)

FWIW, Schefflera can take a very long time to develop a "trunk" of any reasonable appearance. You might want to try a Ficus as your first tree. They are, IME, equally as hardy, but look more "tree like" a bit faster.

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Big Vine
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Stormwatcher, welcome to the forum!

You've been given some excellent feedback when it comes to Schefflera arboricola, and I would highly recommend that you start with this plant as well. It grows well in a decently-lit room, and you'll get even better results if you add supplemental fluorescent lighting. Humidity trays are also beneficial with these plants.

I've done an awful LOT of online research on these guys, and overall there just doesn't seem to be a whole lot of good information out there when it comes to using Dwarf schefflera for bonsai purposes. Seems counterintuitive considering how relatively common a housplant it is, but it's true. By far the best source of information I've come across can be found on David Fukumoto's website (www.fukubonsai.com)---he has been specializing in these plants much longer than I have been alive!

kdodds mentioned a good point about the trunks.
I've undertaken a project which will hopefully result (eventually) in strong trunks with decent branching, but this will take at least several years to really yield any sort of results.

In the meantime, I've decided to order some relatively young plant stock (from fuku-bonsai) which has been in training for several years and I am told has a lot of character for such a young tree. I would be happy to share more about it when the shipment arrives later this week if you think you might want to take things in a similar direction. :wink:

Good luck with whatever you decide!
BV



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