Maple Bonsai Suitable for Indoors?

[pkennedy0219]

Hello

I have a juniper bonsai coming in the mail,and i know that they are not the best to keep indoors. My question, is a maple bonsai a suitable specimen to keep indoors.

I would really like to have an indoor, and an outdoor bonsai. So i can enjoy them both.

Thanks in advance

[rondo769]

No maples do not make good indoor bonsai because they need to experience seasonal changes and must have a winter dormancy period.There are several good indoor bonsai look for tropical indoor bonsai

[kdodds]

If you want something for indoors, you'll need to go with a tropical or subtropical species. Some of the best indoor trees that are still very tree-like are the Ficus. No need to go spending $40 or more on a "bonsai" Ficus, a small or stunted F. benjamina will work just fine, and can often be found in "bargain" sections of nurseries. After Ficus, I would vote for Grewia occidentalis (Lavendar Star FLower) as one of the hardier of trees, as well as Malpighia pendiculata (Barbados Cherry). Both of these can tolerate a fair amouont of abuse. The "easier" trees, the Jades and Scheffleras are probably the easiest to keep alive and well, but do not look very tree like for MANY years. And, even after that time, you more have to take a step back away from them to appreciate their "tree like" nature.

[pkennedy0219]

ok, well if a maple isn't the best choice then i will avoid that one for now. I have been researching, and i have seen that chinese elms make for good indoor bonsai trees, is this true. Because i also really like the style of the elm as well.

Thanks in advance

[bonsaiboy]

First of all, I’d like to point out that subtropical trees do not do well indoors. So unless you have an unheated room in your house for the winter, a chinese elm probably wont last long. How much sun can you give a bonsai? A south window means you could grow citrus bonsai, or the Bahama berry (very small leafs). But if your going to go with a ficus, I’d recomend the Chinese Banyan, Ficus microcarpa, or the creaping fig, Ficus repens. The benjamena tents to drop leafs, and is difficul to care for. My personal favorite tree is schefflera arboricola, as it is easy to care fore, and can branch vigorously when defoilated and pruned. And to prove scheffleras are tree like, try looking here: http://www.fukubonsai.com/ Even the smaller ones can look tree like enough for a convincing broom, and I've seen even better ones. However, seeing as you originaly liked maples, I'd say your best off with a dwarf variety of Dizygotheca elegantissima, because they look very maple like when trained correctly.

[pkennedy0219]

Well, I keep my room very cold in the winter. I tend not to run the heater. I also get very good morning sun, and direct sun most of the day. I'm not sure what plant i want to grow indoors yet, but i do like the tree like ones. I also keep my window open the majority of the day during the winter (i like cold weather) so my room probably stays around 70 deg F or lower.

[kdodds]

First of all, I’d like to point out that subtropical trees do not do well indoors.

Depends on the species, some do well and some don't. Florida, for point of reference, is sub-tropical, and many indigenous plants from regions like that will do very well indoors. But true, the "classic" bonsai "sub-tropicals", like olives, pistachio, and pomagranate, do better with cold rooms in the winter. So do most citrus, BTW.

On the Chinese Elm, well, a lot depends. I have a 60+ foot, old Chinese Elm growing on my property in New York. But the species has a fairly broad range in the wild and does exist in sub-tropical environments where it is an evergreen. Good luck finding one that you can verify comes from this type of environment, though. If you DO find one, let me know where since they are supposed to do very well indoors.

Just a word on the Bahama Berry (Nashia inaguensis), I've tried them a few times now. Each time, they've slowing dried up. This species requires a higher humidity, IME, than most other trees. IOW, a greenhouse-like environment similar to what Bloodwoods and other high humidity trees require.