[mtoyne]

Hiya, i really fancy trying to grow bonsai, thompson and morgan have seeds, is it a bad idea? Im not too bad at gardening but is it a real artform?

[agapanthus]

As far as I'm aware....and I'm sure someone will point out if I am......you can bonsai most trees from any regular tree seeds. The art of bonsai is the actual pruning of the roots and shoots to make them miniature

[mtoyne]

Ooops,  i was just thinking they were special little trees, thought one would look nice in my hall. God i sound blonde.

[SG6]

You can grow from seed, assuming that they propogate and survive.
Main point to remember is that they are trees. They grow OUTSIDE.

More are killed because people look at a small tree and bring them indoors. Don't do it :!:  :!:  :!:

Another point is go look at a book and read the size of the trees in the pictures. They are not 6-8 inches they are 2-3 feet. The small one at 6-8 inches are referred to as Mame and are DIFFICULT to keep alive.

Some will not form small leaves, cannot recall which at this time. If possible get something like a chinese elm. I have a couple and they are easy. Everyone wants a maple but they are not so easy I have found.

I grow mine in nice big pots, not the dishes you see in the pictures. So far successful 10-12 yrs and they have all remained at the 2ft mark. Much easier to care for as they do not dry out in 4 hours and the tree does not die. Mine are 32cm or 38cm across and 18-20cm high (Half pots I think they were called).

[mtoyne]

There goes my idea for something nice on my windowsill out of the window then. Possibly another stupid question but would it be possible to grow them to plant as an interesting hedge then? Our front garden is completely open and we want to plant hedging to grow to about 3 ft.

[SG6]

There are indoor bonsai, but not, in general, the usual tree things.
Azaleas, Camellia, Pomegranate, Myrtle, Serissa, Sageritia, Fig seem to be the more common.

I have tried Serissa and although they are common just about everyone I have heard of has eventually lost them. No idea why.

Sageritia looks pretty good being very much a tree, and small leafed.
Cannot see a Mrytle but what I read would seem to indicate they are worth thinking of.

Fig trees are fairly common in garden centres but something somewhere in my memory says there is/can be a problem. No idea what however and can not see anything in either book I have. :?

I would guess that an Azalea or Camellia would still look like a small (unimpressive) Azalea or Camellia. :o

Never seen a mature Pomegranate all pictures show "starter" type trees.
Wonder if you can bonsai a lemon/orange?

If you decide to have ago the I suggest that you use a large(deep) bonsai pot/dish. May initially look a bit out of proportion but the tree will grow and it is easier to keep it alive.

One odd thing: one book I have says box is an indoor option, the other one says it is hardy evergreen = outdoor. A small box is cheap.

Any idea what style (shape) of bonsai you intend it to be?

[FRUITFULL]

I had a Bonsi tree for 2 years my daughter gave me for my birthday.Took me 2 years to kill it but i was not disapointed as found it a bit of a pain to look after.For Christmas suprise my son bought me one to replace it  :shock: Out come the scissors and mini watering can again. :roll:
I just prefere things that grow rather than spending time keeping them miniture.
They just dont do it for me.

[mtoyne]

I think im going to give it a miss and find something easier to grow.

[joshwain]

i had a small bonsai and it was VERY hard to keep, with almost constant attention I could see it dieing off but helplessly could only watch, so from seeds, it would be a super challenge...