A little help and advice please?

Jordan Dies

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Hi everyone and thanks in advance for any help or advise.

I have always wanted to grow my own bonsai and have finally brought many seeds to try and grow from seed. I know this is a long process but will be worth it in the end. I have also brought a bonsai (I feel the first of many) I think its an elm just wanted to clarify and also it has lost all leaves, it does have little leaves starting to come back out but not sure if it is looking like it will recover from moving and re-potting (the soil it was in when i got it was waterlogged and really not good quality). Also the wire was cutting into the tree so have just loosened it so allow it to now cut in.

The photos are not the best of the little shoots but hope it gives an idea. I do keep it on a window sill with a large window open all 24hours a day. I live in the UK i know elms are not best indoors but have no outdoor space.

Thanks.
 

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coltranem

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I have also brought a bonsai (I feel the first of many) I think its an elm just wanted to clarify

It is hard to tell without leaves. What did it say where you bought it.

I do keep it on a window sill with a large window open all 24hours a day. I live in the UK i know elms are not best indoors but have no outdoor space.

What are your plans for the winter? You'll need some way of keeping this cold and dormant.
 

Jordan Dies

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It is hard to tell without leaves. What did it say where you bought it.



What are your plans for the winter? You'll need some way of keeping this cold and dormant.
This was it when i first got it the last few leaves that fell off. I am able to keep it outdoors during winter I am able to leave in a friends garden or shed whichever will be best.

Would you recommend any particular trees to look into that will do well indoors in the UK.

Thanks for the help
 

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coltranem

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This was it when i first got it the last few leaves that fell off. I am able to keep it outdoors during winter I am able to leave in a friends garden or shed whichever will be best.

Would you recommend any particular trees to look into that will do well indoors in the UK.

Thanks for the help
I am no expert and it is hard to see the leaves in this picture but I am not sure it is an elm.

If your friend's place is an option for the winter why not now too?

I will let others weigh in on indoor trees but at a minimum you will need supplemental light.
 

Wires_Guy_wires

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Without outdoor space, there is no bonsai.
Unless you're willing to put up 150 watts Metal Halide lights, or an equal wattage of LED, and continuously use insecticides inside your home (don't ever do that, ever).

Nonetheless, welcome to the hobby! All the best!
 

Jordan Dies

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I can take it to my friends now however I can only get round once a week at the moment and my friend isn't able to look after it at all.

Thanks for the advise I'll get it outdoors asap and hopefully when leaves return I'll be able to identify it.
 

Cable

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One thing is that you can go ahead and remove the wire. If it was starting to cut in then it did its job. Having the wire loose accomplishes nothing so you can go ahead and cut it all off.
 

TN_Jim

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Many years ago my cousin went to Japan on a business trip, this was I think before I ever had a plant of my own-maybe a cactus or two in early high school, and the first time I saw someone’s photography on a television...

One thing that really stood out was how people grew plants, herbs, flowers, etc. out of anything that would hold soil and seed, and platforms out of windows, everywhere...

lowercase f with a lip, will grab anything with weight on it and be in the sun
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Without outdoor space, there is no bonsai.
Unless you're willing to put up 150 watts Metal Halide lights, or an equal wattage of LED, and continuously use insecticides inside your home (don't ever do that, ever).

Nonetheless, welcome to the hobby! All the best!

I would like to politely disagree with Wires Guy. - It is possible to grow certain trees indoors year round, either under lights or on a windowsill. Wires is correct in that it does take some effort to make the indoor space habitable for bonsai, but it is not impossible to do. A relatively simple T5 fixture, with 4 tubes, using 5000K high output fluorescent lamps can turn a bookshelf space into a nice growing space. Elms are not good indoor candidates, but trees like Ficus, Grewia, Malpighia, Eugenia and many other sub-tropicals and tropicals are good indoor candidates. Look for species known to tolerate some shade.
 

Jordan Dies

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A little update.

I took the tree round to my friends garden to try and bring it back to life. To be honest I think it's dead, however, from lots of things I have read it's come up more than once that even if you think it's dead you should give it a year to see if it does come back.

Anybody any thoughts on that?
 
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By all means give it a year!! That little tree might surprise you next spring.

Regardless, I hope to see you around here on Bnut. It's a great place to learn.
 

Lorax7

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A little update.

I took the tree round to my friends garden to try and bring it back to life. To be honest I think it's dead, however, from lots of things I have read it's come up more than once that even if you think it's dead you should give it a year to see if it does come back.

Anybody any thoughts on that?
You don’t need to give it a year. Give it a few weeks and then do a scratch test (scratch the trunk a little with your fingernail to get a glimpse of the cambium underneath the bark. Is it green? If yes, the tree is still alive. If no, the tree is dead.
 

Jordan Dies

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By all means give it a year!! That little tree might surprise you next spring.

Regardless, I hope to see you around here on Bnut. It's a great place to learn.
One tree dying hasn't put me off. Got a ficus indoors now and a few cuttings I'm trying out in a friends garden, definitely wont be going off. Being made redundant this week has put on hold buying a few trees I wanted.
 

Jordan Dies

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You don’t need to give it a year. Give it a few weeks and then do a scratch test (scratch the trunk a little with your fingernail to get a glimpse of the cambium underneath the bark. Is it green? If yes, the tree is still alive. If no, the tree is dead.
Its 100% dead then, I done that when I got it and it was green then a few weeks ago it wasn't green anymore. It was cheap enough but I have the pot to keep lol
 

Jordan Dies

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i think it was a serissa
A quick google image check, the bark and leaves on some of the pictures do look very similar.

If anybody has any photos of what they look like if you don't kill them that would be great (can never get a photo on google where you can see the details)

Thanks
 

clem

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