Beginner looking for some practical advise!

[Scarythings98]

Hello i live in the UK and recently got into Bonsai, I would love to keep them outdoor but don't have any secure outdoor space at the moment, I'm keeping my Chinese Elm and Brush Cherry indoor for the time being. I was wondering if anyone can recommend any artificial light that would go best with the space I have.
Treid doing my own research but a lot of it is conflicting, also I want 1 more to complete my set of 3, any suggestions for which is best indoor would be great !

I work from home so maintenance in the form of daily misting, watering ext is all good.

 

[Housguy]

Those are nice, I hope you do find good lighting, I would hate for you to lose those from being indoors, which will kill them over time! They really need to be outside, hopefully you can figure that out. Good luck!

 

[Shibui]

If you are looking for another bonsai that should do well indoors you should consider Ficus sp. They seem to be one of the hardiest species I've come across for indoor bonsai.

 

[Scarythings98]

ver time! They really need to be outside, h

Those are nice, I hope you do find good lighting, I would hate for you to lose those from being indoors, which will kill them over time! They really need to be outside, hopefully you can figure that out. Good luck!

Hoping to be able to keep them outside when i move house, nto sure what type of lighting to get for them, there are so many different types and different people suggesting different things!

 

[penumbra]

The Brush Cherry can be grown inside with no problem, but the one you have is very dense and looks like it has been outside. They just are difficult to train IMO. You pretty much have to stay with a style where a strong apical dominance is appropriate.
The elm is going to be a problem. It is not going to do well inside. Eventually it will fail.

 

[Scarythings98]

The Brush Cherry can be grown inside with no problem, but the one you have is very dense and looks like it has been outside. They just are difficult to train IMO. You pretty much have to stay with a style where a strong apical dominance is appropriate.
The elm is going to be a problem. It is not going to do well inside. Eventually it will fail.

Would you recommend any lights i can use to keep it alive until I move and can be kept outdoors?

 

[penumbra]

Would you recommend any lights i can use to keep it alive until I move and can be kept outdoors?

As much as possible. I would probably use a LED quantum board, And I would keep it close to the plant. Also you need to increase the humidity which will be a challenge.

 

[Lorax7]

This article written by Jack Wikle explains how to successfully grow bonsai indoors. The article was written quite a while ago when LED grow lights were not readily available and relatively inexpensive as they are nowadays. If you feel like spending a bit more up-front to go with LEDs and save money over time on the electric bill to run them, I think that’s a perfectly reasonable substitution for fluorescents.

 

[ShadyStump]

I used a couple of these in the 24W range last winter, and along with a big north facing window was able to keep quite a collection happy, including a bay laurel that initially tried to make some extra long branches before it realized it was winter and stopped growing for the season.

C21GL-CE Grow Light Bulb

C21BB-24W/36W Full Spectrum LED grow light is a effective grow lighting solution for indoor gardening, indoor farming, residential, office plants, grow walls etc.Residential grow light

sansi.com

I'd go with the 36W. I'm looking into upgrading this year because my collection has grown substantially since then and I'll need more coverage.

This is a bare minimum, and won't keep them happy in summer, but will buy you time on a budget. The link is the manufacturer website, but they're available through Amazon and other retailers at fair prices.
You may want a timer, set to at least 14 hours or more, though some studies show longer than 18 hours has no improved effects. I didn't use a timer last winter, just turned them on as soon as I was up in the morning and off when I went to bed, to the tune of 14 to 16 hours.

Do you believe you'll be moving house soon, or is it just on the list? If it's going to be a while you'll want something more, like a 100w+ setup.

 

[p_anova]

I previously lived in a condo which was ground level and had some outdoor space. My first bobsai was stolen so I ended up putting my trees in a steel mesh crate with a pad lock during the summer. Nothing beats outdoors. Of course I attached the crate to some railing so they didn't just take the whole thing.

 

[sorce]

I just want to see this @Scarythings98 said hidden in post four in regular type.

"Hoping to be able to keep them outside when i move house, nto sure what type of lighting to get for them, there are so many different types and different people suggesting different things!"

Welcome to Crazy!

I personally don't believe windows offer any better light than any other light. They just become a more difficult scenario as the sun moves and it gets colder. Better to completely nix the sun indoors. Like the weed guys do.

Any light that you think may work will work, it's more important to keep them new and actually providing what they say they provide, and the tree will FIO eventually.

I'd be way more interested in finding that secure spot outside you don't think you have, than talking shit about lights and windows, meanwhile, the trees are in the corner like, "humans are so stupid".

Round here bikes I found in the alley get stolen way faster or ever, than trees! Ain't it legal for y'all to stab people too...lol! Just kidding that's horrible, lol, more horrible than guns lol!

Sorry, a day like this it is. Just stab people if they try to steal them!

Sorce

 

[Srt8madness]

I used a couple of these in the 24W range last winter, and along with a big north facing window was able to keep quite a collection happy, including a bay laurel that initially tried to make some extra long branches before it realized it was winter and stopped growing for the season.

C21GL-CE Grow Light Bulb

C21BB-24W/36W Full Spectrum LED grow light is a effective grow lighting solution for indoor gardening, indoor farming, residential, office plants, grow walls etc.Residential grow light

sansi.com

I'd go with the 36W. I'm looking into upgrading this year because my collection has grown substantially since then and I'll need more coverage.

This is a bare minimum, and won't keep them happy in summer, but will buy you time on a budget. The link is the manufacturer website, but they're available through Amazon and other retailers at fair prices.
You may want a timer, set to at least 14 hours or more, though some studies show longer than 18 hours has no improved effects. I didn't use a timer last winter, just turned them on as soon as I was up in the morning and off when I went to bed, to the tune of 14 to 16 hours.

Do you believe you'll be moving house soon, or is it just on the list? If it's going to be a while you'll want something more, like a 100w+ setup.

Watts are pretty irrelevant to a plant needs, they really only matter for an electric bill, and one grow light won't change that.

I'm suspect of a product that doesn't list ppfd, which is what you're wanting to get in high numbers when indoor growing. Overhead sun at noon is around 1500-2000. Screw in grow lights are typically <100

 

[Srt8madness]

I previously lived in a condo which was ground level and had some outdoor space. My first bobsai was stolen so I ended up putting my trees in a steel mesh crate with a pad lock during the summer. Nothing beats outdoors. Of course I attached the crate to some railing so they didn't just take the whole thing.

That really sucks.

 

[p_anova]

That really sucks.

City life....a tree has to grow, a man has to bonsai. Watering was easy, weed pulling was annoying.

 

[ShadyStump]

Watts are pretty irrelevant to a plant needs, they really only matter for an electric bill, and one grow light won't change that.

I'm suspect of a product that doesn't list ppfd, which is what you're wanting to get in high numbers when indoor growing. Overhead sun at noon is around 1500-2000. Screw in grow lights are typically <100

I generally agree and likely would have never bought them myself, but I got the ones I have second hand and they turned out to out perform just about anything else comparable I'd tried in terms of tree health. The PPF meter phone apps I tested with also all gave excellent readings, though without exact numbers to calibrate them with it was just a side by side comparison with other bulbs.

I do recommend them ONLY as a budget stopgap option based on my limited personal experience, not for long term or permanent indoor growing.

 

[waydeo]

Check out some indoor weed growing forums for some ideas on grow light setups. Just don't post on those . Also check out reef tank aquarium sites for more info. I always look for coverage and PAR due to having reef tanks in the past. Corals need intense (high PAR ) lights to thrive.

 

[Scarythings98]

Watts are pretty irrelevant to a plant needs, they really only matter for an electric bill, and one grow light won't change that.

I'm suspect of a product that doesn't list ppfd, which is what you're wanting to get in high numbers when indoor growing. Overhead sun at noon is around 1500-2000. Screw in grow lights are typically <100

Check out some indoor weed growing forums for some ideas on grow light setups. Just don't post on those . Also check out reef tank aquarium sites for more info. I always look for coverage and PAR due to having reef tanks in the past. Corals need intense (high PAR ) lights to thrive.

I decided to go with this one, https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082PSBP68/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Think this will be alright?

 

[ShadyStump]

I decided to go with this one, https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082PSBP68/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Think this will be alright?

It will buy you time if the tree is also in a window, but won't keep a Chinese elm healthy for too long.
Hang it over the tree with about a hand's width between the top leaves and the light, and rotate the tree routinely to keep the light coverage moving around.
There are smartphone apps for measuring grow lights. I suggest finding a decently rated one and using that to check out how these things work in real life. Even if you're not certain of the accuracy, you can get a good sense of how the light drops off with distance, filters through foliage, works with or compared to your window light, etc. These kinds of factors are all just as important as PAR/PPF or other numbers it'll take you a while to learn how to read, but they're the sort of thing they don't put on the box, if they even put it on the box.