Good way to keep Redwoods alive in harsh climates?

[Brian Underwood]

I used to grow mushrooms indoors as a hobby and the biggest challenge was keeping the humidity as high as possible (between 85-100 percent). I happened upon the idea of ultrasonic "foggers" and my problem was over.
This got me thinking about a possible way to keep bonsai indoors successfully. Given enough light, and a cold period for dormancy, this could be the answer to many people's inability to keep trees like coastal redwoods in tougher, dryer climates.

BONSAI TREE-RARIUM! Let the debate begin...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA3RsGHstx0

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Oh my Brian, I am glad you finally discovered this method

I've been growing my tropical bonsai in aquariums with ultrasonic humidifiers for around 6 months, and with great results. I get aerial roots to form so easily. Here is a pic of my setup:

That is with the humidifier turned off. I leave it off for a good while, as the water builds up and the trees could sit in the water, which is why I placed the gravel at the bottom. Works very well. The humidifier is in the tall-ish looking plastic container.

 

[Brian Underwood]

Very nice! Do you use grow lights with it, or just natural window light? I feel with tree species that are not tropical, you would have to keep heat to a minimum, so perhaps LED grow lights would be best. This method is of no real use to me since I live in an area where one can grow just about anything, but it would be a cool method for people to keep redwoods alive in harsh climates if they didn't have a greenhouse. Thanks for the contribution to this discussion!

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Very nice! Do you use grow lights with it, or just natural window light? I feel with tree species that are not tropical, you would have to keep heat to a minimum, so perhaps LED grow lights would be best. This method is of no real use to me since I live in an area where one can grow just about anything, but it would be a cool method for people to keep redwoods alive in harsh climates if they didn't have a greenhouse. Thanks for the contribution to this discussion!

I do have a fluorescent light up on top with a cool bulb and a warm bulb. I used to grow tons of coast redwoods, but I never considered growing them in something like this. Great idea though, maybe I'll try that.

I've also got a larger set up with two 6 foot tall benjaminas. It's basically one of those 4 tier greenhouses, but I've taken the shelves out of it so that the trees can fit in it. I've placed a warm air humidifier inside of it to keep very high humidity in the tent. So far they are shooting aerial roots everywhere and I am looking to reduce the height on the trees. Here it is, don't mind the light on top:

Not bad for a 17 year old, huh