Very cold outside... best place to buy pre-bonsai tropicals?

[Zentner]

Hi everyone,

Fresh meat here, new to Bonsai and this site. I've spent a fair amount of time reading through the site, and I'm wondering where the best spots are to get some medium sized (5-15 year) material suitable for indoor bonsai?

I live in Alberta (it'll hit -40C tonight), and my Japanese maple is in the garage where I'm praying it won't die on me, but I need something to occupy my living room and attention. I'd also like your suggestions for trees that may be grown indoors through the growing season and then wintered outdoors; I don't have access to a patio or the appropriate places to have bonsai outdoors, but the garage can house them when it's cold.

Cheers guys, excited to be a part of your community.

Kevin

 

[Rusty Davis]

Welcome to the B-nut. I have been on a mission to find something for a winter contest with only marginal luck. I did stop into a mom and pop flower shop that has an attached green house they had some tropicals. Good luck this time of year though

 

[sorce]

I'd also like your suggestions for trees that may be grown indoors through the growing season and then wintered outdoors;

This scenario won't exist in Canada!

Welcome to Crazy!

We got a couple Naders that may be able to help you out.

Sorce

 

[Random User]

Hi everyone,

Fresh meat here, new to Bonsai and this site. I've spent a fair amount of time reading through the site, and I'm wondering where the best spots are to get some medium sized (5-15 year) material suitable for indoor bonsai?

I live in Alberta (it'll hit -40C tonight), and my Japanese maple is in the garage where I'm praying it won't die on me, but I need something to occupy my living room and attention. I'd also like your suggestions for trees that may be grown indoors through the growing season and then wintered outdoors; I don't have access to a patio or the appropriate places to have bonsai outdoors, but the garage can house them when it's cold.



Cheers guys, excited to be a part of your community.

Kevin

You probably want to speak with @Tycoss he is in or around Calgary and can help a bit I suppose. @wireme might be helpful too. I suspect they both will tell you the same thing that I am going to, and thats to leave the trees to mostly native species (or zone 3 hardy trees) and get some house plants for the winter.

 

[Underdog]

I'm wondering where the best spots are to get some medium sized (5-15 year) material suitable for indoor bonsai?

I've just got a very nice tree shipped from http://wigertsbonsai.com/ and another 2 from http://www.hfimports.com/which I drove home.
Shipping to you would be the problem in this cold weather. Wigarts put some heat packs in the well packed box but we were pushing its limits. Never would make it that far.

 

[Tycoss]

Just noticed this this morning. Thanks for thinking of me by the way SKBonsaiGuy. I overwinter almost everything on the garage,unless it's planted in the ground. The only exceptions I've kept outside all year are locally collected white spruce, lodgepole pine and tamarack larch. In terms of something you can work on indoors during the winter, I've had best luck with bougainvillea, olives and ficus. Mine were mostly old house plants or I got them at the end of the season atGolden Acres or Greenview nurseries. I actually only have one tree that was purchased as a bonsai(a willow leafed ficus). Whatever you get, make sure to give it a lot of light. It's good to know I'm not the only one in Alberta interested in bonsai.

 

[Random User]

"It's good to know I'm not the only one in Alberta interested in bonsai."

I think Edmonton has a large bonsai group, from what I've seen, only second to Toronto, but I'm sure Vancouver and Montreal have theirs too... personally, I get the impression that Edmontons is pretty good and Winnipeg's has a on-again off-again kind of existence, but I'm just going by the web sites, it might be a totally different story if you were to speak to a member or two.

 

[Random User]

'twas -43 C here last night, so not much bonsai'n going on in the Prairies... if you think of the winters and the BS you ave to deal with in keeping something alive, you might save yourself heaps of money in the long run... we have stuff that other people (zones) would like to work with, just like they have stuff that we'd like. I can't be bothered to mess with marginal or sensitive trees... but thats just me.

 

[Zentner]

"It's good to know I'm not the only one in Alberta interested in bonsai."

I think Edmonton has a large bonsai group, from what I've seen, only second to Toronto, but I'm sure Vancouver and Montreal have theirs too... personally, I get the impression that Edmontons is pretty good and Winnipeg's has a on-again off-again kind of existence, but I'm just going by the web sites, it might be a totally different story if you were to speak to a member or two.

I tried getting ahold of the Edmonton Bonsai Society a number of times since last year, but haven't had any luck. I might try and collect some tamarack if I can find suitable candidates, but I hear they're somewhat finicky for a conifer. I'd like to style a banyan bonsai but humidity will be an ongoing issue.

 

[Random User]

Like any other plant, what will easily grow for one person can be another person's challenge... I wouldn't rule out too many native species except for those that are wholly unsuitable as a bonsai... you have to find out what you'll easily kill vs. what will easily grow for you.

 

[wireme]

I'd also like your suggestions for trees that may be grown indoors through the growing season and then wintered outdoors;

Hmm, that's a tricky combo. Did I read that right? Did you write it right?

 

[f1pt4]

I tried getting ahold of the Edmonton Bonsai Society a number of times since last year, but haven't had any luck. I might try and collect some tamarack if I can find suitable candidates, but I hear they're somewhat finicky for a conifer. I'd like to style a banyan bonsai but humidity will be an ongoing issue.

Young tamaracks are easy to collect. Older ones tend to be finicky.

You want a bullet proof houseplant/sort of bonsai for the winters? Get a schefflera. They usually show up in big box stores around end of January around here with huge discounts around March.

Chop them very hard, give them light and fertilizer and you'll have something to look at in the winter.

Check out Nigel Saunders schefflera on YouTube. I got one on this site somewhere too!

Best of luck!

 

[Zentner]

Hmm, that's a tricky combo. Did I read that right? Did you write it right?

Yeah, so I don't really have any spots to hold bonsai outside, so I'm limited to indoors through the growing season. For non-tropicals, I have the garage to winter my trees (and it's necessary given how cold it gets here) but the trouble is the growing season.

Thanks for all the replies everyone, Learning a lot.

 

[f1pt4]

Yeah, so I don't really have any spots to hold bonsai outside, so I'm limited to indoors through the growing season. For non-tropicals, I have the garage to winter my trees (and it's necessary given how cold it gets here) but the trouble is the growing season.

Thanks for all the replies everyone, Learning a lot.

That's a tough one. No balcony? Window ledge? @sorce got creative with his outdoor growing before he moved to his bigger pasture.

Maybe Tropicals under lights is in your future if you can't give your maples outdoor summer light.

Another friend of mine who lives in an apartment has permission from the landlord to use a section of the roof for growing.

Where there's a will there's a way!

 

[Zentner]

That's a tough one. No balcony? Window ledge? @sorce got creative with his outdoor growing before he moved to his bigger pasture.

Maybe Tropicals under lights is in your future if you can't give your maples outdoor summer light.

Another friend of mine who lives in an apartment has permission from the landlord to use a section of the roof for growing.

Where there's a will there's a way!

My apartment has great windows and lighting. I had my maple on the window sill and it exploded with growth at the end of the summer. I had some problems early on and decided there was enough time left in the summer to defoliate; this proved to be a great decision, the tree put on 12" growth on one branch and 7" on the leader in 2 1/2 months or so. For these reasons, I think it'll get enough sun in the east-facing window (don't forget, with our short days in winter come long days in summer... it's bright from 5:30 AM to 11:30 PM in june).

Time will tell what happens after it comes out of dormancy, but it looks like the really cold days are done for awhile at least.

 

[f1pt4]

My apartment has great windows and lighting. I had my maple on the window sill and it exploded with growth at the end of the summer. I had some problems early on and decided there was enough time left in the summer to defoliate; this proved to be a great decision, the tree put on 12" growth on one branch and 7" on the leader in 2 1/2 months or so. For these reasons, I think it'll get enough sun in the east-facing window (don't forget, with our short days in winter come long days in summer... it's bright from 5:30 AM to 11:30 PM in june).

Time will tell what happens after it comes out of dormancy, but it looks like the really cold days are done for awhile at least.

its bright yes, but east facing only gives you direct light in the morning. From my understanding, your growth won't be as robust with this kind of exposure. Probably leggy with longer internodes. I guess as long as dormancy is achieved then you should be fine.

I'm no maple expert so take my advice with a grain of salt.

 

[Tycoss]

I actually find tamarack to be one of the easiest conifers for bonsai around here. Only things I've noticed is that you have to go fairly easy on the roots, especially for older ones, and they like lots of watering and cold winters. For native collected plants, listen to Wireme, especially for conifers. He has more experience and much better trees than me. By the way, what part of the province are you from?

 

[Djtommy]

@Tycoss , that avatar tree is really cool, do you have other pictures of it?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Indoors, all year round. Hit the "Tropical" sub-forum. East window will let you do a wide range of tropicals. Look for ones listed for "part shade".

Almost all ficus, serissa, Hedera type ivy, Malpighia, Osmanthus species, Bougainvillea does well under lights year round.

The hybrid Florist's azalea is more tropical than Satsuki types and does well indoors. These are usually sold in bloom in autumn and winter. Sold in floral shops, gift shops for decoration, not sold at most landscape nurseries.

 

[Random User]

Not to knock the Alberta crowd, but I've always said, "the best thing that ever came out of Alberta are the chinooks"... went from -43 to 0 C in 2 days.

Zentner, I think the best thing that you can do given your situation is listen to Leo and try the things he's suggesting about tropicals... and leave native trees right where they are, and I mean this literally. You "could, if you wanted to", go out and find some suitable tree(s) in a ditch, fence line etc. and cut that puppy back (leave the roots alone)... grow that thing out over a couple of years, then take a saw once the top has recovered and cut the roots around the base to encourage compact root growth (maybe put some plastic type "hoop" around it, so the roots can't get too leggy. Then, when you've moved to a more suitable location, you can go and dig that dog up... you needn't wait to start doing bonsai like this, and to be honest there aren't enough ppl into it so that anyone would notice anyway. However, once you cut the roots on the second or third year, you will have to water it periodically but if you find a tree in the right spot, no one would notice what you're up to anyway... right now, I can't tell you how many I have "hiding in plain sight"...

There is one tool that you should have if your memory is like mine though... get a pocket GPS and mark the locations, so you don't forget any.