this is easier
Planting a tree in a small pot does not automatically turn it into a Bonsai. To create a Bonsai involves continual pruning and shaping of suitable species of shrubs or trees to produce a style that you desire.

You start the hobby of growing Bonsai with a young tree or shrub. Suitable species include Bottlebrush, Ironwood, She Oak, Silky Oak, Crepe Myrtle and Fig. Ask your local nursery for other suggestions that are suited for your climate.

When choosing a plant consider the following points:

*The plant will need material for you to work with, so look for a tree with many branches.

*The plant should have a wide trunk, preferably wider at the base.

*The leaves of the plant should be naturally small.

*The lowest branches should start close to the ground.

*To add the illusion of age to the tree, try to find a plant with radiating roots present.

*Make sure the plant is healthy.

When choosing a pot for the plant, aim for shallow pots unless the tree you choose has a thick trunk. The wider the trunk the deeper the pot. The pots must have drainage holes, and pots that have been glazed on the inside prevent the plant from breathing. Using your artistic flair, choose a pot by its colour and texture, and ask yourself whether it will suit the plant you have purchased.

After you have chosen a plant it is a good idea to plant it either in a large pot or in the ground until it has matured. This will speed up the growing process and give the roots greater strength. To increase the mass of branches, prune the tree continuously.

When you feel the tree has matured enough to be styled into a bonsai, prepare the pot by covering it¡¦s drainage holes with insect screening or thin fabric. This prevents the soil from clogging up the holes when you water the plant. When you fill the pot with potting mixture choose a mixture for outdoor plants. The Bonsai is not an indoor plant. The tree will not be as strong once it has been potted, so style the tree before you remove it from its location.

When you unpot the plant from its initial location, get a stick and loosen the soil from around the roots. Scrape up to a third to a half of the old soil away. Using a pair of scissors, trim the roots that are exposed outside of the existing soil. You can now place the tree in the pot, filling the rest of the pot with your potting mixture.

After decorating the top of the potting mixture with pebbles, moss or fine bark, you are now ready to style the plant. You can shape the trunk of the tree by using wire. Wind a thin piece of wire around the trunk of the tree and to the branches you wish to shape. Bend the tree gently allowing the wire to hold it in place. The wire can be removed from the tree when the branches do not spring back if the wire is released. With continuous pruning and trimming, your artistic talents will show as the tree matures. You have now created a Bonsai.

this is for the bio project

The bonsai tree is native to Japan. It was brought to the US (Hawaii, etc….)

I just got it.

Instructions were minimal. It says:
Water once a week
Keep in light(Is a lamp okay or does it need sunlight?)
Dont let it get in temperatures under 4 celcius.
Fertilize every 2 months

What else should i do?

Any tips?

You need to figure out what type of tree you have in order to take care of it properly. Bonsai is a technique used to create a small version of a tree in nature - not the plant itself. Bonsai can be created from almost any plant type.

Until you figure out what kind of tree it is, your best bet would be to put it outside, as long as the temperatures are above 50 F, in bright but not direct sun, and water it enough to keep it from drying out completely, but not constantly soaked. Don’t use any fertilizer until you ID the tree.

Unless you are using a lamp designed specifically for plants, your tree will need sunlight.
Check around at the many bonsai sites on the internet to try to ID your tree, or even post a picture at one of the bonsai forums.

I live in central Queensland, Australia. About 3 hrs from Toowoomba. Does anyone know where I can get some information on growing bonsai, prefferably indoor but any info can help. Are there any books or websites that are good sources on how to grow bonsai in Australia? Please help me?

Bonsai is not a plant, it is the art of pruning plants ( usually shrubs) into different shapes and forms thereby keeping them small. You can have bonsai indoors or out depending on the plant you use.
Check out google for the technique, or try your library, gardening web sites ect.

my brother bought bonsai seeds and put them in that little stump a few months ago, but nothing is growing. its out in my yard, but i heard someone say you cant grow it outside, nor inside, it just depends..?

He probably bought seeds that make a small tree or a small shrub; but there is no such things as a bonsai seed. Bonsai is a way of growing a tree/ shrub - that is to stunt its growth and training it into a shape that resembles a full size tree. This is mainly done through cutting the main root and letting the smaller roots grow in a less-nutrient rich soil mix (dilute potting soil with sand or peat moss). Traditional bonsai growing happens outdoors; where the tree is subjected to the same growing conditions as the real/true size tree/shrub. Some "bonsais" that you see sold in garden stores are not really true bonsai trees - it takes years to grow them, and the ones found in garden stores usually say to keep them indoors; that means they’ve been grown indoors. Depending on where you live, there could be a bonsai society that might have a Japanese garden that is open to the public; it could help if you visit one of these places, and see some good examples.

hello i want to know some Personal tips about bonsai.

Growing any bonsai takes time. You start with a small ficus plant in a pot 4 to 6 inches in diameter. Keep it there for 2 or 3 months to make sure that it is healthy. Don’t fertilize it, but make sure that it has adequate water and light. Then start watching it for 30 minutes a day. Just do that for another month. Transplant it to a smaller pot or the container of your choice. It must be large enough to contain the root mass which will be left when, during the transplantation, you trim away about 50% of the smallest roots. After that move, trim away 3 of the smallest branches which you have been watching during your month long observation. Don’t trim away more than 3 of those branches a week for no more than 4 weeks. Continue to observe the tree. Make sure that it has enough water and light. A small amount of water twice a day, not a lot all at once. For about 3 to 6 months, keep up the watering and the light and the observation. Observe the tree for a total of 6 months without doing anything. Then trim off the new growth at the tips of the branches which you have left on the plant. Gently remove the tree from its container. Prune off 30% of the small roots. Return it to its container. Wait another 3 months. By then you should know your bonsai well enough to do for it what it needs. Good luck, grasshopper.

if anyone has any information on this tree can you please let me know cause im not real sure what to do i live in australia unfortunatly were in middle of a dry spell and have heavy water restrictions please help

Check out this link, maybe it will be of some help to you..☺

http://www.saba.org.za/miniaturetrees.pdf

i bought it not thinking about taking care of it. I need to know what the soil needs to consist of, how to trim, how much sun and water and anything else you think i should know.

For me to sit here and explain all the intricate in’s and out’s of the art of Bonsai (and I could), it would take at least two pages and then that would only be the tip of the iceberg! There are many tricks of the trade besides the easy part of watering and fertilizing. My suggestion for you would be to head to a local garden center that carries gardening books such as the ones from "ortho" and purchase one on basic bonsai (bone - sigh) care. Bonsai is a precise art and is learned over many years of gaining experience by either teachings from a bonsai "master" or by reading literature on the subject. There are many great books out there written by "masters" themselves, complete with pictures of some of their greatest work. If you want to do a quick lesson, look up caring for a bonsai tree online, there are many sites with basic care … Hope this answers your question..

http://www.nebonsai.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NEBG&Product_Code=BonsaiTechniquesI&Category_Code=BOOK

http://www.absbonsai.org/books/booklist.html

…Billy Ray

Well I went to a website that sells bonsai seeds and Im stuck whether to buy a Mugo Pines or a Italian Cypress I live in a apartment in California so which of my two choices best fits in where I live.
If you have bought bonsai seeds that grows on the internet please tell me what website you purchased them.
Can you tell me how tall the
Italian Cypress and Mugo Pine are.

Neither one of these species are indoor trees, and if and when they start growing, they will die in about 6 months to a year because they need a cold winter to go dormant. You can see both of these species on my site:
http://www.american-bonsai.com . You’ll be able to do a ‘quick find’ to search for them. You may also want to read the Bonsai care page on my site to give you a better idea of what kind of species will do well inside. I’m sorry that I can’t send live trees to CA because of your state’s agricultural restrictions.

Three weeks ago I took a sprig from a matured bonsai and placed it in water. Now it has tiny roots and it seems healthy. Can I now transfer to soil appropriate for growing bonsai in a small ceramic container ? I have read some information about how to start growing bonsai but haven´t found the right information about sprig planting. Please help.

you need a potting media that drains quickly and doesnt hold water long. Also dont put the cutting in a ceramic pot for bonsai, you need to get the smallest container you can for the transplant, We horticulturist never put a plant in too big of a pot, it causes it to root rot from the fouled potting media. By the way you need to identify the parent plant it came from. that will help you in deciding when to transplant it. Do this, take a plastic or styrofoam cup, smallest you can get. Fill it with a potting media made of vermiculite, perlite, peatmoss and then place the transplant into the cup. to keep from damaging the roots, use your finger to make a hole in the mix after watering it down until it drains out the bottom. You need to poke a hole in the bottom for drainage. The key for a delicate transplant here is light, quick draining media. If it is doing well in the water, get as much root growth as you can before you transplant it, the more roots the better. I wouldnt transplant it at this point, let it grow until it gets a good amount of roots and you start getting new growth on the sprig. I use to collect wild bonsai out in the wild, it is neat and fun if you have the time to do so. have fun