mall-sai rescue

[tuffshedd]

I'm now the proud (?) owner of a mall-sai.

My wife called me. "Sam's has bonsai trees on clearance for $4. Includes the tree, a pot, and a wooden stand."

For $4, I figured it would be a cheap experiment. I remembered reading advice about scratching the bark to see if there was green underneath. So she scratched the trees until she found one that wasn't bone white. This has a hint of green under the bark. It has one branch that appears to be dying, but other than that, it looks okay.

I had read the stories about glued on stones, but I never dreamed they were glued on to this extent! First chore was gettng the stone-covered, compacted cube out of the pot. Under the root ball, there was a big chunk of styrofoam. I assume that's to help promote root rot before killing the tree off from lack of water.

A couple hours later and with lots of help from the sprayer on my kitchen sink, I had a rock and soil free "tree." Looks to me (a complete neophyte)
like a branch from a bush that was treated with rooting hormone and planted.
instructed by a bonsai book I have. Planted in a gallon pot. I used
"cactus soil" for lack of anything better now...it's a special mix of very well draining soil. I figured regular potting soil wouldn't drain enough.

I have no idea what kind the tree is. It's an evergreen. Juniper-like.
Trunk is about 1/2" in diameter. My wife said a sign at the store said it could be outside down to 40 F, and inside at 70 F. It's inside under fluorescent lights for now. I'm in South Dakota, and while we're having unseasonable warm weather currently (in the 30s), it won't be consistently above 40 for quite a while. If it survives until spring, I'll put it outside then. In the meantime, I figured I'd mist it often.

[Jogatholon]

I too am the new owner of a bosnia from Sam's. This is my first Bonsai & it was a gift. From all the talk I read, It soudns like a miracle whether I can keep it alive. In conclusion I removed the stones also, but found wich a good portion of the roots were attached to them & the glue. Meanwhile I hope which it'll survive threw at least the winter.....