Indoor Outdoor Cold War

[DrSmith]

I've been reading a book called Indoor Bonsai. It's by a hobbyist who does both outdoor hardy trees and indoor tropical trees. He shares that for years most outdoor hobbyists have disliked the notion of indoor trees. One of the main reasons is that sometimes people can buy an indoor tree and merely stand it in a room without learning such skills as grafting, wiring and so forth.
At any rate, I'm the same as the truth is I like to have some tropical trees indoors and also like to work with outdoor material. If time allows, I'll work on pines, false cypress, box, cotoneaster, firethorn and whatever else I have in the garden.
The book gives a list of trees that can be kept indoors. These include orange trees, bottle trees from Australia, all types of ficus, serissas and so forth. There are quite a few.
One point he stresses is compost for tropical indoors needs to be grittier than you could get away with outdoors due to air being not as plentiful.
Also now the weather is better I'm trying to put some of my indoor trees outdoors but don't want to overdo it so they won't go indoors again and survive when the summer is over.
Who else likes to do bopnsai indoors as well as outdoors?

[octoberust]

I started with indoor bonsai as I had no luck, initially, keep outdoor bonsai alive through the winter. I have found my tropical trees need to go outdoors in the summer in order to rid them of things like dust mights and mold or fungus. The tropicals of course hate the shock of a changed environment but the benefits are worth it.

[Jakes]

I like the idea of indoor and outdoor bonsai.
i like the display of bonsai indoors, gives such a calming evect in the house. Outdoor is for the big boys..

[iamurthman]

I keep mostly outdoor trees, but I have about a dozen indoor. A few ficus, an olive tree, a handful of succulents, and some coffee trees.

[Jakes]

When can you say, that now you have enough bonsai..??

[DrSmith]

Dislike of tropical trees kept indoors is often linked to the the fact most people start off with a tree sold as indoors and then they die, due to dryness, central heating and so on. Then the person just gives up and never touches a bonsai again. Had they tried a hardy outdoor tree they'd have had a far better impression.
Keeping trees indoors is hard. I find ficus are very very tolerant of indoor conditions but there are other trees that are tricky. Now it's gotten sunnier I'm putting my fukien tea outdoors to strengthen it and it seems all will be well. I don't see hardly any aphids any more around it and I need to get shot of those.
More on indoor: I like the fact they sell many in supermarkets and DIY stores shipped from China and not very expensive. Fukien tea is common if you're lucky but Chinese privet is now used more often. I figure if I can keep the fukien I already have doing O.K. I'll buy some more of them.
I'm going to try putting the indoor trees outdoors quite a lot during sunny weather, bearing in mind you have to be careful they don't get too spoiled, only to snuff it in Winter when you put them back inside.

[nebraska]

I also started with an indoor tree, well succulent really. Adenium obesum, very tolerant of beginner mistakes its still in my collection, but looks nothing like a bonsai. I soon took on a ficus than chinese elm before spring hit when I got a pine and many deciodous trees. The ficus and elm have both perished, the pine is doing good but needs a lot of work.

As far as tropicals go I agree, there is much more work involved to keep them happy, but succulents make better house plants

[djlen]

nebraska, what kind of pine are you keeping indoors. I've never heard of one that will live, long-term inside.

I grow both in and outdoor trees and there are many which will keep a person happy and busy over the Winter when there's little to do with Temperate trees.
I go by the theory, grow what grows for you and leave the rest to others who can grow them.

[nebraska]

Its outdoors, its an Austrian Pine (pinus nigra). I have heard of a Australian pine that lives in warm conditions, but not sure if it would survive indoors or not.

[DrSmith]

Jerusalem Pine will live indoors.
Let's be clear, though, many "indoor" trees wouldn't be "indoor" if you were located in Australia, for example. I could put all my indoor trees outside in Australia. However, over here with the weather we have my indoor trees would die through morning frost.
Indoor trees are really tropical species that happen to be tolerant of lesser light levels and not quite so much humidity. Whenever possible, keep a tree outside.


djlen wrote:

nebraska, what kind of pine are you keeping indoors. I've never heard of one that will live, long-term inside.

I grow both in and outdoor trees and there are many which will keep a person happy and busy over the Winter when there's little to do with Temperate trees.
I go by the theory, grow what grows for you and leave the rest to others who can grow them.