Gee Nina:, Ban Tropicals???????????? :-[
I have tried to keep quiet about having tropical indoors. I absolutely
agree with you and Jim Lewis about people (like me) who want green in
their homes, however, I took an unused deck, enclosed it, and it became
my "Tree House". My entrance is through my living room! When the
temperature out doors is below freezing, I spend several wonderful hours
every winter day playing with my tropical.

To see my Bougainvillea's, Fukien Tea and even my Serissa blooming in
the winter is worth the effort of having an oscillating fan, humidifier,
and two heaters going 24/7. They are flourishing and keep me happily
pinching and pruning all my trees, especially my Brazilian Rain Trees.

The flip side of all my playtime are the walls and windows drip moisture
(from the humidifier) There is some sort of green mold on the walls
near the floor, which gets cleaned in the spring, (it wouldn't be very
nice in the home). When the tempweratures go down into the teens, the
windows are painted by Jack Frost, an especially enjoyable sight
tobehold! But all in all, I'll take the tropical and sub tropical over
all other (outdoor trees :-( )

Carl L. Rosner - near Atlantic City zone 6/7
http://bmee.net/rosner
http://www.jamesbaird.com/cgi-bin/Ja...d=00000068 48
http://www.jamesbaird.com/cgi-bin/Ja...d=00000068 48



Nina Shishkoff wrote:

Amen, Billy. A lot of people think occasional misting will make up for
dry indoor air. It doesn't. All it does is create a fine layer of
moisture which is perfect for developing bacteria and mold.
Alan Walker



I'd estimate that 99% of the people who contact me with indoor bonsai
problems mist their trees. And I always explain to them that it has no
effect on relative humidity in their house. Earlier today someone was
having problems with a tree that they misted with softened water (i.e.,
water treated with high amounts of ionic sodium). I told them to STOP.

Some days I'd just like to ban indoor bonsai. The longer I do bonsai, the
more I notice that my indoor trees are just houseplants with pretensions.

Nina







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