Bob wrote:
Well, everybody has to start sometime. My time is now. I have looked at
bonsai plants for a while. Finally I bought one at the local farmer's market
from a booth for a local nursery. The bonsai is a juniper in a pumice pot
and is gorgeous to my untrained eye.

I have done a bit of reading on the net about the mistakes newbies often
make. I am still wishing that I can enjoy my plant indoors so I can see it
more often than I will if it is outdoors. I am fortunate to have a large (6'
x 9') sun room that gets a substantial amount of light all day long. So we
aren't just talking about a big window.

Obviously if I choose to start my bonsai off here and it starts to signs of
unhappiness, it will go outside, but I am curious if any others on this
newsgroup have had success in keeping their tree indoors and what I might
watch for to keep it healthy.

Welcome to the sport of bonsai. At least you seem to be
aware that junipers are NOT indoor trees, so when it slowly
fades away, you will know why. Assuming you have some
experience with plants, you probably will be able to keep it
"alive" for a year or so. But it will not thrive.

The indoor environment is especially rough on trees -- even
trees that _can_ adapt to indoor life -- ficus, sheffelera,
etc. It's too dry indoors. I'm speaking of humidity, not
soil moisture. There's no fresh air (breeze). Light (even
on a sun porch) is always lower than they get outside, and
the UV is missing. Insect problems become much worse inside
than out.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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