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.
I cut away most of the tap root and about 2/3rds of the feeder roots, as
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.


Eric

I too am the new owner of a bonsai from Sam's. This is my first Bonsai and
it was a gift. From all the talk I read, It sounds like a miracle if I can
keep it alive. I removed the stones also, but found that a good portion of
the roots were attached to them and the glue. I hope that it will survive
threw at least the winter......

- Kirby


wrote in message
...
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.
I cut away most of the tap root and about 2/3rds of the feeder roots,
as
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.


Eric