I've always been fascinated by bonsai, and I adore boxwood and have
always thought they'd be great for bonsai as they have small leaves and
are slow-growing. So a few months ago when I ran into a bonasai boxwood
at Lowe's I snapped it up. I placed it on my kitchen counter where it
gets cheerful morning light and I can remember to water it every day
(I'm perfect for those plants where it says 'allow to dry out between
watering'; unfortunately bonsai is not one of those!) I thought the
little tree was adorable, but I did miss the boxwood-smell (this one
doesn't have it, sadly), so I added another potted boxwood from a guy
selling them at the farmer's market - it was a yearling intended for
shrubbery, but for now it's also a houseplant. My husband, who because
of a few unfortunate events in our early marriage thinks I am a
plant-murderer, said shocking things to the little fellows about their
immanenet demise from thirst and made me glad that plants -can't-
understand language.

Anyway.

What has happened is that now the teeny shrub designated to be bonsai
has sent out an exuberant new flush of growth. Of course my
hard-hearted husband calls it the 'dying gasp', but this is a *happy*
shrub, I know that. My problem now is that I *know* I should trim off
most or all of the new growth (or at least some of the old growth to
compensate), but I don't seem to find myself having the heart for it. I
actually can't take the scissors to the little thing. And of course I
can't leave it in the itty-bitty bonsai pot if I'm encouraging it to
put out new leaves and limbs... so I guess I'm about to break down and
repot it.

So, short-story-long, I spent $10 to get a bitty little stunted boxwood
that doesn't even have the proper smell, when right next to it I have a
just-as-nice, smelly one that's twice the size and cost me $5. Oh, and
I now have a useless little pot and need to buy another for this little
guy.

So much for my failed experiment with bonsai!

- Susan

You are only a failure if you think so. I make mistakes with my canning and
I give them away and get compliments for my mistakes. If yours doesn't look
like a bonsai tree, rename it a kamikaze tree. Tell everyone that is what
it is, and since they have never seen one, they wont know.

Dwayne

"Susan Hogarth" wrote in message
ups.com...
I've always been fascinated by bonsai, and I adore boxwood and have
always thought they'd be great for bonsai as they have small leaves and
are slow-growing. So a few months ago when I ran into a bonasai boxwood
at Lowe's I snapped it up. I placed it on my kitchen counter where it
gets cheerful morning light and I can remember to water it every day
(I'm perfect for those plants where it says 'allow to dry out between
watering'; unfortunately bonsai is not one of those!) I thought the
little tree was adorable, but I did miss the boxwood-smell (this one
doesn't have it, sadly), so I added another potted boxwood from a guy
selling them at the farmer's market - it was a yearling intended for
shrubbery, but for now it's also a houseplant. My husband, who because
of a few unfortunate events in our early marriage thinks I am a
plant-murderer, said shocking things to the little fellows about their
immanenet demise from thirst and made me glad that plants -can't-
understand language.

Anyway.

What has happened is that now the teeny shrub designated to be bonsai
has sent out an exuberant new flush of growth. Of course my
hard-hearted husband calls it the 'dying gasp', but this is a *happy*
shrub, I know that. My problem now is that I *know* I should trim off
most or all of the new growth (or at least some of the old growth to
compensate), but I don't seem to find myself having the heart for it. I
actually can't take the scissors to the little thing. And of course I
can't leave it in the itty-bitty bonsai pot if I'm encouraging it to
put out new leaves and limbs... so I guess I'm about to break down and
repot it.

So, short-story-long, I spent $10 to get a bitty little stunted boxwood
that doesn't even have the proper smell, when right next to it I have a
just-as-nice, smelly one that's twice the size and cost me $5. Oh, and
I now have a useless little pot and need to buy another for this little
guy.

So much for my failed experiment with bonsai!

- Susan