How do you properly care for a bonsai tree?

My husband received a bonsai tree for Christmas but unfortunately he has no idea on how to look after it. Can anyone help me?|||Highly recommend getting to the library for a book on bonsai.





1. It needs to be outside. It's a tree and trees are happier outside.





That's the big one I remember. I killed 3 bonsai trees inside, even though I watered and generally took care of them. This is what someone told me.





FP|||First, we need to determine the species of the tree, then we can go from there. "Bonsai" covers a big area. You might want to look at the trees on


my site www.american-bonsai.com and see if any of them are like his.


If you wish, you are welcome to send a photo to me at


wchoat@american-bonsai.com . Also, please read my Care page to give


you a very general idea of bonsai care.|||It depends on where you live and the species of tree.





please ask again with more details





ps I've been a member of a local bonsai club in Fla. for about 15 years.|||The two main points about Bonsai I know of are simple.


One; they are trees and should be treated as so, left outside to the temperatures and whims of the weather.However care must be given to it's safety. Throughout the winter months it should be protected against heavy snowfall and the winds. It isn't the cold that will kill it but the dehydration of the winds will and the weight of the snow can break the limbs.


Two; set it in a relatively shallow ceramic pot. The pot has to be one that resists frost. The glaze and type of glaze willl assure the plants safety throughout the cold seasons, against the frost anyways.


Do not baby it but care for it in the training of the limbs etc. Remember...it is a tree. A small tree to be sure but still a small one.


One thing more. Up on rattlesnake point near Guelph Ontario there are natural Bonsai trees. Very small; growing in the rocks and they are unknown to the public by secrecy. Students of the University of Guelphs Agricultural studies found them some ten years ago, maybe more. But some of them are over eight hundred years old! They are small and have not been coddled but man talk about Bonsai!! Nobody knows where they are which is good because they would be ripped out in a thrice for collectors.At the price they would fetch you can bet some thief would come for them. Fortunatly Rattlesnake point is a very large area. Few people know how to gauge the trees age. Nor do they have the equipment to do so properly.


So there's a small piece of information that can help your husband.|||Always make sure that you water the bonsai at least everyday, more importantly make sure that you soak your bonsai in something that will allow you to set the pot below the water level for at least ten minutes once or twice a week.





Should you succeed in keeping the plant alive for more than a few months, I would suggest going to a book store and picking up the Bonsai 101 Beginers book, which has been instrumental in my successful hobby of making bonsai's.|||I have one too and I have it still inside and it is growing.Follow the Instruction I send you and you will see for yourself.Just keep it in one spot, don't move it . Good Luck.