The area around my desk has always been lacking of any foliage. I’ve tried to put plants around it, but they keep dying as if planted on some cursed land. The logical reasoning is that they died primarily because I keep forgetting to water them but also the lighting conditions were not suitable.

As a Christmas gift this year I received a new plant, a bonsai tree. It’s not the first time I’ve received a bonsai tree as a gift but the previous one died…and it died quick. I watered it but it kept shedding needles and making a mess all over the place. Eventually it stopped shading (which was good), but then it turned brown and died (which was bad).

For those who don’t know, bonsai is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers . In English, the term bonsai routinely refers to the growing and shaping of any tree in a conditioner and does not need to follow any traditional Japanese bonsai techniques. If you go to a exotic plant store, you will see both traditional bonsai and non-traditional miniatures(using exotic tropical tree species).

It takes years of careful shaping and pruning to “train” a tree to become a “bonsai”. Not only do the leaves have to be pruned but so do the roots. Copper or steel wires are often used to help shape the trunk. In traditional bonsai, the art is in making the tree look like a miniature version of a real tree you would find in nature. This includes the weathered/aged look of the bark, the shape of the trunk after many decades of harsh weather, and the size of the foliage.

Not all bonsai trees are small. Bonsai’s can actually range in size from the very small (in contains only a few inches in diameter) to very large (over 80 inches). Some of the larger bonsais are actually more than 6 feet tall. Being trees, bonsais can live for a very long time, with the oldest trees being over 500 years old!

It turns out that many species of trees used for bonsai are for temperate climates and are unable to survive indoors for long periods of time. They are actually meant to be placed in pots outdoors. This recent bonsai tree I received is supposed to be cultivated for indoor conditions. It “should” survive in room temperature and indoor humidity conditions all year long but giving the bonsai enough light will still be a problem.

So here’s to hoping this new bonsai tree survives the year!