Bonsai ID and Qs

Victrinia_Ensor

Fishbone...

The important thing is the consistency of the temps... As long as it doesn't get above 50 degrees in there your tree shouldn't suffer... But if it's not freezing you'll need to remember that it will still need a little water from time to time... so don't forget to check. The short term wet feet that happened won't cause any harm... so no worries there. It's only long term saturation/overwatering that risks root damage with a juniper, or most tree species for that matter.

My comment was only a sigh of relief. It would have been easy, in your newness to the forum, to be discouraged by what transpired in your first thread. I'm thankful that you took it in stride. The experiance of newer learners is very important to me... it is a chance to inspire and pass on the happy obsession. Truth to tell... I regard it as my obligation to honor the many who have done the same for me.

I smiled to myself this morning, and mumbled under my breath... "He'll be just fine..."

Kindest regards,


Victrinia

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Le belle cose prendono tempo...

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Pearl

Sorry Fishbone,

That your thread got damaged by huge ego's. If I were you I yould get on a cell phone and call a bonsai company for advice, instead of trying to find out from others ego's that overwhelm them.

Vic, I said your tree had bullet holes in it as a joke nothing more, then all you guys started poking me without mercy. IT'S NOT VERY FUNNY WHEN HUMOUR IS POINTED YOUR WAY, but yet it can be done to others. Why did you get offended instead of haveing a fun laugh, I thought humour was to make somebody have a good laugh.
Perhaps their is a Double Standard I'm unaware of.

Also, it's a bad idea to judge people according to their gallery, ever heard of LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING.

I understand I don't know everything and never said I did, and the same goes to you; when I say you, I don't mean Vic, I'm talking about everybody in BT.

Fishbone I could see was in desperate needs of help after I saw the weather where he lives, so I thought I would make a post and do my best. After Pearl make a post, BOOM!! Fishbone had reply's coming like it wasn't funny, just so they could jump and stabb Pearl. Being I know nothing, why didn't you bonsai brains reply sooner, surely you knew he was in desperate needs of help. They rather stalk and wait for Pearl to post, well don't wait anymore cause, now I know the truth.

I won't make any more post, I'll just be a lurker.

Have a bravo day all!!

Corey

FlyBri

Pearl,

Please check your Personal Messages.

Thanks.

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fishbone

Thanks for your insight Pearl. That is, when everything was still on-topic

fishbone

Just to quickly point out as far as distilled vs tap water goes, distilled or purified are NOT recommended for fishkeeping. People tend to use them for their [dreaded] betta bowls because they think they're better. In fact, they are not and are just a waste of money. Distilled/purified means no chlorine, chloramine AND a lot of other trace nutrients that both fish and aquatic plants benefit from. If brittle and sensitive shrimp varietis in the aquarium don't die from water that's been kept overnight, sure as heck plants wont. Shrimp literally die within minutes if there is any trace amount of chlorine. You could argue plants are hardier, but then I'd simply point you in the direction of dying aquatic plants for "no apparent reason" when being kept in distilled/purified water.
It's kinda nice to be able to carry over some limited knowledge from my other hobby into this new one
In short, tap water is better, preferably dechlorinated if possible.

rockm

Fishbone,

good for you in not getting caught up in the "pure" water is better bull. It's an arugment started by people who usually have not kept bonsai at least for long.

I've been using only tap water for my bonsai collection (which has a variety of species, from Trident maples to collected live oaks) for over 15 years now. It is not a problem. I've done nothing to the water in all that time. It comes straight out of the faucet through a hose and onto the trees.

Watering problems for beginners are more related to the amount of water given the tree than water quality. Most trees owned by beginners are overwatered or underwatered--usually overwatered. Water quality issues tend to be centered in water starved areas--the desert Southwest US for instance, where water has very high mineral content. If you don't live in one of those areas, it shouldn't be a problem.

I've read posts here that are laughable when it comes to water issues. The claims that bottled water should be used, distilled water or that "tap water is death" are always amusing. Pouring $10 worth of bottled water on a bonsai may be the silliest thing I've ever read. Those kinds of posts usually originate from people who have been keeping bonsai for a few weeks to a year or two. Bonsai are like pets. People want to baby them. Your dog doesn't need bottled water, neither does your tree...

If you want to worry about something constructive --worry about SOIL quality. This is VASTLY more important than water quality. A good bonsai soil resembles kitty litter (I said RESEMBLES kitty litter ), not garden or potting soil. The recipes for good bonsai soil are a source of endless discussion here. There are some very good ones here to refer to.

P.S. Over the years, I've noticed there is a sort of weird crossover to bonsai from aquarium owners. There are many former and current aquarists here now. I used to keep fresh and salt water tanks. Got waaay to expensive and used up a tremendous amount of electricity--halogen and actinic lighting for coral is expensive as are 200 gallon reef tanks.

Pearl

Fishbone,

Today I got on the phone with a Multi Bonsai World Champion, why I chose a champion is because he must be doing somehting right. I asked him can a bonsai of any kind be given tap water, he said in most cases yes, only if you want to limit your bonsai's growth with unwanted minerals and chlorine. I asked would it be better to use purified or distilled to maxamize it's growth, he said yes, but most people don't have the money to spend on many gallons of water, so they go the cheaper way and use tap.

Quality is very important to everything you do to your bonsai. Tools, soil, fertlizers, pots, it goes on and on, including water!!! I think we all know that quality is very important; we see the differences everyday. Cars we drive, food we eat, houses we live in, the list is much to long. A very sad and true example is this: Billions and billions of people smoke ciggaretts everday, does that mean you should also, I think you would say no. Just because a majority does one thing doesn't mean you should also. Feel free to use tap, it won't kill your tree; just be glad that your tree can't talk back.

I only use tap to wash my cars and houses, I don't even cook with tap.

Corey

Asus101

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pup

The person referred to as God in the Bonsai world uses TAP water

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Advanced begginner


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