Streptocarpus—this variety is the delightful little Weismoor hybrid.
With sensible care and winter protection, pruning and root-pruning when it threatens to grow too large, and training in the way we think it should grow, the little pine will, we hope, mature into a gnarled gnome in proportion and harmony with its woodland setting. Of course, we plan to provide a new box at root-pruning time before the old one can rot and set the dwarfed roots free to roam the soil around it.
INDOOR BONSAI, HARDY OR SEMIHARDY
The real Japanese bonsai is an outdoor inhabitant, usually one of a collection that is brought indoors for display purposes and for only a few days at a time. But by using tender plants that want more warmth, growers are beginning to create bonsai that can be used decoratively indoors the year round. In a shadow box, on a coffee table or special stand, even as a table centerpiece they should always be alone and with no accessories to detract from their unique style.
Last winter I thoroughly enjoyed starting a collection of indoor miniatures, frank copies of Japanese name bonsai, and even the wee fingertip shinto type. These are a special challenge because to preserve proper proportion, leaves and needles must be extra small, and pruning and training are particularly crucial. Water is applied with an eyedropper; fertilizer is administered in microscopic amounts. To provide protective humidity and warmth, and to help keep the small amount of soil in tiny containers from drying out, we rigged up plastic-covered quarters on a window sill, with a layer of moist vermiculite. Our tray was also improvised from a double layer of heavyweight aluminum foil. Now, all but the youngest, and the very smallest, miniatures are strong enough to grow on glass shelves outside the plastic tent.
Indoor plants, bonsai-style, are more than just tender seedlings, or cuttings, kept small in small containers. They are patterned after true bonsai, with interesting character, artistic lines, and perfect proportion. The mechanics of pruning and training are very much the same. But because they are not hardy outdoor growers that resent the hot dry air of a house, and because they don’t need annual dormancy, they are fascinating indoor ornaments to be lived with and enjoyed the year round.
Different types of bonsai trees and containers
Bonsai in citrus