名媛直播

Just came across this website and Forum this morning and hope I have found a group of nice and helpful folks!
After trying to be a nice father to my daughter who is a senior in college, I purchased a Chinese Elm 名媛直播 from Amazon and had it delivered to her for company while she is away at school. Great thought......extremely poor execution!! It arrived in what looked like from the pictures, great shape.....however, in a matter of weeks it (or "Herschel" because she named it) was on his way to the after-life. I was an idiot for not researching it further to discover that a busy college kid does not have the time to properly take care of bonsai.......so I apologized to her....the least I could do.

Now I have been researching bonsai and want to get one for myself since I have always been extremely fascinated by them . I purchased a book and have read a ton on the Internet.......and came to the conclusion that I CAN DO THIS!!! What I need however is a little help from my new found friends here......
So, I am asking for recommendations on what type of tree to purchase at my local nursery. Here is what I think is the pertinent information that you will need to know in order to make a solid recommendation:
1) It will be kept Indoors
2) I live in eastern Pennsylvania
3) I do not have any southern facing windows, so will have to use a western or eastern window
4) I do have a "grow light" that I can utilize if recommended
5) I do have a "warming mat" that I can utilize if recommended
6) I have a house humidifier, but the humidity in the winter months can still get low (~40%)
7) I have the deep desire to learn all I can about this art and all recommendations regarding information, tools to use, etc. are extremely welcome
I am starting with NOTHING and moving up from there
I anxiously look forward to your responses!!
- Todd

Hello and welcome!

I think most of us would reccomend outdoor trees as they are easier to keep.

If you do not have a chance to do so and really want an 'indoor' tree I would reccomend ficuses.
Now the hard thing at the beggining is to know the difference between real bonsais and some young trees and cuttings in a pot without proper training and style. You can always start with a cheaper(not always) , young tree, but you need to accept that it takes long years, if not, decades to train a bonsai out of it.

This is an article about indoor bonsais:

This page is about the indoor lightings:

Ficus related articles:

And some pages I found helpful and inspiring where you can find a lot of general info about bonsais:







Good luck!

Hello and welcome. If you have the time, I suggest you join a club. I'm in New Jersey and know of a few good clubs and places that you could take a class or two.
I also recommend you start with an out doors tree. Not to say that you can't be successful with an indoor tree, but you'll have a wider variety to choose from and making a proper place won't be as much as an issue.