HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: barnett@farside.crd.ge.com (Bruce Barnett)
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
Subject: Re: ficus
Date: 27 Sep 92 16:34:39 GMT
Reply-To: barnett@crdgw1.ge.com
Organization: GE Corp. R & D, Schenectady, NY

Tomlinson's "Complete Book of Bonsai" says about the fig (ficus) tree:

Marvelous aerial roots, sometimes featured in roots over rock style.

Tolerates low loght conditions but requires warm conditions with
temperatures no lower than 15C (60F). Protect from draughts and try to
avoid fluctuations in temperature and soil moisture.

Water generously during growing season, but moderate in winter and low
light. Check the soil daily and make sure it is continually moist.
Mist spraying is beneficial, as the plant needs high humidity.

[ Sounds like you also need a humidity tray for indoors - Bruce]

--
Bruce Barnett <barnett@crd.ge.com> uunet!crdgw1!barnett
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
From: varmart@atlas.cs.upei.ca (Reji Martin)
Subject: Re: Canadian bonsai
Keywords: Great White North juniper snow ice cold
Organization: University of Prince Edward Island
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 12:06:44 GMT


Rob Sutherland,


	I too am a Canadian (constitutional BS not-with-standing) and 
	am planning on wintering some of my trees outside. I have several
	varieties of junipers and with the exception of my Chinese Juniper
	I plan bury them into the garden for the winter. There are two 
	ways to do this . . . the first is to bury pot and all and the
	second is to remove the plant from the pot and just bury the plant.
        The second way is more natural to the plant and is the best but
	either way has proven successful. The other method of wintering is
	to put the plants in that cool dark basement of yours and to just
	make sure that they are watered dureing the winter. I haven't
	tried this way but a friend of mine has been doing his wintering
	this way for over 10 years and hasn't lost a plant ! 

	PEI winters aren't as cold as yours in 'yer "Uppity Canada" but
	they certainly are much rougher on plants with the amount of wet
	freezing snow we get. As yet the only thing to worry about here is
	the hungry mice!

	By the way is "The North Bonsai" store still going in Ottawa? It
	used to be down on Bank St. by Sunnyside Ave.



     The     O
     Wheel  /-
     Brat  ( )\_	varmart@atlas.cs.upei.ca

      Reji Martin, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
From: jason@wc23.writer.yorku.ca (Jason Nolan)
Subject: Re: ficus
Keywords: ficus
Reply-To: JASON@WRITER.yorku.ca
Organization: York University
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 17:38:55 GMT

In article <1992Sep25.133945.23283@ida.liu.se> gse@ida.liu.se (Goran  
Sedvall) writes:
> I'm a beginner and I shall buy my first plant today. I would
> try a ficus tree and they say that is a very good beginners
> bonsai. The price is about $30 and I think thats cheap. Is there
> anything I realy need to know about this plant? I will have it
> indoor becoase the Swedish weather isn't very pleasant, the
> winter in particular.
> Goran

Goran, I always hear that ficus are the hardest bonsai to keep alive.  I  
had an owner of a bonsai store in Toronto tell me that last week.  She  
would not believe me when I told her that I have 7 of them.  I just can't  
seem to kill them.  The got bugs, so I sprayed them with soap.  Then I  
scorched them in the sun, and the leaves came back.  I forgot to water  
them, but the leaves came back.  I left one of them out in a hard frost...  
well that killed the foliage, but the roots put out shoots and I made some
mame bonsai from them.

When you want to grow more fucus bonsai, just cut off a stem and sit it in  
water, or peat moss, or even in damp soil, and it will grow like crazy.

Well, I'm not really even an amature bonsai-ist, but although I've killed  
some bonsai in my time, ficus are not one of my victims.

Good luck,
Jason
From: jamiller@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
Subject: bonsai no newsgroup de mo aru koto ga sugoi!
Date: 29 Sep 92 02:14:20 CDT
Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services

Bonsai no _newsgroup_ de mo arunda...  _net_ tte yappari sugoi mon da
na...-);
-- 
jamiller@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
James Miller

_chicchai .sig no ho ga ichiban iin janai ka..._
             Enlightenment Happens?
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
From: earprl@vtcc1.cc.vt.edu (Ron Earp)
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
Subject: Help!!
Date: 27 Sep 92 21:10:00 GMT
Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41


Hi,
   I'm new at keeping bonsai plants and I'm in need of some advice. I have
a small Juniper plant that is starting to turn slightly brown and the limbs
are getting soft. I live in the mountains and the plant has been outside
ever since it started to turn brown as I was keeping it inside. I've never
let the plant get totaly dry, I usually water every other day. Any help 
owuld be great as I don't want to kill any plants! Thanks!

-Ron

Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
From: kants_g@isis.cs.odu.edu (George Kantsios)
Subject: sending plants via email
Organization: Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va
Distribution: alt.bonsai
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 20:46:54 GMT

This morning I was cutting back an olive tree I have and
thought of how nice it would be if there was a way to
email the cuttings to people interested in starting their
own olive tree.  But since I can't ``email'' the cuttings, how
about (US) mailling the trees from cuttings?

I find that olive trees are quite impossible to kill, and starting
a new tree is as simple as taking a cutting and putting it into
a cup of water.

I would like to be able to send a message saying I have started
10 new trees, who wants them, but then I would have to take
into account shipping, and packaging the trees.  Can packages be
sent such that the recipient pays the postage?  And can anyone
think of a very inexpensive method that anybody could use to
package small trees?  This  could be an interesting method of
acquiring/swapping some trees.

I have a small collection of trees, but I think that starting
plants from some of the cuttings, and giving someone a tree is
much better than throwing out the cuttings.

Anybody have anything to say about, or add to this?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. (Maslow)

                     ______                         ___
                    /    __|                         |
                   /  \ /                            |
                      | |                            |
                      | |                            |
                      | |                            |
                      | |                            |
                      | |
                      | |                   George Kantsios (kants_g@cs.odu.edu)
                      | |		    Dept. of Computer Science
                      ---		    Old Dominion University, Norfolk VA	
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: rkn@Apple.COM (Richard K. Nordin)
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
Subject: Re: Bonsai going Brown, and I need help...(total beginer here...)
Date: 26 Sep 92 07:28:34 GMT
Organization: Cybernetic Arts

In article <1992Sep24.192838.19002@engage.pko.dec.com> wright@aiag.enet.dec.com writes:
>
>In article <72718@apple.Apple.COM>, rkn@Apple.COM (Richard K. Nordin) writes:
>
>|>First, if I remember, this thread started out as a cry for help on a juniper
>|>that was turning brown. My experience is that you place it in a pleasant
>|>enviornment and let it pass away. 
>                  -----------------
>As the originator of this thread, I would like to thank all who have replied
>to my call for help.
>
>And now I must ask for a moment of silence for my first bonsai... :-(

My condolences. No enthusiast escapes the loss of a tree. If it hasn't
happened to you yet, it will. Just try to learn from the experience.
When I select a tree to bonsai, I always try to commune with it first,
to try to give it a chance to say no. I can't say many have refused me,
but at least they had a chance. Although there is some risk, a bonsai
can lead a fairly pleasant life. It might even live longer than it would
in the wild--not that I've ever kept a bonsai that long. I guess I have
taken pity on a tree or two and set them free to live a "normal" life.
I worked on a deodar cedar for a few years before giving up on it and
planting it in my yard this summer. It just didn't have the right
stuff. It's got lots of new growth, so I guess it is enjoying its
freedom!

(I better watch it, or the animal rights folks might start thinking
about tree rights. This sounds a little like something one might say about
a pet monkey. (Honest, whenever I bent my monkey's arm to give it a
more graceful shape, I'd always put it in a nice cast!))

Well, honor your little juniper's sacrifice by learning something from
the event. Hang in there, and maybe someday you will get to the point
where you do more for your trees than they do for you. 
-- 

Hud Nordin
Cybernetic Arts                rkn@apple.com
Post Office Box 2066           Telephone: 408.248.0377
Sunnyvale, California 94087    Facsimile: 408.248.0416
From: andy@cmptrc.lonestar.org (Andy Hart)
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
Subject: Collecting Wild trees
Date: 5 Oct 92 03:48:23 GMT
Organization: CompuTrac Inc., Richardson TX

(Bernd Ebach) writes:

>> Just a little notice from a european Bonsai-Freak..
>> 
>> A peronal note on Bonsai:
>>   Finding a little tree - a 50 to 100-yearer - in nature and
>>   making it survive in a tea-pot is the real Bonsai-stuff.
>> 
>> TschauTschau
>> 		Bernd

(Rodger Madison) writes:

>[stuff deleted] ...I do find the above statement disturbing however.
>I little 50-100 year old tree has obviously had a hard life to stay that
>small.  There's a good chance it will die in the attempt to put it into a
>teapot (or whatever container).  And when the perpetrator of this deed
>dies, in a mere 25-30 years, the tree will probably not survive long after
>that.  Although nature is uncertain, the tree, if left, could easily live
>another 100 years.  Why not leave it there?
>
>     Rodger

  
  Rodger, there are some purists (and I guess Bernd is one) who think that
  bonsai shaped by nature's hand are the most beautiful.  I don't think it's
  cruel.  You will scrag many a tree before you're done!  :)

  Lifting a tree like that is a process that takes time and patience, I think.
  You don't necessarily just go out with a shovel and dig it up.  Once the 
  tree is potted, it may be better off than it was.  At least you can spray
  it for insects and keep it fed...


  I wish the activity in this newsgroup would pick up.  Doesn't anyone have
  some stories to tell?  Perhaps someone who has collected some trees from 
  the wild might share some techniques?
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
From: rob@bnr.ca (Rob Sutherland)
Subject: Canadian bonsai
Keywords: Great White North juniper snow ice cold
Organization: Bell-Northern Research
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 13:04:59 GMT

Yes, another bonsai-tyro with a question ...

   I inherited a bonsai (a variety of juniper - don't ask me
what type) recently and have been madly reading up on
bonsai.  Many of the books to be found are of the "How
to Grow a Bonsai in Sunny California" variety.  I happen
to live in the Great White North (Ottawa, Canada).  I realize
that junipers are "outside" bonsai but I really doubt that 
a juniper would relish being buried in snow.  I don't have
a convenient overhang or anything to keep some of the snow
off (it's no problem keeping the bonsai off the ground, though).

   So ... are there any Canadian bonsai experts out there?  Can
a juniper survive a winter indoors?  The basement is cool but
rather dark so I don't think that's a good idea.

   Any help would be appreciated.

Rob

p.s  Please post replies as my company's "unique" stand on
     security doesn't allow the general user access to net.mail.

-- 
Rob Sutherland
Bell-Northern Research, Ottawa, Ontario Canada 
{...}!uunet!bnrgate!bcarh475!rob  
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
From: dan@foghorn.cc.wayne.edu (Daniel Cwiertniewicz)
Subject: Re: Help!!
Organization: Wayne State University, Detroit
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 16:58:31 GMT

In article <27SEP199217103719@vtcc1.cc.vt.edu> earprl@vtcc1.cc.vt.edu (Ron Earp) writes:
>
>Hi,
>   I'm new at keeping bonsai plants and I'm in need of some advice. I have
>a small Juniper plant that is starting to turn slightly brown and the limbs
>are getting soft. I live in the mountains and the plant has been outside
>ever since it started to turn brown as I was keeping it inside. I've never
>let the plant get totaly dry, I usually water every other day. Any help 
>owuld be great as I don't want to kill any plants! Thanks!
>
>-Ron
>
Junipers are tough to kill, but keeping them indoors is one sure way.  I 
would also recommend that you let the soil dry to the touch on top before
watering again.  And keep it humid.  Junipers like humid air and only slightly 
moist roots.  When you water follow this procedure:  water once until you see
water draining from the pot.  Come back a few minutes later and do the same.
Come back a few more mintes later and do the same.  This will ensure that the
rootball is getting properly soaked.  I mention this because what you said
about the limbs getting soft made me think that you are not watering the plant
properly.  While it may seem that you are keeping the soil moist, it is
very possible that the rootball is actually drying out while the surrounding
soil is moist.  Just remember that when vegetables (like celery) lose 
moisture the become soft and pliable, when you put the same vegie into a 
glass of water it firms up.  This is the reason you withold watering just
before wiring.



-- 
Daniel Cwiertniewicz, Systems Analyst, C&IT, WSU, (313)-577-0787  
Let's talk Bonsai !
Bonsai@cms.cc.wayne.edu            
LISTSERV@cms.cc.wayne.edu  (To subscribe)                                  
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
From: bwalther@alfred.carleton.ca (Bill Walther)
Subject: Re: indoor bonsai
Organization: Carleton University
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 11:10:45 GMT

In <BvGH5n.2vF@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> chai@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Tippi Chai) writes:

>The biggest problem I have is that I don't know how to prune them
>into shape!  The azalea use to have a rather rectangular outline.
>One day I turned it around, and discovered that by retraining
>a long side branch to become a new apex, the whole characteristic
>of the tree is much improved.  Now I only need to decide which is going to
>be the front! I've had it for 3 months before I saw it in that angle -
>I consider it a stroke of luck.  Now if I can do it for the other
>plants ...  The fig has a very thickened base - looks like a candidate
>for semi or full cascade.
 
I bought a cheap, plastic lazy susan which I use when I'm pruning and
shaping.  It makes it easy to turn the plant so that you can see it
from all sides and really study it. I find this very helpful when I am
trying to decide what the tree wants to become.  When small, they
always keep changing their minds!
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
From: barnett@farside.crd.ge.com (Bruce Barnett)
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
Subject: Re: crab apple
Date: 27 Sep 92 16:38:47 GMT
Reply-To: barnett@crdgw1.ge.com
Organization: GE Corp. R & D, Schenectady, NY

In article <1992Sep25.185513.26801@mr.med.ge.com> bartlone@gemed (Mike Bartolone 5-4266) writes:

   Info wanted..how to propagate crab apple tree's. 

Tomlinson says propagating crab-apple is done by grafting, layering,
or air-layering. I tried air-layering once and didn't have much luck.
I guess you can try cuttings and seeds, but it doesn't sound like it's hopeful.
--
Bruce Barnett <barnett@crd.ge.com> uunet!crdgw1!barnett
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
From: bwalther@alfred.carleton.ca (Bill Walther)
Subject: Re: Canadian bonsai
Organization: Carleton University
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 11:21:44 GMT

I keep my cedars, hemlock, and pines in a coldframe outside all
winter, the pots burried in soil, the branches mulched with leaves.  I
cover the coldframe with an old window, then pile snow on it.  I live
outside Ottawa.  It gets _very_ cold here.  

But you _do_ have to know your trees!  My "outside" trees are all
native to the East Cost of North America.  I wouldn't try this with
something native to Japan (even northern Japan) or tropics.
From: kevin@howdy.cc.columbia.edu (Kevin Harris)
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
Subject: Re: indoor bonsai  (Serissa)
Date: 5 Oct 92 14:58:57 GMT
Organization: Columbia University

andy@cmptrc.lonestar.org (Andy Hart) writes:

|> To make a long story short, I've left mine out a few nights when it got
|> too cold.  These nippy nights have blasted what was once one of my best
|> trees. :(  I've got it inside now, but all of the leaves appear to be dead.
|> (Very brittle and losing their color).

Over the summer, my wife and I went on vacation for a week (ironically to
Tejas, but that's another story...) Since one of my serissas was about to
bloom, I decided to water it heavily before leaving, put a humidity tray under
it, and leave it in a western-facing window: big mistake. By the time we
returned, the tree was fairly welll fried - it seems that the NY area got more
sun than average in our absence.

Since I liked this little tree a lot, I decided to try and revive it by moving it
out of the sun and mist, mist, mist, it. 

That was early June. Now, it lives in a north - facing window and gets (along
with all the other trees that I can cram into this area) mist from a
humidifier for ~10 hours every night. It's *just now* starting to grow new
leaves. 

|> Moral of the story:  If you've got Serissa, they should probably be inside
|> by now.  Can anyone suggest some therapeutic care, if it's not too late?

Yep:
	* Prune it back *hard.* You probsbly ought to defoliate. The rule of
	  thumb here is if you scratch the bark and don't see any green 
	  underneath, that part of the tree's probably dead: cut it off.

	* If you have any tree left after this pruning, keep it as moist as
	  possible - it *might* grow back.
 
|> ALSO:  When I was pruning this same serissa several weeks earlier, I collected
|> some of the long branch cuttings from a major re-styling.  I put them into a 
|> glass of water with a B1 solution (superthrive).  After a couple of days, I
|> dipped them in ROOTONE and planted them in peat pots using just peat moss.
|> They have rooted like crazy.  They're even trying to put out fine hair roots
|> from nodes well up the branch.  They were outside too, but a little more 
|> protected.  I kept them in a little glass terrarium dome.
|> 
|> Moral of this story:  Serissa seem to be pretty easy to propagate.

*Real Moral of the Story* ;-) 
Dallas weather is fit for man nor beast: keep thangs like serissas indoors, dammit.
(again, ;-), ;-)

Seriously, though, it seems that serissas are amongst the most sensitive to
any change in climate. They make excellent indoor bonsai, but unless I lived
in San Diego or Hawaii, I'm not sure I'd try to keep them outdoors for any
period of time.

kevin
From: andy@cmptrc.lonestar.org (Andy Hart)
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
Subject: Re: indoor bonsai  (Serissa)
Date: 5 Oct 92 04:01:07 GMT
Organization: CompuTrac Inc., Richardson TX

Hi Tippi...  I have a story to share about _my_ Serissa which, 
(besides showing what a bonehead I am) will serve as a cautionary tale
for others.

According to Tomlinson's book, these trees should be kept at 54 DEGREES
AND ABOVE!!  Folks, that's not very cold.  

I have been moving and have pretty much neglected my trees over the past
few weeks in the confusion.  Mine have been sitting on a southern exposure
patio.  Here in Texas, the temperature at night has been dipping down there.
During the day it gets quite hot.

To make a long story short, I've left mine out a few nights when it got
too cold.  These nippy nights have blasted what was once one of my best
trees. :(  I've got it inside now, but all of the leaves appear to be dead.
(Very brittle and losing their color).

Moral of the story:  If you've got Serissa, they should probably be inside
by now.  Can anyone suggest some therapeutic care, if it's not too late?

ALSO:  When I was pruning this same serissa several weeks earlier, I collected
some of the long branch cuttings from a major re-styling.  I put them into a 
glass of water with a B1 solution (superthrive).  After a couple of days, I
dipped them in ROOTONE and planted them in peat pots using just peat moss.
They have rooted like crazy.  They're even trying to put out fine hair roots
from nodes well up the branch.  They were outside too, but a little more 
protected.  I kept them in a little glass terrarium dome.

Moral of this story:  Serissa seem to be pretty easy to propagate.


If anyone has suggestions for my sick Serissa, PLEASE HELP!
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
From: hudel@waterloo.hp.com (Chris Hudel)
Subject: Atomizers, Fog Machines
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 20:30:48 GMT
Organization: Hewlett Packard (Panacom Division)
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.4 PL6]


Hello there!

A few weeks back, I posted an article about fog machines and bonsai
displays.  Thanks to all who answered.   The actual fogging device
is a (very small) atomizer with a fogging nozzle (or mist nozzle, depending
on who in the business you ask)

Now what I need (need!!!) is some contacts for a pump + atomizing fog
machine.  I can get them in Canada for as low as $85 but this is still,
in my opinion, too expensive.  If you know of *anyplace* that sells what
I need, please send me e-mail or respond to this post.

Thanks!
Chris
--
                                                         Chris Hudel
business: hudel@waterloo.hp.com                         519/883-3080
pleasure: chudel@watarts.waterloo.edu             
(Pleasure forwards to business...)       - all comments are mine, not HP's -
From: jamiller@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
Subject: Re: Help Finding the tree of my dreams on a K-mart budget -);
Date: 6 Oct 92 00:48:36 CDT
Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services

> Insofar as "cheap" trees goes, assuming that you are looking for "starter"
> material to train, I'm not sure that you can beat the prices of The Bonsai

Yes, I am.  I will try them.

> Farm. I've placed two large (read: "lotsa trees and supplies that I can't get
> locally") and have been very happy with what I've recieved: healthy, robust,
> bug-`n-disease-free trees.
> Regarding keeping the maples and trees alive in KS, that's easy: don't kill
> `em. ;-)

-);

> kevin

thanks Kevin.
-- 
jamiller@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
James Miller

_chicchai .sig no ho ga ichiban iin janai ka..._
             Enlightenment Happens?
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
From: varmart@atlas.cs.upei.ca (Reji Martin)
Subject: Re: alt.bonsai FAQ
Keywords: old trees from nature, 50-100 years old
Organization: University of Prince Edward Island
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 14:04:28 GMT


	I agree with the idea of leaving those trees in their
	natural environment. It's definitely to the trees advantage
	and it certainly would require a committment of ones children,
	 grandchildren, great-grand-children, etc. (or whom ever takes
	over the care of the tree. 


	I recently heard of some trees on some cliffs near the St. Lawrence


	River that were 'Ring Dated' at 1000 years. I can't imagine the
	reason or need to move a "Naturally bonsaied" tree like that. Let
	alone expect to get enough of it's root structure for a sucessful
	transplant. Kind of defeats the repsect for nature that bonsai
	gives you !


     The     O
     Wheel  /-
     Brat  ( )\_	varmart@atlas.cs.upei.ca

     Reji Martin, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Newsgroups: alt.bonsai