Reading is an excellent way to increase your knowledge, and for those of you who are new to indoor bonsai fortunately there are a number of good books available, including:

Bonsai for Indoors - By Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

Indoor Bonsai - By Paul Lesniewicz

The TBS has produced several excellent articles on indoor bonsai - one being written by Jennifer de Four in the May 2000 Journal.

The International Bonsai Magazine Issue 2000/No.4 goes into great detail on caring for Ficus.

My favourite article is in the International Bonsai Magazine 1996/No.4, and the heading is "Growing Fluorescent Light Bonsai" by Jack Wikle.

Just like Jack Wikle,

I do not mist my trees regularly.

I do not use a supplemental humidifier.

I do not use a fan to circulate the air, and

I do not use expensive Show and Grow fluorescent bulbs.

Perhaps my trees would be better if I did all of the above; I don't know, but I have kept indoor bonsai for about 20 years with reasonable success.

Here is what I do . . .

The first question is light - Yes, you can grow bonsai indoors in a south or west window, but I prefer to grow them under fluorescent lights. I use both a two bulb, and for my larger trees a four bulb fluorescent light stand. If you find light stands are too expensive, then purchase two 3-gallon size plastic nursery containers and one of the cheap 4-foot industrial fixtures at a hardware store. Turn the pails upside down, and suspend your fixture between them and Voila . . . you have a light stand!

For bulbs, I recommend 40-watt warm white or deluxe warm white. Do not use the 34-watt bulbs as they do not give sufficient light output.

For watering, I use a watering can with as fine a "rose" as you can find. How much to water varies with different species of plants.

Here are some observations:

Ficus do not like wet feet, so let them get quite dry between waterings.

Ivy - Over water if you have to rather than under water.

Bougainvillea - Let them get fairly dry between waterings.

Pomegranate - Uses a lot of water, so check them daily.

Myrtle Communis - Just like the pomegranate, they dry out very quickly, so check them daily.

Feeding -

I use typical 20-20-20 normal strength most times every two weeks during summer. In the winter, I use 20-20-20 at 1/2 strength about once very 4-6 weeks, and also use some organic fertilizer such as fish emulsion.

Soil -

Both Dick Morton and Arthur Skolnik have soils available for tropical plants.

I take my trees outdoors once night time temperatures reach over 7-8 deg. C., usually early to mid-May, and I bring them in under fluorescent lights before the first frost, usually late September. This is a very critical time because your trees are being subjected to much lower light levels and much drier air, so be very careful of your watering habits.

All of my re-potting and root pruning is done when I first bring my trees out in the spring.