admin answers:

Http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html

http://www.catscans.com/plants.htm

admin answers:

Pine is an excellent natural insect repellent

admin answers:

Since you won't be needing a lot of soil, mixing your own probably isn't worth the trouble. You'd need to buy fairly large bags of material and end up with a lot of soil.

You could check at some local garden centers, some of them carry pre mixed soil in small bags.

As for online, try Dallas Bonsai - their prices are reasonable, product quality is excellent and shipping charges are ok. They have a very good soil called fujiyama. Here's the link -

http://www.dallasbonsai.com/store/fujiyama_potting_medium.html

The white stuff you mention may be pearlite, a soil additive, if it looks like small white gravel. If you found a chunk of styrofoam, some growers use it to help keep the roots in position so they will spread out. Either way - nothing you have to buy, pre mixed soil doesn't need additives and/or you shouldn't need to force the roots apart if they are already at the surface.

admin answers:

Red mangroves will grow well in freshwater ponds. There are plastic pots with small holes in them for pond plants that works well instead of tying it to rocks. You don't need soil for it. Simply add enough gravel to the pot to stabilize the plant. You can leave some of the roots uncovered,just as they would be naturally. If you live in a colder climate, you will need to bring the mangrove tree inside for the winter. It will grow inside just like a houseplant. Put its pot inside a larger pot and keep some water in it, enough to cover the roots, until it's warm enough to return it to its pond in the spring.

Red mangroves do have a neat bonsai look to them as they grow and develop branches and strange gnarly supporting roots. They also absorb some of the fish waste from the water and act as natural filters for the pond or aquarium.

admin answers:

Yes but only place a small part in the soil or water not the whole stem. You really want only the roots to be in the soil or water or else the whole plant will rot. It's a good way to propagate & get more plants for your money.

admin answers:

Http://www.chelseagardencenter.com/

http://www.kingscountynurseries.com/

http://www.gowanusnursery.biz/gowanus2008/

Try these if you haven't yet ! The 3rd one is probably best for info . Good luck !~

admin answers:

Yes. They are called "flowering house plants"

This is best answered at any place that sells trees.

No

admin answers:

All plants grow outside somewhere in the world. All plants evolved to take advantage of particular circumstances regarding sunlight, nutrients, water, and temperature. If you reproduce the conditions that a plant uses in its native environment, you can grow any plant indoors.

You can reproduce any condition indoors. That is what greenhouse growers do to produce plants sold by florists.

In an ordinary home, you can control water and nutrients reliably by supplying fertilizer and supplying water.
However, it is difficult to control sunlight because the requirements for a plant is usually different from that desired by people and it is difficult to control temperature for the same reason. As a result, plants suitable for the home thrive at a temperature around 70F and grow in low light conditions. Therefore, plants that grow in homes to the same state you find them in nature will almost certainly be non-flowering tropical plants.

Many people can be quite successful with flowering plants for a short period of time but it takes major adjustments for light and/or temperature to grow them as successfully as Mother Nature.

Determine what your plants need in the way of light and temperature and you will know how successful they will grow indoors.

admin answers:

This site has a lot of advice applicable to your problem.

Http://www.bonsaisite.com

However, it is very unlikely that the reported problem was caused by a single watering last night. Leaves turning yellow and falling off can be caused by BOTH over-watering and under-watering.

admin answers:

You may have your terms confused. There is no such thing as an indoor, deciduous tree. A deciduous tree is a leaf tree that looses its leaves in the cold season and grows them back in the spring (outdoors). Most all indoor bonsai are tropicals, meaning that they do not shed leaves and go dormant, they are in constant growth at moderate to hot temperatures (like indoors).

If your tree is a tropical (ficus, scheffelera, etc.) and kept in a constantly stable indoor environment, it can be repotted at any time like a standard house plant. Just be sure not to fertilize or over water while it is adapting to the new pot.

You may want to check around to get a positive ID on what kind of tree you have first. Try a google image search for indoor bonsai.

As for websites, I find the forums are the most informative as they aren't trying to sell you anything and you get answers from other people in the hobby. Here's a few -

http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/

http://forums.bonsaisite.com/

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/bonsai/

admin answers:

I have a Heart Leaf Philodendron it is part of a plant that was given to may aunt over 50 years ago. The plant I have was my mothers cutting, it is at least 20 years old. I am going to give a cutting to my daughter, that will make it three generations, a heirloom plant.

Good luck which ever one you choose.

Below is a sites with other plants that is also easy to grow.

Http://redwoodbarn.com/houseplanttable.html

http://gardening.about.com/od/houseplants/a/EasyHouseplants.htm

admin answers:

Try the site below:

"Here you will find more than 290 various house plants with descriptions and pictures, botanical and common names, and instructions for cultivation and propagation."

Good luck!!