We all have bad days. I find this forum to be about as friendly and supportive as any, saying it won't survive indoors is advice but I appreciate there's a fine line between feeling you're getting advice and a lecture. Bonsai is a great hobby but lots of people are put off by their attempts being failures and that's why bonsai enthusiasts always advise against keeping outdoor trees indoors, most will have tried and failed at some point.
For more constructive advice on bonsai - consider getting a Ficus retusa (Tiger bark fig) - they are very suitable for indoor growing with some care and very forgiving of mistakes. Chinese elm are the best starter bonsai in my opinion and also ok indoors but happier outdoors - Ficus would be better starting point for indoors. No harm in having a few projects on the go incase one of them doesn't prosper.
Indeed, I'd need a few more pots before starting a new batch now though, I started with just one to see if I could even handle any plants and though there have been a few stumbling blocks along the way these seem to be mostly doing well, the stems are slowly starting to bark at the bottoms, so if/when we get through our first winter I'll know for sure if they will be ok and whether I need to get more pots, or reuse the current ones.
Hey, I've seen Paulownia bonsai, the only question is if my thumbs are green enough to make it work. Defoliation is how you get it to grow smaller leaves, it takes years with Paulownias, but it does happen... eventually.
While it may look as such, that's likely due to the miniaturisation of the tree and the low pitcure quality as a quick google search (appologies for the length of the link);
Shows that all other princess/empress trees look much the same and when blooming the leaves appear smaller and more clustered due to the fact that unlike many other species the Paulownia blooms before it leafs
Not to mention they'd quickly get sued for false adertisement if they showed a not-Paulownia on their Paulownia seeds page/packet and these guys are a good name that have been around a few years now already. Plus, looking at mine, and from reading up about P's previously, these definitely are, so I've been sold - and bought - P's.
Tell you what … when I get home from my holiday I’ll plant some tree seeds …. acorns, horse chestnuts etc. Let’s several of us have a go …. I’ll do it outside tho’ all the indoor space is taken up with OHs cacti and succulents and my chillies 😂
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
While it may look as such, that's likely due to the miniaturisation of the tree and the low pitcure quality as a quick google search (appologies for the length of the link);
Shows that all other princess/empress trees look much the same and when blooming the leaves appear smaller and more clustered due to the fact that unlike many other species the Paulownia blooms before it leafs
Thank you. I know Paulownia tomentosa very well. Used to grow it...love it. Flowers are not weeping but held upright on the branches in a spike and are trumpet shaped. (not pea shaped and weeping, hanging down.)
I was merely pointing out the link was NOT Paulownia.
Thank you. I know Paulownia tomentosa very well. Used to grow it...love it. Flowers are not weeping but held upright on the branches in a spike and are trumpet shaped. (not pea shaped and weeping, hanging down.)
I was merely pointing out the link was NOT Paulownia.
You just need to follow these forums to read everyone who bought special seeds on www and ended up with weeds....not as described./not as pics.
I'm not daft, I know the internet is an awful place full of awful people, but even just one look at the etsy page will show that half those pictures aren't the same kind of tree and most of them are blurred and resized from much a smaller picture to deliberately obfuscate the matter.
And while I get that you may have grown them yourself, good, thank you for pitching in, but one thing to note is that everything looks different in miniature, and even on Yugen's page the picture quality isn't great. It's barely noticable what shape they are, it could have been deliberately grown to hang down;
that's part of bonsai, pretty sure trees aren't "meant" to look like this
plus, when your tree is as small as that is with much of it still green, having a full set of blooms could quite easily make it too heavy to stand tall. As shown in this picture, while the hardy woody branches are upright, as most are, the flowers themselves hang low;
Though as you didn't say originally, have you ever grown Paulownias in miniature, specifically? As you didn't mention whether you grew regular sized ones or not. And, even should that not be an actual Paulownia, I've seen enough accurate pictures of one to know that's what I have.
Wish someone would sue this party for false advertising! [Link removed to shorten post] i was looking at this link, that’s the OP’s photo, the seeds come from Egypt and in the write up at the bottom of the page there’s not a word about making a bonsai out of them.
Yea, while true, technically it's in the listing head.
I've been reading but not commenting. I've never grown bonsai (nowhere really suitable for them, either indoors or out) but I'd be interested to see how the bonsai paulownia turn out, if you feel like showing us your progress every now and then.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Posts
Shows that all other princess/empress trees look much the same and when blooming the leaves appear smaller and more clustered due to the fact that unlike many other species the Paulownia blooms before it leafs
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I know Paulownia tomentosa very well.
Used to grow it...love it.
Flowers are not weeping but held upright on the branches in a spike and are trumpet shaped.
(not pea shaped and weeping, hanging down.)
I was merely pointing out the link was NOT Paulownia.
Neither is this. Note it has pea shaped flowers!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/470876724/paulownia-tomentosa-blue-royal-empress
Not everything on www is accurate.
You just need to follow these forums to read everyone who bought special seeds on www and ended up with weeds....not as described./not as pics.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324734875704?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=324734875704&targetid=1280824613738&device=t&mktype=pla&googleloc=9045276&poi=&campaignid=12126078120&mkgroupid=126295032401&rlsatarget=pla-1280824613738&abcId=9300480&merchantid=431263712&gclid=CjwKCAjw7rWKBhAtEiwAJ3CWLB2PjOcwDMM9UfPvK9aBfIIeBU3LqzADh8jUqXf5OeDj0GLKe7IwaBoC9tkQAvD_BwE
i was looking at this link, that’s the OP’s photo, the seeds come from Egypt and in the write up at the bottom of the page there’s not a word about making a bonsai out of them.
Yea, while true, technically it's in the listing head.