House plant

The purpose of this forum is to help people identify things they've seen while out hiking: wildflowers, trees, birds, insects, small animals, animal tracks, even geographical features like buttes or streams
User avatar
TJ_T
Posts: 765
Joined: July 23rd, 2011, 7:18 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Contact:

Re: House plant

Post by TJ_T » May 13th, 2013, 4:50 pm

I take pictures sometimes. And sometimes I post them here:
http://www.tjthornephotography.com
and
http://500px.com/TjThorne
and
https://www.facebook.com/tjthornephotography

User avatar
potato
Posts: 1211
Joined: October 10th, 2011, 9:16 pm
Location: my car
Contact:

Re: House plant

Post by potato » May 13th, 2013, 6:31 pm

Thanks for the links and info, TJ! I'm not sure if I want to get into this as a serious hobby... I mostly wanted to see if I could salvage the 1 plant I received as a gift. But I'll look into getting some Turface. Also the pot is glazed on the inside which is wrong apparently. Any tips on how to know what size pot is appropriate?

Funny -- one website said that Ficus was the easiest bonsai of them all.
self observing universe (main blog)
Joe hikes (PCT blog)
Laws of Nature (bandcamp)

User avatar
TJ_T
Posts: 765
Joined: July 23rd, 2011, 7:18 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Contact:

Re: House plant

Post by TJ_T » May 13th, 2013, 6:35 pm

Be careful. It all starts with wanting to save the tree given to you as a gift. At least that's what did it for me. :-)

Not too knowledgeable about pots. I got as far as having a couple of trees and keeping them alive. That's about it. But I read a lot.

Good luck!

Turface is a soil additive that it usually added to baseball fields and the like. Translation: large bags.

Maybe stop by a nursery and check out their selection. Maybe you can find a smaller bag of akadama or something that will be more appropriate for your level of investment.
I take pictures sometimes. And sometimes I post them here:
http://www.tjthornephotography.com
and
http://500px.com/TjThorne
and
https://www.facebook.com/tjthornephotography

User avatar
potato
Posts: 1211
Joined: October 10th, 2011, 9:16 pm
Location: my car
Contact:

Re: House plant

Post by potato » May 14th, 2013, 8:33 am

Haha :) we'll see where it goes then!

Looks like you can buy 2 quarts of turface for $10: http://www.amazon.com/Turface-2-Quarts- ... ds=turface
I'm sure that's a horrible price per volume compared to buying a whole bag, but I don't need that much. You just use it by itself? Not added to soil?
self observing universe (main blog)
Joe hikes (PCT blog)
Laws of Nature (bandcamp)

User avatar
Guy
Posts: 3333
Joined: May 10th, 2009, 4:42 pm
Location: The Foothills of Mt Hood
Contact:

Re: House plant

Post by Guy » May 14th, 2013, 9:00 am

Bonsai are like pets they require daily attention ;) Well significantly more work than a regular old house plant does anyway!

If you would like to keep the plant but not have a new daily chore just buy a regular larger pot & plant it in that with plenty of new potting compost. You will still have the plant but only about a 10th of the work :^)..
hiking log & photos.
Ad monte summa aut mors

User avatar
mayhem
Posts: 3579
Joined: December 22nd, 2009, 7:46 pm
Contact:

Re: House plant

Post by mayhem » May 14th, 2013, 9:12 am

Guy wrote:Bonsai are like pets they require daily attention ;) Well significantly more work than a regular old house plant does anyway!

If you would like to keep the plant but not have a new daily chore just buy a regular larger pot & plant it in that with plenty of new potting compost. You will still have the plant but only about a 10th of the work :^)..
That is exactly what my wife said :)
Shoe Shine Boy Has Left The Building!

User avatar
potato
Posts: 1211
Joined: October 10th, 2011, 9:16 pm
Location: my car
Contact:

Re: House plant

Post by potato » June 26th, 2013, 8:09 am

Well, my little plant had to undergo some serious amputations, but at least it's making a recovery now. I think I speak on its behalf when I say thank you for the life-saving advice.

I still didn't change the soil :oops:
P1050234s.jpg
self observing universe (main blog)
Joe hikes (PCT blog)
Laws of Nature (bandcamp)

User avatar
mayhem
Posts: 3579
Joined: December 22nd, 2009, 7:46 pm
Contact:

Re: House plant

Post by mayhem » June 26th, 2013, 11:49 pm

potato wrote:Well, my little plant had to undergo some serious amputations, but at least it's making a recovery now. I think I speak on its behalf when I say thank you for the life-saving advice.

I still didn't change the soil :oops:
P1050234s.jpg
Bammm! Just needed some lovin!
Shoe Shine Boy Has Left The Building!

User avatar
TJ_T
Posts: 765
Joined: July 23rd, 2011, 7:18 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Contact:

Re: House plant

Post by TJ_T » June 27th, 2013, 11:58 am

potato wrote:Haha :) we'll see where it goes then!

Looks like you can buy 2 quarts of turface for $10: http://www.amazon.com/Turface-2-Quarts- ... ds=turface
I'm sure that's a horrible price per volume compared to buying a whole bag, but I don't need that much. You just use it by itself? Not added to soil?
Yeah you just use it by itself and the nutrients come from fertilizer that's appropriate for the plant. Google will obviously help you with that.

The whole purpose of the turface is that it's small enough to create a lot of feeder roots.. which is what a small tree needs in order to survive, as well as bring oxygen to them and NOT DROWN THEM. That's pretty much the #1 killer of all beginner bonsai. Overwatering. Turface/akadam prevents that 100% You can never over-water.
I take pictures sometimes. And sometimes I post them here:
http://www.tjthornephotography.com
and
http://500px.com/TjThorne
and
https://www.facebook.com/tjthornephotography

User avatar
TJ_T
Posts: 765
Joined: July 23rd, 2011, 7:18 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Contact:

Re: House plant

Post by TJ_T » June 27th, 2013, 12:01 pm

Also.. Oregon is a mecca for bonsai. I might have said that already.

You might be able to find turface or soil on craigslist.
I take pictures sometimes. And sometimes I post them here:
http://www.tjthornephotography.com
and
http://500px.com/TjThorne
and
https://www.facebook.com/tjthornephotography

Post Reply