'Mallsai' reffers to the many bonsai trees of poor quality available for purchase at malls, superstores, and other non-bonsai-oriented shops

~*~WARNING~*~
Plant Rant Ahead

It’s probably bad that I already really, really, really want to get back into my garden and have dirt shoved so deep into my nails that I can’t dig it out for weeks, no matter how hard I try. It’s still freezing cold out, and the snow is nowhere near over, but I’ve got new ideas that I’m itching to get started… particularly a few bonsai projects. I know I should be contented with the modest number of plants in my room, which more than doubles what I had last year, but they’re all so lovely, and I want to get several of them into a larger space so that they can take off! But the bonsai things keep nagging at me, because I’m really rather excited about getting started on them. Here at the uni I have a few bonsai-ready plants, including the nearly 20 ginkgos from which I need to choose the one or two that I plan to bonsai (I think I have one picked out, because he’s little, cute, and injured in a way that wouldn’t heal the best for adult growth, but then again I have several that have had lawnmower battles!), but I’m not worrying about that until spring is swinging and I start to put the others into the ground. I also have Othello, my adorable Natal plum, but he’s more than a bit wonky (yes, wonky), so I’m not sure what style to grow him in. I might just go freestyle and forget traditional bonsai rules entirely, but I’d still like him to look cute. I’m also wanting to tend to my ‘accidental’ bonsais, meaning the half-dozen or more silver and red maples I started growing years ago that did not get transferred into the yard like most of my others, but rather got stuck into various pots and flower boxes since I couldn’t bring myself to kill them. So, years of not trimming them and letting them grow in the pots has made some pseudo-bonsais that desperately need some care so that they don’t overcrowd their little space and for general aesthetic improvements.

One of the downs of having a lot of plants at the uni has to be the aridness this winter… it’s been beyond brutal. I’ve been watering some of my smaller pots daily, and it’s sadly ironic since watering is supposed to decrease in the winter. I’m hoping this added stress doesn’t kill any of them, but they seem to be doing alright. I’m looking into building a terrarium now, which would at least solve the watering issues for those plants. On the lookout for a container of the size I’m wanting as of now. Also looking out for: Tamarind seeds or bonsai, and possibly venus fly traps of a healthy disposition. Huge possibly on that, though. After some research, venus fly traps are really picky about their lifestyles, but they’re so darned cute that I may have to give it my best shot either way. And I may have just read the best FAQ section written in the history of man, and it was on carnivorous plants. Links happily available on demand, and only for those with a sense of humor.[edit] I got a desert terrarium for my birthday, so any other terrarium plans are on hold until I free up some space in here![/ edit]

German Word: Plant is Pflanze!

Photos:

The BOMI department had a plant sale, so I *had* to show my support by getting a few new dearies, if only because it's hard to beat $2 for a little pot that has two adorable orange trees in it.



This is Dina; she's a succulent, and I swear she's grown at least an inch since I brought her home.



This fellow's leaves have the most amazing texture.


I'm in the process of rooting one of those brach-like things sticking out of the main body here... so soon I'll have two!