Bonsai Tree: The end

It has been a long journey for my budding Bonsai Tree... but in Bonsai Tree years it was just a blink of an eye.  He started off with humble beginnings, sitting in his green box with instructions that didn't make sense and was written for the northern hemisphere (I live in the southern).  I found a place for him in my office drawer and didn't expect to see any results for at least a month.  Within the week he had already shone through.

Things got a little freaky from here on... he seemed to be growing too well and I suspected bonsai drug abuse, but alas he was going well and that's all that mattered I guess =)  My spirits were high to see him going so well, wouldn't be long now I thought.  And just as I predicted he was soon ready for the big day, the transplant!  I felt like how a parent might feel when their first child starts their first day at school (or something along those lines I am sure lol).

I had such high hopes for it.

I had plans of shaping him so he would have a branch sticking out to the side, one that I could hang a miniature tire swing from and little bonsai mushrooms could grow around the base... and I could have some bonsai people who live in the base of the tree, then when their technology advanced they would figure out how to build a bonsai tree house for the bonsai tree.  Eventually they would figure out how to clone the tree and would start a bonsai tree forest to form a bonsai civilization with their own bonsai way of life, but then rival bonsai clans would war and drop bonsai nukes and before we know it the whole bonsai forest is suffering from bonsai radiation and they would all turn into bonsai zombies and it would be the bonsai zombies versus the bonsai non-zombies but there would be no where to hide because all this is happening from within my office drawer which I don't open very often and then one day I would open it expecting them by this stage to have bonsai space ships but instead they are all gone...

Instead... we didn't even get the chance to see a bonsai zombie apocalypse, I didn't even get to see a branch.

And do you want to know the reason for this injustice? Nothing!  They died completely for no reason (well 1 I killed by accident... but the others were perfectly healthy lol).  After I transplanted them I gave them some sun, ample amounts of water (some colleagues at work argue too much water, but they're just jealous of my green thumb)... I even moved them to the stairwell to grant some humidity... all in vain!

I warn you readers, the next image below may be shocking to anyone who is a bonsai lover/liker/sympathizer/distant admirer... or basically anyone who has a heart that hasn't turned to stone:

He had such promise... maybe his drug problem finally caught up to him.

Well, that's that, nothing more to say really.  The moral of the story?  Well, don't do drugs comes to mind, sure you might grow really fast, be the coolest seedling in the pot for a while, but think about it, who are you really impressing once you start to swivel and die?  No one kids, no one.

On the upside at least I don't have to worry about a burial.

Update: Fun fact!  The word 'bonsai' was (including the use of the word bonsai just then, and then another just then) gives a total of 23 times!

Bonsai Tree: The transplant

Well, it has only been a mere 2 weeks and already my bonsai tree is ready to be transplanted.  You can follow the up to date progress of this mutant tree here from the beginning, to the following week where I suspected it of having a drug abuse problem... which after being ready to translate in only 2 weeks I am sticking by that accusation profusely.

I was lucky enough to receive 9 seedlings in total (even though the box said I should expect to see 3 - 8... again rousing my suspicions of the tree being up to no good) to which I took to be 'they give you a lot because there is a high chance of them not making it' lol.  I had already had doubts that the over-achieving tree would rise to fame far to quickly only to have a dramatic fall once it was time for the real growing to begin, but alas I will stay hopeful nonetheless. =)

My tree's progress from last Monday to today... that kind of growth can't be natural.

Well anyways, according to the box when they reach this height it is now time to transplant them into their own containers with some special soil that is provided.  Hmm, sounds easy enough, although I was extremely hesitant as I was unconvinced that they were strong enough to be handled... but I guess the box knows what it is doing.

After an almost brain transplant like scenario I successfully transplanted my delicate seedlings to their new home (with only 1 casualty I might add lol) so I was pretty pleased with the result.  I wasn't exactly sure what was the right course of action from here, the box stopped giving instructions from here on out and much rather gave a lazy 'bonsai trees will reflect your own artistic individuality' as it's finally piece of advice... yeah ok, thanks box, you've been a great help...

As a guess I figured giving them a spot full of light would be the best idea (well, you know, plants in my mind need a watering jug once a week and access to the sun and that should be all you need to do for them lol), so they are sitting on the bookshelf next to the window.

Haha I opted to twirl two of them around each other, hoping to gain some kind of knotted tree look.  Does that work? 

Well there you have it, one of the most demanding hobbies I have ever encountered.  I really hope they survive as they have started off so well, would hate for it to all be in vein.

I will keep you updated.

Bonsai Tree: Seedlings (already!?)

I suspect my tree has a problem, specifically, drug abuse.  As you can see when I first started the art of Bonzai tree growing ('Bonzai Tree: The Beginning')... I wasn't predicting changes any time soon... like at least a few weeks at best seeing as the box said it would be '3 to 12 weeks before seedlings may appear'.

My tree however after only one week has sprouted!  I am unsure whether to be excited, suspicious or scared... currently I am a mix of all three (leaning towards scared).  Surprise definitely comes to mind as the budding tree seems to be going too well with the possibility of it all being down hill from here lol.

 My steroid abusive Bonzai tree

I previously predicted to not have many updates about this at all, now I don't know what to think, maybe I need to start an entirely separate blog just for my bonzai tree updates at this rate lol.  It is pretty awesome to see that it is actually getting somewhere though, it is becoming even more impressive by the hour so things are moving smoothly =)

The next step is to wait for the sprouts to flower, I am going to have a full tree in no time!

Well, until next time, whenever that may be.

Bonsai Tree: The beginning

I reckon Bonsai trees are simply awesome and I have contemplated getting one for quite a while now but knew that if taken care of at home it would quickly become neglected and therefore die (this seems to happen far too frequently so I no longer trust myself with living beings lol).  However, I have heaps of free time at work and upon walking by a store that sells them my impulsiveness got the better of me and I bought one!

Contrary to what many might think, I was not naive enough to think that these things would grow over night,  but I would be lying if I didn't say that it is just a tad disheartening when I discovered how slow these things really are lol.  Even the instructions on the box breaths the importance of patience... hmm, so... how long till mine looks like this?

I got this from Wikipedia which claims this took 112 years... are you kidding me!?...

I guess this could get passed down a generation... or two, or five.  Some day these may be worth millions when Humans have deforested the entire planet, which seems a likely scenario the rate we are going.  Anyways, I followed the instructions and this is what I ended up with... the box is obviously where it came from, I apparently have a Tasmanian Eucalyptus Tree (side note: far out 'eucalyptus' is a hard word to spell!  Seriously, without peeking, try and spell it) with that little pathetic capsule on the left my seeds, locked away in a plastic container with some holes jabbed in the bottom which will (supposedly) suck up the water from the saucer.

As you can tell, I like to live life on the wild side that's for sure.

Ok, so, what's the next step?  Wait a few days, watering periodically and watch in amazement as my seeds spring to life, sprouting a seedling in no time!?  Not quite... well far from it actually, to further enhance the virtue of patience it now requires, and I quote "Place in a dry, dark cool place (such as a cupboard) and wait 3 to 12 weeks for seedlings to appear, refilling the sauce pan with water every 3 days".

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Oh come on! 3 to 12 weeks!?  And at the very least I can't even keep it on my desk for myself and others to see?  He now lives in one of my drawers at work lol.

Well once it gets started it will be really cool to have at work.  I work 5 days a week, all year round, so there is ample time to take care of it (unlike at home) and I may take it with me from job to job... or not, we shall see lol.  I will keep a progress update every now and again to keep track of it... although I am not predicting many updates haha...