Introduction

Hello and welcome to Beginning With Bonsai. I am am a complete amateur when it comes to Bonsai but it has always been something that interests me.  I received my first tree on Christmas day and have been researching and pretty obsessive since. Here I will produce regular updates on everything I have done with my new Bonsai and some other experiments I have got going in conjunction. I will post as regularly as possible with photos as well.

My Bonsai - Fukien Tea Tree (Carmona MicroPhylla)

Apparently one of the harder Bonsai Trees to master the Fukien Tea Tree can come in different varieties of leaf size. My one is the smaller variety with little leaves. The tree is known to blossom with flowers that turn into cherries/fruits making them a popular choice among Bonsai enthusiasts. The tree I received was purchased from a local garden centre and was 5 years old.

Instantly, I jumped online looking at what to do with my new Bonsai. Knowing it can be cut/pruned/manipulated I was looking at how I wanted my tree to look, rather neglecting the idea of everything else. For instance, the Fukien Tea Tree prefers warmer temperatures and good humidty. Here in the UK, in the middle of winter even the house temperature drops quite a lot and humidity is no where near where it should be. 

This prompted so much research my eyes stung from staring at my screen and my own visit to the local garden centre.  I know what I needed:

• Bonsai Feed - to be used once every 1/2 weeks to help growth.
• Grow box - I wanted/needed to put my Bonsai where I could monitor the temperature better and try and raise the humidity.
• Bonsai clippers/scissors - For shaping, training and looking after my tree.
• Bonsai Book - I had read a lot online but for some reason I felt a physical book could be the backbone to my Bonsai learning.

Lucky for me, I found the perfect pack - all for under £15.  The scissors, Bonsai feed and book cam together as a mini collection. The grow box I decided upon was made of wood, with 2 large windows divided into 2, and 2 side windows split with a small and large section.  Having sustained some water damage in storage it was available very cheaply. 

You make think that this was enough for me, but it wasn't.  I had my tree, had my scissors, a book and somewhere to keep my plant but as more and more research showed I needed to keep doing more.  This is where I will leave the introduction now. The first few photos I took of my Bonsai can be seen below with further pictures of the now upgraded and improved grow box and other surprises to come soon. I have had the Bonsai a week and while not much has changed in its appearance, nothing has got worse and it is still look healthy. Wish me luck!!!

1st Photo of my new Fukien Tea Tree (5 Years Old) - Excuse the distracting/messy background.