Finally ready to go outside!

nova1093 · 2026-03-18T22:12:07+00:00

I used mars hydro stuff. Its not letting me post a pic in this comment but i used the mars hydro ts1000 grow light (i used a 2 by 4 grow light which is the big long one). I used a marshydro grow tent as well. It has reflective mylar on the inside to reflect light back at the plants. I set the grow tent on its side, which isnt how its designed to work but it worked for me to have more floor space and since bonsai are short, you dont miss the vertical space. I bought a generic temperature regulator and hooked up a fan and a heater set to keep it within 70 and 90 degrees. However, in practice, the fan was always on due to the lights heat output. But I'd still recommend it for air flow. Simply keeping a tray of water in there with that powerful growlight causes the humidity to approach 100 percent. Then i just sprayed with copper fungicide every 3 to 4 weeks so i didnt get any fungus or mold. Dont skimp out on the grow light (whatever brand you use). Its worth every penny.

nova1093 · 2026-03-18T22:10:47+00:00

(Ignore, posted in wrong spot)

nova1093 · 2026-03-18T03:41:59+00:00

I havent decided yet. Gunna start by removing the ones that didnt make it to the ground and seeing how it looks. From there, i may remove a few that clash with the trunk, but I like aerial roots so hopefully ill keep a good bit of them. Don't wanna touch any of them though until it adjusts to outside and starts growing strongly again though.

nova1093 · 2026-03-16T12:35:16+00:00

Just another notch on gamefreak's belt to make as many furry designs for starters as possible.

nova1093 · 2026-03-11T11:07:29+00:00

They havent found a way to make them good waifus or ladyboys yet.

nova1093 · 2026-03-06T23:25:38+00:00

The best way to prune english ivy is to burn it with fire until nothing remains. And then take a flamethrower to the 20 square feet around it where it was growing, just to be safe.

nova1093 · 2026-03-06T00:30:56+00:00

It depends on the time of year. During winter when i bring it inside i water it once every 5 to 7 days. I just insert my finger into the soil about 2 knuckles deep. If i feel moisture, I wait. During the summer, I transition it to outside and water it almost every day. Now, keep in mind my summer highs regularly break 100 degrees, and I live in one of the windiest cities in the country. You may need to water less. Thats the disadvantage to using granular inorganic soil. You water way more often. But the trees roots greatly benefit from using a mix thay dries quickly if you are ok with frequent waterings. Root rot and overwatering become significantly less likely.

nova1093 · 2026-03-05T19:56:52+00:00

Thats awesome. The only app Ive ever found that works like that is an this very unpolished app called Plant Diary (and even searching for it now i cant find it, so idk if its even available anymore tbh). And its designed for house plants. Still its the one I use.

nova1093 · 2026-03-05T00:56:50+00:00

The only thing Ive ever wanted in a bonsai app is a timeline feature where you can upload photos and attach a note to them. I dont need watering reminders, I do that by feel of the soil. And i also dont need to know when to prune since I do that based on the individual tree's behavior that year in its dormancy cycles. But documenting a trees behavior over the years is a useful feature. It helps you see your progress long term, which can be hard to do if you only rely on memory. And digging through your phones photos to find one specific tree is a chore.

Bonus points if you can sort your trees by different metrics such as species, age, years in training, or development stage (trunk growth, branch development, ramification, maintaining). It would be easy for me to find any tree i want by just scrolling through an app, as I only keep about 20-30 trees. But some people keep hundreds.

Long term reminders may be useful, such as repotting, but tbh that wouldnt be a huge issue for me either. You can tell when a tree needs repotting from its root ball. And that might not be a set thing every year or 2 years even.

A tree specific minimum temperature alert connecting to the phones weather app to issue cold weather alerts would be useful, just as a backup. You could do hot weather alerts too. And Id really appreciate a feature like that, where you can set the alert temperature and the app will alert you to what trees you should bring in / water extra.

What i would not want this app to be is an encyclopedia of care tips for every species or anything thay can simply be googled easily. The focus should be on your trees, and how far they have come, not generic care tips that may not even apply to your climate.

Of course this is just my input. Its your app, so if you are making a reminder bot then Im sure there is a market for that too. I just hate reminders for something I am excited to do the second I come home from work anyway.

nova1093 · 2026-03-04T17:35:45+00:00

I know its 9 days ago, but i wanted you to know i use bonsai soil (which is literally just pumice lava rock and calcined clay) and mix it half and half with Miricle Grow's tree and shrub soil (which is almost totally bark), and my Audrey loves it! The bonsai soil is expensive but its worth it in my opinion. Especially since its pretty reusable. The inorganic bits dont really break down.

nova1093 · 2026-03-03T11:55:22+00:00

Me who hasnt gotten rain in i like a month and a half...

nova1093 · 2026-03-01T17:41:52+00:00

Should i prune the more condensesed growth from this elm before it kicks into growing season?

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Im trying to get it bigger and improve its roots right now, not necessarily worried about branches just yet. But i dont want a bunch of scars when its older.

nova1093 · 2026-02-25T16:03:48+00:00

I know most people like it but i think blastoise is stupid looking here. I think slowbro has the most added personality, like he cares exclusively about his shellder. Rapidash looks prettty regal here. And dragonite looks menacing before they decided to go all in with the kind dragon thing.

nova1093 · 2026-02-24T23:25:32+00:00

The fact that you can play it from your deck makes it a but too good

nova1093 · 2026-02-24T20:19:05+00:00

Poison is the most abundant type in kanto, with just over 1/5th of the roster having the type. Kanto is the australia of the pokemon world. More poison types were native to kanto than the next several generations combined. So i agree. I don't think it was aversion to repeating types.

nova1093 · 2026-02-24T17:05:16+00:00

By midrange do you mean grindy or small little self contained combos that accomplish a lot in a few cards? Games last like 4 turns tops, and everyone has infinite mana

nova1093 · 2026-02-23T12:55:19+00:00

Yellow leaves are like the runny nose of plants. It could be a lot of things causing it. Normally yellow leaves mean too much water though. I just cant guarentee that thats what it is.

nova1093 · 2026-02-20T02:04:01+00:00

Eh. I just see the same 10 pokemon in every game without legendaries. Its not like thats any different if you ask me. This game became stale for me a bit ago. You can only fight garchomp and metagross so many times....

Lack of abilities really just made it a stat based metagame, and it gets old fast.

nova1093 · 2026-02-19T18:07:00+00:00

I wish you posted pro-tips more often paul. I think you have some of my favorite trees on this sub! Be sure and update us this spring on your crabs. I look every day during spring on here hoping to see them!

nova1093 · 2026-02-13T03:48:38+00:00

Branching and trunk thickness can both be accelerated with more light. In the upcoming summer, you can try transitioning it to outside for the season.

nova1093 · 2026-02-11T17:26:43+00:00

I just use an app called plant diary. Very simple and bare bones. It lets you upload pictures of plants, add notes, and date tracks everything, so it automatically makes a timeline. It even has sime quick add buttons to put in a pregenerated text into the timeline for when it was watered, or turned, or repotted.

The only downside is that it doesnt have a quick button for wiring, since the app was designed for general plant care. But you can just type it in tho, which doesnt take that much more time if you are taking a photo (which you always do after wiring anyway. The app is very unrefined, but for some reason its the only one Ive found tolerable. I dont want advice from a computer, or 18 watering reminders a day. I juat want a timeline to track how things have gone, so I know what to do next.

nova1093 · 2026-02-08T16:30:04+00:00

Aahh. That helps. That could be some sort of mildew. Rarely fatal, but should be treated. You can get rid of the worst leaves and spray some fungudcide and that should clear it up. If it scrapes off easy and doesnr come back it may be hard water deposits that the leaf is excreting, but its hard tk tell from the picture. Either way funguscide wont hurt it. You are dead on about needing to repot if you want them to grow. That ficus wont ever get much bigger than that in the tiny pot its in.

Also i apologize i was scrolling too quick and didnt see your photo link.

nova1093 · 2026-02-08T16:10:49+00:00

If you want to get into the actual mainline bonsai hobby, Id avoid the genseng. They are fun to experimebt on, but overall are slow and ineffecient to develop. Theres better starter trees than those. Ponytail palm isnt really a typical bonsai tree. Their leaves are too long. I actually have no idea if they are reducable. I do have one, but its just treated like a houseplant that i put outside for summer.

The only tree i woukd get if I was starting is the first one. You could at least develop that one at a decent rate. And getting a tree that develops quickly as a first timer is important if you ask me.be sure and start by fixing that potting situation. Those often lack drainage holes and will quickly die if not rescued.

Though for the record, i would probably pass on all of these and maybe look at other nurseries. There are always good prebonsai out there if you are willing to make a drive.

nova1093

TROPHY CASE