I’ve had the worst luck with my Bonsai plants. I buy the cute ones at the nursery and bring them home. In time, they’ve all died. However, last years attempts seem to be working out and most are doing pretty well, even showing growth.
I water my Bonsai plants faithfully and have learned they do better outside, they aren’t meant to be houseplants even though that’s what most think.
The other day I noticed a new bud on the rockspray cotoneaster plant. I had bought it because of the red ball-like bud you see on the backside. 
Suddenly, it now has a pretty little flower but the red ball-like bud is still there, maybe it’s what the flowers become.
Since I’m on the subject of the Bonsai, here’s a couple of others I’ve been tending to.
This is also in the cotoneaster family and is called a wrenetting bush. 
I’ll have to try my luck at trimming the plants and see if they still thrive.
This was one of my first that I bought last year, it’s a small pine tree, sorry I don’t know the actual name but it’s really done well.
The pine tree has done so well I have even taken a few cuttings from it and started some new pines from the cuttings.
The cuttings haven’t died off on me yet and I’ll replant them in their own little Bonsai pots soon.
I love Bonsai plants but have never been very successful with keeping them alive. It looks like I’ve got the technique down now! 
I should make a whole special garden just for them but then I’d have to kick out some of my other plants. The Bonsai are now located in the planting area under the living room window out front of the house.
The green ground covering you see around the plants is baby’s breath plants. I fell in love with their delicacy years ago when I saw the ground cover at one of my husband’s uncle’s home. It’s taken me years to get the ground cover to fill in. The problem with it not filling in is that it also made a very cool summer place for our dog Maggie to lie in. She’d dig out a little spot for herself every year and in the process took out some of the baby’s breath plants. Now that Maggie is in doggy heaven, the plants are able to thrive. I miss Maggie a lot but I’m happy that the plants in that area are now thriving.
I love bonsai trees, they look great in a little mini garden, almost like a rockery, it really makes them stand out. I lost mine a couple of years ago, they weren’t tough enough to be left outside in the winter, but didn’t like the dry heat from the central heating.
Comment by ren — May 18, 2008 @ 9:49 am