Tropical Bonsai In Hampton Roads

      So, you want to grow tropical Bonsai in the Hampton Roads area?

Growing tropical's indoors can be a very pleasant experience.  You will have to provide the basic environment for these plants, which includes

Light, Humidity, Warmth, and Air circulation.

Let us start with the Light factor..

Even with a bright sunroom, sun-loving tropical's will need 12 to 16 hours a day of supplemental light.  In the cool/cold months (nights below 50F) you have two choices when you bring your plants indoors: fluorescent or high-intensity discharge (HID).

The brightness of a light is measured in either lumens or foot-candles. Lumens refer to the amount of light at the source, foot-candles to the amount of light falling on a given area. As you move farther away from a light, the lumens stay the same, but the foot-candles decrease. For perspective, a typical bright but overcast day is about 1,000 foot-candles, and a bright summer day at noon is about 10,000 foot-candles.

Indoors, normal home lighting will be 10-50 foot-candles, perhaps as much as 100 foot-candles in work areas such as a kitchen counter.  Not much light to keep a plant alive, so, supplemental lighting is a need.

Fluorescent Lights

Home gardeners have used fluorescent lights for starting seeds and growing plants for many years. Because their light intensity is low, they are best for seedlings and low- growing plants so that even the lowest leaves are no more than 8 inches from the tube.  It is my understanding that this is the bare minimum for keeping many tropical plants alive.   A standard 4-foot unit with two 40-watt tubes will light an area about 8 inches wide. A variety of special tubes for growing plants is available, but a combination of standard cool- and warm-white tubes is also effective. Verilux tubes approximate the color of natural light .  Vita-Lite "power twist" tubes produce somewhat more light per watt, and the quality of light is balanced for optimum plant growth.
Fluorescent lights at 6 inches provide 700 foot candles, and at 12 inches the light drops to 450 foot candles. Fluorescent efficiency, 60 to 80 lumens per watt, though superior to that of standard incandescent, is far below that of HID lamps. Cost is low for the fixture and tubes, and about $5 per month for electricity.

High-Intensity Discharge Lights

Serious tropical growers rely on high-intensity lamps. They produce a much greater intensity of light, meaning the bulb can be several feet above the plants and still deliver adequate intensity to lower leaves. There are two types: metal halide and high-pressure sodium. Both utilize large, long-lived, and relatively expensive bulbs filled with various combinations of rare gases and a remote ballast.

A 400-watt HID lamp delivers about 1,000 foot candles of light 3 feet below the bulb and can sufficiently illuminate 25 square feet. Cost of electricity is $4 to $8 per month, depending upon lamp size and your electricity rates.
Many growers prefer metal halide lamps because the light they produce is good for healthy growth and flowering and pleasant to work around. Efficiency is 120 to 130 lumens per watt. Bulbs are available in 150-watt to 1,000-watt versions.

High-pressure sodium lamps are the most efficient type of HID lamp, producing about 140 lumens per watt. The light they produce is reddish, so it's less pleasing to work around, but is preferred for some flowering plants. Bulbs are available in 150-watt to 1,000-watt versions.

Humidity is a necessity  around your plant.  The most efficient process is to construct a tent around your grow area to hold moisture in.  Many use a humidity tray which is shallow with pebbles and filled with water to the top of the pebbles.  The plant is placed on top of the pebbles not nestled in and touching the water.   A humidifier can work also but caution on how much needs to be regulated or at least monitored.  Many people use the humidity tray without an enclosure with little to no effect. 

Warmth, our next factor to be considered and for many tropical's this is extremely important.  Tropical plants like night temps to be in the 50F to 70F range.  Daytime temps in the 70F to 90F range.  A heat mat with temperature control is ideal.  Caution on using ambient temperature mats.  These will keep the mat at around 20 degrees above the air temperature.  So, if the air temperature in your house is at 75F the mat will warm to 95F.  Above 90F can damage your plants roots.   

Air Circulation is a very important factor many neglect to consider.  An oscillating fan is best for this purpose.  Changing the direction of air flow will also help with the vitality of your plants. 

--These are only the basics of indoor growing and further research is advised to fit your specific application.

A basic list of tropical plants includes:

      Carissa grandiflora (Natal Plum); Ehretia microphylla (Fukien Tea); Ficus benjamina (Weeping Fig); Ficus nerifolia (Willow Leaf Fig); Ilex dimorphylla (Okinawa Holly);  Myrciaria cauliflora (Jaboticaba) Leptospermum scoparium (New Zealand Tea) cvs.; Nasha inaguanensis (Bahamian Brush Cherry); Portulacaria afra (Mini-jade tree); Sageretia theezans (Chinese Sweet Plum); Schefflera arboricola (Schefflera); Serissa foetida (Serissa) 'Kyoto', 'Mt. Fuji', 'Pink', 'Pink Princess', 'Snow Rose', 'Thousand Stars'.

There are many other tropical plants used in Bonsai, all with there own specific needs.. this list is a good starting point.

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