Background: Hi guys, well, as it says in the title I need some help. A tree on my school is going to be cut down (probably due to safety hazards, it's quite spikey) in about three weeks, and seeing as I can do nothing about the actual cutting down bit I have decided to take some cuttings. I don't have enough room for a full sized tree, so i thought, how about bonsai? So for the past couple of days I researched till I was all researched out and stumbled on this site. I read all the Beginner's articles on here as well as on Bonsai4me, but I am still left with a few questions. So, here we go. (PS. I know this seems like a lot of trouble for a tree but I honestly love that spikey tree, it's been on the school since before memory and a great deal of legends and lore has sprung up around it. To let it go to the grave without a fight just seems wrong to me.)
Questions: 1) What rooting soil should I use? I've heard of people using a peat and water slurry because the mixture doesn't have the same brittling effects as just water. Is this true? What would you advise?
2) How thick should the cuttings be? How long? How many leaves? How many cuttings should I take to ensure i get at least a couple that survive? (my ideal bonsai is fully grown at one to one-and-a-half feet tall, if this helps any)
3) How many leaves should be stripped off the cutting?
4) Someone on here used a "mini greenhouse" for her Varigated Ficus Benjamina cuttings, should I do the same?
5) Indoors or outdoors? What type of sunlight and how much, ex: outside in the mornings but inside at night?
Useful Information: I live in Southern California, so the winters aren't nearly as severe as elsewhere. However, last year in the deep of winter the condensation froze overnight, sealing our car. So it does get pretty nippy down here on occasion.
Pictures: 1) A picture of the tree this morning
2) A picture of this tree two years ago.
3) Fallen flower for identification purposes.
4) The school has recently begun chopping off limbs of the tree, and the tree has grown new bright green branches in retaliation.
5) Some smaller branches growing from an old scar.
6) You can see the new branches are bright green in comparison to the older more spikey branches in the background.
7) This is the new growth from which I will most likely be attaining my cuttings, as it is the leafiest and the most healthy-looking. (and also the lowest to the ground, im terrified of heights)
8 ) A seed pod the tree has recently grown (one of two). This is the first time i have seen the tree grow anything of the kind.