So I almost NEVER buy a tree from walmart that is already wired and set in stone. but this one I found laying on the ground. someone had pulled it out of its pot and threw it on the ground. So I paid the $17 and brought it home and saved it.
Obviously its a pretty ugly tree and wasn't style very well. I need some ideas on how to make it look a little better going forward. Its a Fukien tea tree so most of the current branches cannot be wired as they are too woody and Fukien are almost impossible to style once they are hardened. and ideas would be great!
Thank you!

17 dollars is a robbery for this one. I think you need to grow more foliage for start. Good luck.

lol yeah, I normally wouldn't pay $5 for it, but I could not just leave it to die lol

BuddhaDrew wrote: lol yeah, I normally wouldn't pay $5 for it, but I could not just leave it to die lol

So you have a good heart. I also saved poor buddies from the local supermarkets. Now leave it to adapt and care as per the fukien requirements. If it go well and grow foliage you can start thinking how to move on. I just wonder what is the greenie stuff on top of soil.. moss?

yeah its just moss... the tree came in an enormously large and deep pot. I brought it home and put it in a smaller one with bonsai soil. I threw some moss on top to make it look a little better. It sits on my desk at work

I dont think your tree benefits anything from this moss right now, just the opposite. Sitting on desk in office sounds like it is waiting for death. Find better spot with sun and good air circulation if you want to keep it alive inside.

Im no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but from all my research having a carpet of moss over the soil has many benefits at almost any age. such as preventing erosion of soil, and root growth near the top of the soil, and protecting the roots. I would be curious as to why this is a bad idea, just so I can read up more on it.
The tree doesn't stay on my desk. it sits in the window at my office most, if not all, of the day. I only leave it on my desk during the evening when I go home. if there is supposed to be good weather, I will take it home with me on the weekend and let it sit outside. But for the most part it sits in an south/southwestern facing window at the office. Its's a pretty hardy little guy. lots of new shoots coming out weekly. I am just letting him grow for another year or so. Fighting the urge to want to do anything with it, but there really isn't a whole lot I can do with it currently! I have a lot of azaleas,maples, and a few elms at home that are keeping me busy. this guy is basically just a conversation piece at work lol. thanks for your input, it is much appreciated!

From all I know so far, in Bonsai moss serves mostly for aesthetic purposes, when your tree is ready for exposition. I will not say you are not right about those things you said about moss but it will be better if you know if soil is wet or dry at this stage that your tree is.

It probably depends on the type of moss. The moss I get in my pots here moves around at mayb 20cm a year, growing into the bard, causing this to stay wet and decay. Leaving me with young fresh bark, instead of old cracked bark..