Hey there,

I know most people on this forum who are more advanced in Bonsai are growing their trees outdoors and none of them owns a Podocarpus (Buddhist Pine) but maybe I will be able to get at least some opinions or pieces of advice.

I have repotted, pruned and wired my tree about 2 and a half weeks ago and I can already see new buds sprouting out everywhere (see the attached photos). My concern at the moment is the shape of the tree and its future. I am well aware that my tree is a beautiful Mallsai but after seeing some posts here with trees that have a developed trunk and still performed bends on it I start gaining some hope. I would like to know your opinion whether I should put two layers of wire around the trunk and try changing its structure or not. I would love to give it an informal upright or slanting shape and save it's health as well as aesthetics. Also in the photos attached you can see how the trunk get flat at the base and I do not know how can I work and if I can work it on my advantage.

On a final note, while reading more bonsai guidelines on Bonsai4me, they said that trees do not resist more than 1-2 years indoors (only few species) but I cannot find anything legit and detailed about Podocarpus so I would need a suggestion here as well. Also I am thinking to give it Epsom salt twice a year in addition to the fertilizer cake, would this be too much?

Thank you for taking your time to hear me out!

Hello Friend,
I have to say that I actually like your tree quite a lot already, even if it has a very common shape. I'm not sure you could easily bend it into a different shape at this point, so my recommendation would be to embrace it as it is. With care and time I think it will look less and less like a "mallsai" and will be a tree you can appreciate for many years to come. One thing you should take care of if you haven't already is remove any branches growing on the insides of the curves of the trunk. You should also try, providing it doesn't eliminate any branches, to remove any branches forming a "T" bar so that you have a more pleasing alternation of branches. If you dislike the how the trunk straightens out near the bottom, you could tilt the tree and then train the branches accordingly. It also looks like you have one large surface root and no others. You might be able to eliminate that root if you have others a little further down that could eventually form your new root base.
Regarding the indoor growth, I only leave my tropicals inside in the winter when I have no choice (I live in Ohio, US) and immediately move them outside when the weather warms to safe levels. There are books on the subject of growing trees successfully inside, and if you are interested I will let you know in a later post which book I have on the subject so that maybe you can track down a copy. That being said, I would really recommend moving the tree outside for the spring, summer, and early fall if possible. It will work wonders on your little tree.

I hope it does well, I really like it!

Hey Alexander, thank you for your message!

Unfortunately I do not have any possibility to raise my tree outdoors as I live in an apartment but what I try to do is to keep it on the balcony with full morning light from 7 AM till 12 PM then indirect sunlight for the rest of the day and full window opened for good airflow. I would love to buy a good 15-20 years old Ficus Retusa (maybe even 10 will do) at the moment but can't seem to find anything good in Europe at the moment. I could also leave my tree (hopefully i will enlarge my collection soon) at my aunt's place as she has a greenhouse but I know I can't stay away from my passion for more than 2 days. As of branches, I did eliminate the ones growing inside the curve and at the moment the branches left I bent them in a curvy manner to give the tree a nice flow along the trunk shape.

Regarding the book, please do tell me the name, I would love to read anything that helps me enlarge my bonsai knowledge and build up a strong basis!

Someone has also advised me to cut the superior bending but my bonsai journey is still at the beginning and I cannot envision the future of this tree, that's why I am asking out for some designing help in order to know how to train the tree at it's maximum potential

I would say that if you are uncomfortable or not sure about making a major cut to your tree then you should hold off on it for now. I will sometimes just look at a tree for months before cutting anything. It's kind of like the rule about shopping, you should wait a while to see if it's a design decision you really want to make before acting on it. That may mean waiting until the next appropriate time to prune if it takes you a long time to decide, but the outcome will be that you are confident when you make the cut that you are making a good decision for you and the tree. This has been my experience at least.
It sounds like you are pretty much limited to tropicals for now since you live in an apartment. My recommendation would be portulacaria afra (Dwarf Jade) since I have had success keeping them indoors year round, provided they get enough sunlight. I've heard schefflera is a great tropical bonsai, and I suspect it too could do well inside with full sunlight. Lastly, the ficus is always a solid choice, although in Ohio I really struggle to get any aerial roots growing since I don't have a greenhouse.
I will add the title of the book to a post later when I get home, since I can't recall the title from memory. You might also consider looking up The Bonsai Zone with Nigel Saunders on You tube, I've learned more from him than most other sources and he does a wonderful job with tropicals.
Here's a link to one of his videos (they are usually closer to 20-30 minutes) on a podocarpus:


I would definitely recommend exploring his channel as much as you can.

These were exactly my thoughts, that's why I decided to let it grow for now but in the meantime I am still making plans for this little one (tho the trunk is 27 cm haha).

I have spent good hours on Nigel's YouTube channel and I've seen all 3 of his Podocarpus videos but I did not like his idea of bare rooting his tree and also cutting such a big amount of its roots, to me it seemed like it stressed the tree too much. However, I am currently watching all videos from Bonsai Talk channel as I find it very inspiring. Regarding the portulacaria afra and schefflera, I am afraid it will be almost impossible to find those species anywhere in Easter Europe, especially in Romania where I live, as bonsai is not even a niche in the whole Eastern side of the continent. Thank for the great messages, I would love to see your collection maybe you can post them here or send them in private, feel free!

The book I alluded to earlier is Indoor Bonsai by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Although it is a small book, it contains a wealth of interesting information. At some point I will likely be posting a picture of one or more of my Bonsai for a progression post, though i'm not sure which one I will choose, as they are all far from ready to be shown I hope you can find the book, if you have access to Amazon.com that will help a lot when it comes to finding books on Bonsai, especially since you haven't been able to find a community of hobbyists yet.