Auk wrote:

BrentB wrote:

Well that's lame. I guess I have more to learn than I thought. So how do you tell the difference between a real bonsai plant and something like this?

Bonsai is not a tree species, it is a set of techniques to develop suitable material into a miniaturized version of a real tree. The difference is that a bonsai looks like a tree, not like a year old cutting.

I know bonsai isnt a species, I just meant how do you tell the fake from the real ones. Well I did some reading and realized that the juniper I have will most likely die soon any ways since most people cut the branch off a Juniper and they're already dead. With that being said, are there any suggestions you guys have for a species I should get that is good for a beginner? preferably an indoor plant

BrentB wrote:

I know bonsai isnt a species, I just meant how do you tell the fake from the real ones.

How can you NOT tell the difference? It looks just like what it is: a cut off juniper branch in a pot.

THIS is a Juniper bonsai:

Well I did some reading and realized that the juniper I have will most likely die soon any ways since most people cut the branch off a Juniper and they're already dead.

Yes, it is a cutting, but that will not be the reason why it will probably die soon. Making cuttings is often a good way to propagate trees. The reason these things die is because they don't get proper care.

With that being said, are there any suggestions you guys have for a species I should get that is good for a beginner? preferably an indoor plant

First suggestion would be to not choose for an indoor bonsai. Second suggestion would be to learn first what bonsai is and how they are created.

BrentB wrote:

are there any suggestions you guys have for a species I should get that is good for a beginner? preferably an indoor plant

Hi Brent... Well I believe that if you are really interested to go for real with this art a good starting species will be a Ficus. You'll see, they are remarkably strong and forgiving. Just, please, don't make the same mistake that many of us have made and DO NOT buy the sadly famous Ficus Ginseng

Alain

adding on to Alainleon1983, maybe a ficus benjamina would be the best shot for starting out, as it is possibly the most common as a houseplant, therefore possibly the most cheapest. for common research, read the basics articles on this website, they are the basics, but boy do NEED to know this stuff.

alainleon1983 wrote:

.. DO NOT buy the sadly famous Ficus Ginseng

why it's sadly famous?

It is sold as bionsai, even though it does not have much to do with bonsai.