Like to figure out how to work on THAT one with bare hands!

i like the idea, but im curious how often you had to trim the root ball in such a small pot was it grown from seed?

I havent trimmed the roots.Over time the soil evaporates since it's an artificial mix. Watering and the occasional knocking over from wind or hose,(dog), and who knows what.
I just throw a handull of new mix on top,or add below.The moss doesnt take much time growing through the soft mix if topped off.
No it was just a dish garden type plant.
Cereus species can become huge trees,so it is a true Bonsai.It even has a bit of turtleback bark..
And i want to point out that the lean is an all natural balancing act.

This is truly a great example of cactus in the bonsai form. I have a neighbor that has the same type of cactus and it is taller than his house. Lastly im wondering what the age of the plant is it looks great with the literati(if tats how you spell it).

I should-to be a little technical-say that this is a dwarf form of Cereus..then,dwarfed more in pot culture.Yet,somewhere in the DNA is the original form that can reach upwards of 60' in Mexico and South America.
I really can't remember the exact age..more than 5-6 years,less then 10. And like i wrote on the Poinciana topic,for years it was just a stunted looking plant.A few years ago it branched,you could see the trunk and how it had become woody..it became an "adult" plant in form.
On the Bonsai scale,you have Junipers that look like instant Bonsai the moment you pot them-pruned or not-and then you have some that just cannot be made to look artificialy old without years passing.Also not a caudiciform that looks Bonsai quickly.It's a tree.And it takes time that no amount of wiring or pruning can replace.

btw,I have a 30 year old dwarf cereus "fairy castles" not a Bonsai. It's in a Mexican terra cotta pot and about 2 1/2 feet tall. That shows these are not short lived plants and I can see them out living me at my almost,50 years.Although it may be pushing it for the one above to remain in a 4-5" Bonsai pot for that length of time.And thanks betula and Luci,i appreciate your nice words!.

Nice potted plant, but by any definition NOT bonsai.

You must be a pine,juniper and maple, hardore. It IS Bonsai even if it doesnt grow in your climate.

Doesn't bonsai mean 'potted plant?'

Josh

Tree, potted tree.

Oops ;) tree!
Thank you, Lucy.

Well, I suppose you would technically have to get the spines reduced to call it a bonsai.... It still looks nice, though!
-Jmcat

Not trying to make anyone mad, but I have a serious question. I know that that "bonsai" are trees grown in pots. Does that technically mean then that the specimens that we use like boxwood, ilex vomitoria, etc. are not really bonsai because they are not "trees" but rather shrubs. I know that many use these species because of their small leaf size and the ability to make them look "like" a mature tree and be proportional with trunk and leaf size, etc. If left to grow wild, they won't ever be "tree" like. I know because my parents let their boxwoods go for 15 years (long story) and they still were just a clumped messy hedge. I guess my question is what classifies a tree? I know it doesn't affect the cactus thing, but I really would like to know.

From Answers.com:
n.

1. A perennial woody plant having a main trunk and usually a distinct crown.
2. A plant or shrub resembling a tree in form or size.

Thank you. I really was curious. I have heard of people even using English Ivy and coleus as specimens for bonsai. I know they said it took a LONG time for it to work.

I've heard of using Ivy for bonsai, but never coleus. It sure doesn't seem to me that it would work, as it is an annual and dies after flowering (I guess you might be able to keep the flowers pinched off), and I'm pretty sure it doesn't get a woody stem. I guess you could dwarf it, but I don't think you could bonsai it. Maybe I'm wrong, though.
-Jmcat

It works, woody stem and all. See below link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to see Coleus Bonsai

Interesting! I haven't seen any of those before.
-Jmcat

Hey jmcat, in the post, I think it was Al, said that coleus are perennials, but used as annuals in most parts because they are so tender. Where I am in Houston, they are pretty much perennials - even if I don't pinch. If we get anywhere near 32 degrees, they're goners. I live in the very southern part of Houston, so I'm only 22 miles from the coast. We hit 32 onces last winter. I had a jalepeno plant actually live through much neglect and put on growth in the spring again. It had a woody stem and all. I thought about using it for bonsai material - ummm!

Yeah, I haven't ever heard of coleus as perennials before. I had always thought that they were annuals and died after flowering, whether they got too cold or not. Well, I guess you're always learning something new!
-Jmcat

There is a coleus in the garden that must be 3-4 years old. I'm on the coast and we didn't get to freezing last year. Just south of Houston. I've seen boxwoods that were close to 8' tall, wouldn't that count as a small tree? A lot of what is considered an annual in the north are perennials here, my brother has a 10 year old jalapeno plant, pentas-annual in Delaware, perennial in south Texas.
Tally HO!

and moulman way at the top it is a bonsai 1) becuase the cactus is a tree and 2)in its bleakest form bonsai only means a potted plant before i read all the books that i have i wouldve said it wasnt a bonsai either and the difference between a tree and a shrub is a plants mature height must be at least 14 feet tall but bonsai are still trees becuase if planted in the ground and aloud to grow would grow to its mature hieght and stanofh great example of a cactus bonsai