Well I stoped in at a local store selling bonsai trees and spoke with the representative there. I was initially after a dwarf jade tree until he advised against it and pointed me to the chinese elm and suggested the grow light in addition to the florescents would be enough.

I have a ficus bonsai that I am growing at my home under ideal conditions that is doing quite well but am very interested in getting a binsai in my office since I spend 40+ hours of my life there every week.

I've read a few books which while helpful for growing bonsai trees in ideal conditions, don't give me the info I'm interested in for my office. I've found whether the bonsai is an "indoor" or not, they prefer to be outside during the warmer months. So this is why I am seeking some information from anyone who may have more some experience and can offer some advise as to how to overcome my growing conditions so I can still have a bonsai tree thrive in my office conditions.

I do have a timer so I could program the lights so the tree still receives light on weekends. I am not sure about the tempature drop on the weekends as I am not sure what the thermostat gets set to every Friday evening.

Thanks!
Mike

It's the temperature, lighting + HUMIDITY that are vital to those trees. I gave you my best information based on my knowledge and experience of many others. If you want only info to support your desire to grow e.g. Fukien tea (of all things) in an office, then I can't help you with that. And very few store clerks, whether in 'bonsai' stores or not, will have (or give) any info other than that which helps sell more product. Most clerks are not knowledgable but it doesn't stop them handing out 'advice' freely. Ficus are easy to grow at home for most people. And sometimes you have to accept things you don't like... we all do that.

This post was edited by moochinka on Tue, Dec 30, 14 at 9:50

I would have to agree with moochinka here. Jade would actually be your best bet. Growing any tree in that environment would be challenging. Although humidity and temperature is of concern, I see the light conditions as your biggest obstacle. At minimum you wold need a full spectrum bulb. Ideally it should be on longer than the 8 hrs you are there.
the fukien probably wouldn't last long. An elm may last longer but would surely be stressed by the un-ideal conditions. Jade however stores some of its needs in its leaf for later use. If it could periodically be placed in better conditions. For example bring it home on some weekends. or outside for a while in the spring and summer that may work.
In addition to humidity light and temperature as noted by moochinka,Trees also like air movement. Stagnate air is cause for disease. especially on a stressed tree.
We do have a jade at our office, (not mine) Stays outside in the summer and comes in during the winter. We have windows but this plant is across the room. It is very "leggy" from lack of light. It survives though. Our temperature probably dips into the mid 50's on weekends. So it may work for you. Good luck

And in case you didn't catch on at the store - C. elms & Fukiens are likely to cost more than jades.

Light will be the Limitation.

Jades require very high light to thrive, but don't need significant humidity. They come from rocky areas in South Africa, the Great Karoo.

Josh

What about a ponytail palm? I've had luck with those in this environment.

My worry is still for ANY plant in an office that you don't control on weekends or even overnight re temperature, light and humidity. Ponytails may need more heat and humidity than your office provides, but if you want to try it, possibly as a 'canary in a mine', it's up to you. I certainly don't know your office owner's regulations re year round 24/7 conditions.

This post was edited by moochinka on Thu, Jan 8, 15 at 23:13

During the winter it is pretty dry and warm, doing the summer fairly cool. At night I am not sure what happens to the tempature. During the weekend I can still get the plant light with a timer that will turn on the florescent light in my office that is about 24" above the plant. I just really want to bring some livlines to my office. I've got a bonsai at my house and really enjoy it. I think it would be really neat to have one in my office too.

Lots of things would be neat, but if you don't even know what temps do overnight there, I wouldn't subject a living plant to them until I did know. Hang some pictures, but not bonsai.

mmoss23, I'm a little late on this post (just browsing older stuff), but as some food for thought: The office environment really is the limitation here. In a perfect case you could isolate the plant from the unsuitable office environment and give it a separate environment that it can thrive in. With that description in mind, maybe you might want to look less at a traditional bonsai and look into fully enclosed terrariums instead. I have never created a terrarium environment myself, but I've always found them a bit fascinating and would like to give one a try at some point. They would certainly achieve the goal of eliminating the problem of the unsatisfactory office environment. (Assuming proper lighting were available). Try a Google image search for terrariums and see if anything strikes your fancy.

Thanks for the input everyone. I am currently trying a red tip jade in my office. Hoping that the fluorescent light will be enough. It has been about 1 week now since i inserted the plant in my office. It is still too soon to tell how it is doing but i will be sure keep everyone updated. here is a pic.

Why not buy a grow tent, fans, lights and create it's own environment? I own several jades and grow them year around the same way in basements, living rooms and offices

Because that's not very feasible for an office. A terrarium, maybe, but nothing bigger than a 10-gallon. It looks unprofessional and messy.

Jades and dwarf jades (two very different species) are both happy in *my* office, though. That sort of setup shouldn't be necessary.

Just sayin', it can be done

Neat setup, but having something behind a closed door kinda defeats the purpose of the plant, no?

yes, i think plants should be seen to relax our eyes. so same thoughts here Steven.

Hey mmoss23, I am very late to this conversation, however I am in the same position as you were a few years ago and would like to hear how it turned out. Any of your experience or thoughts on growing indoor office plants would be much appreciated.

Dear moochinka,
If you happen to see this comment please move along jedihandwave and do not leave a comment. I am only interested in productive and imaginative problem solving.

Long111780 - I love the idea.

Yeah. Would be lovelly to find out how did your plant manage? Did it survive?

I'll update you on how it went. I looked great going in, really livened up the place. After a few months, the new growth was starting to look gangly and stretched out. There were a few bouts with overwatering which caused the gangly new growth to droop, and he/she took it home and put it in the sun, where it thrives to this day. The end.

Trees and succulents are designed to grow in the full light from the star that resides roughly 93 million miles from us, that literally puts out more energy in one second than all the energy that humans have ever generated in our cumulative history. A 24 inch office florescent desk light is not a suitable replacement.

Do not be so quick on giving up on artificial light. It just depends on the light and a lot of experience/knowledge. One of the most renowned Ficus bonsai master - Jerry Meislik has been exclusively growing award winning ficus bonsai exclusively under lights in Montana. After moving to Montana he surmised that it is not worth schlepping his plants outdoors for the short summer. By the time they acclimate it is time to bring them indoors. So he chose to grow indoors all year. He uses high output metal halide lamps. And has been doing it for 10+ years now. So quite doable - you have select the light source correctly. Enclosed in a tight space is definitely a problem with regards to controlling heat. With the right setup people have done it with junipers and elms too.

I am not saying it is easy. But doable if you know what you are up against and how to deal with it.

Of course! I know that using grow lights that emit bright, full-spectrum light, one.can grow even the most demanding plants, but within the confines of an office cubicle, where work must also get done,, it soon becomes impractical. Even with modern LED technology, within the confines of all but the largest of offices the bulk of the equipment, and the heat put out by the equipment required to successfully grow most sun loving plants like that jade would make coworkers question your career choices. A single small flourescent and a desk lamp would not cut it for that jade for long.