Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
#20 August 13, 2002
“In My Garden” this week is this “mighty mite”, a 3 ¼” tall Ming Aralia. Yes, inches, not feet.
Sometimes, the most ordinary plant is the most beautiful. Aralias are easy-care, graceful plants for the home and office. They have no special needs: medium light, ordinary humidity, water when near-dry, fertilize and repot infrequently, watch for spider mites in the winter, dust as needed. Indoors, they grow fairly slowly but can easily reach 3’ or more, if desired. Starter plants are readily available at retail plant outlets (florists, groceries, etc.) in the $4 range. Cuttings root easily in water.
The Ming Aralia in the photo was started in 1999 from a plant purchased in a 3” pot for $3.99 at a Downtown Brooklyn florist and cut up for bonsai. The top is cut back when it reaches 3 to 5 leaves above the last cut. The roots are trimmed every other year. The Aralia lives in a clear plastic box on my kitchen windowsill and is taken out once a week for watering. The 1 ½”-wide pot is from Shanti Bithi (see www.shantibithi.com for awesome bonsai pictures)
Photo credits: Sue Sweeney © Sue Sweeney 2002
PS the plant finally died in 2004.
Comments (2)
how did it die?
i'm thinking of making a cutting from my 1' tall aralia to start a bonsai project with...
Posted by colin | April 4, 2006 3:02 PM
Posted on April 4, 2006 15:02
Colin --
The problem was basically old age (the plant) and abuse by the gardener (me). My plant was very, very tiny (under 3") and didn't have much in the way of reserves so it didn't recover well from a delayed watering, then the same thing happened again about a year later.
After that, the plant went into decline and eventually I had to put it out of its misery. Sigh! It was such a beautiful little tree. However, it was a tree, even if tiny, and has tree-type inflexibility issues.
Generally, aralia make great bonsai. Good luck with your project and send me a picture when you can.
Sue
Posted by S. W. Sweeney | April 8, 2006 1:08 PM
Posted on April 8, 2006 13:08