Tropical Shohin in the Bronx

by Anthony Di Masso
(Bronx, NY, USA)

My name is Anthony Di Masso. I live in City Island, in the Bronx NY. Two and a half years into bonsai I am still a novice but have made some considerable progress as an indoor grower.

I obtained my first tree, a Chinese Elm from IKEA, as a gift from a friend and became addicted. At the time I lived in an apartment with 16 windows and almost everyone had a tree in it. I became a member of the online forum Bonsai Vault where I was inspired by many people on that forum. Also there I read threads where people mentioned various ways increase humidity but I had never considered altering my windowsill setup until this winter. I was able to keep tropical trees looking "nice" for a few months but it wasn't until the death of a $75. Fukien tea -followed by the departure of a Russian Olive - that sprung change.

It became obvious to me that I would never be able to get a tree to thrive on a windowsill in the Bronx, so I purchased my first tank. It was a used 55 gal hexagon. After cutting out the center of the lid and replacing it with mesh covered in plastic, I attached four dome lights to it and one to the stand facing up from the bottom of the tank. I also wired a computer fan to an AC adapter, advice I got on the forum, and attached that to the lid as well. Right now there are four types of shohin Ficus living in it.

I then expanded to a 29 gallon tank - resting on mirror tiles that houses 2 marigold and two purple jasmine. The lid has the same light and fan set up but is not covered in plastic as the humidity levels are not as large of a concern. Under that is a 10 gallon tank with cuttings rooting in it.

Finally to the right lives a dwarf schefflera. There the lighting is brought from the sides to encourage expansion of the tree from side to side. I do not have a fan set up here but remove the lid once a day for an hour or so to avoid fungal problems. All lights for the tanks run back to a timer set for 16 hours a day. Although this set-up has increased vigor in my trees considerably, it is still under development and has not passed the test of time (but I am optimistic it will).

The test it has passed is how to give my shohin trees timed lighting, air circulation, and increased humidity levels while maintaining an ascetically pleasing spot to view my trees!