Indoor bonsai

[2][3] Bonsai and related practices, like penjing, hòn non bộ, and saikei, involve the long-term cultivation of small trees and landscapes in containers.

[2] Indoor penjing is the cultivation of miniature landscapes in a pot or tray, possibly with rocks, bonsai trees, and ground covers, and sometimes with small objects or figurines.

[2] Compared to the usual potted house plant, bonsai are rooted in a much smaller amount of soil.

[citation needed] An indoor room comfortably lit for human use provides too little light for most species of tree to grow.

Insufficient light may not kill some species outright, but will make their growth so slow that the bonsai shaping techniques cannot be used: the plant will not grow back after pruning or leaf trimming.

Care is taken not to harm the plant either with cold air entering through the window, or with high radiated heat from direct exposure to the sun.

The lower temperature, combined with shorter periods of daylight, triggers an expected annual dormancy which many non-tropical species need in order to thrive.

Local humidity can be raised by locating the bonsai containers over a tray of water, or by placing them in a bed of dampened sand.

For the maximum humidity, a dedicated room with high-capacity evaporative or misting humidifiers can support the most sensitive bonsai.