are there any species of bonsai tree you can grow underwater?

[homegrown terror]

i was just thinking of how nice that would look as a centerpiece for my planted 10g...anyone know if it's possible, and if so, how much maintenance and financial commitment they need?

[aokashi]

LOL interesting idea. you can get a mice piece if wood and make a moss tree out of it :)

[Olympia]

Bonsai trees are just regular trees pruned down over the years- any tree can be a bonsai tree.

Your best bet is finding some driftwood that looks like a tree, and tying in moss to make it look like leaves. Moss is easy to care for, low light, so shouldn't be too hard.

[Friendlyfishies]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/my...ania_sp_Bonsai

lol not sure if this counts!

[Aus]

Olympia's idea is the best call - there are no trees that will grow underwater for very long before dying, unless you count mangroves and other trees that are semi-aquatic and even they hate being fully submersed too long.

I;ve seen some stunning moss trees that have used dead bonsai stumps (aged for an appropriate amount of time) - maybe call your local plant outlets, see if they have any old dead ones you can have. Might have to wait 2 years for the wood to age, but wow - they look amazing in a tank.

[cataze]

Originally Posted by Olympia

Bonsai trees are just regular trees pruned down over the years- any tree can be a bonsai tree.

Your best bet is finding some driftwood that looks like a tree, and tying in moss to make it look like leaves. Moss is easy to care for, low light, so shouldn't be too hard.

I LOVE this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is the "grass" at the bottom moss too, do you think? I have to log this away to try in the future...gorgeous!!!!!!!!

[Olympia]

No, it's some sort of carpet plant. Most true carpet plants are pretty tricky. Dwarf hairgrass is probably the easiest carpet to do without CO2, you can always trim it to a smaller size. You can "cheat" a little and use moss as a carpet, or a plant called round pellia, if you weigh it down with plastic mesh over top (since it floats), it will eventually grow over. The pellia could look beautiful even in a very low-tech set up over time.

All of those lush, fluffy "fields" you see are made possible with CO2 injection and high light. This keeps the plants low to the ground as there's no "need" for them to reach up, and lets them spread out more over the substrate.