Customer Reviews

Brussel's CT9005CE Chinese Elm Bonsai

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I love this little tree. My husband got it for his birthday about 3 years ago, and it's traveled with us from Boston to California. We do NOT have green thumbs, and the tree has had to struggle back from drought and drastic climate change and overpruning and inexpert attempts at wiring, and there were times I confess I thought I'd killed it for good, but each time it's magically brought back all its leaves and continued being one of the most beautiful green things I own. The shape is lovely, and I remember it arrived packaged incredibly well.

I recently became interested in becoming a practitioner in the art of bonsai, so I went out and bought a book about indoor bonsai for beginners. After reading the book throughly, I decided to go with the Chinese Elm, since it looks great and can stand the hard tap water in the area where I live. The tree also is capable of withstanding most pests, with the exception of spider mites, but I got a humidifying tray to aide with that. I literally just received this tree and it is just great! It took approximately four days to arrive and only lost about fifteen leaves, which in my book, is just fine for four days without sun, only about of three leaves were yellowed. The coloring and branch placement are exceptional and it looks like this is the start of a great relationship. :)

I received this tree only 3 days after I ordered it! It's beautiful! It has a nice fat trunk and looks exactly like the picture. It shows no signs of insects or disease. It came in a good quality pot. I'm sure I'll have this tree for a long time.

I received this bonsai super quick. The elm very closely resembles the tree pictured, and so far seems happy and healthy.

Tree was better than pictured, came in only a few days and was packaged very well. Looking forward to ordering more trees from Brussel's.

I received the bonsai very quickly (3 days). Very good service for a live plant purchase online. Even better was the free shipping. The bonsai came packaged very securely and I had no problems. The bonsai is a beautiful plant formed in the Moyogi style. I am very pleased with this purchase and look forward to caring and forming this plant in the future. There was only one little scar from wire on one of the turns but it is hardly visible.

1st: product is great for the price. Beautiful tree... even better then the one pictured w/ more curves. Comparable trees at the local Saturday Market were about $90 (big investment if you arent sure if you will be able to keep a bonsai alive)
2nd: shipping was fast and good packing kept the tree from getting damaged during transit.
3rd: some other people mention scarring from the training wires. There was a bit of that but lucked out.. on my tree its very minimal and gives it a bit of character - so I dont mind. Besides, not gonna complain for $35 bucks (including shipping).
4th: nice neutral cream pot - lucked out with the color... goes well with the humiditry tray i evenutally found.

I've been a Bonsai hobbist for more than 10 years. I have personally visted the Brussel's Bonsai Nursery in Alabama. IT's about 40 minutes away from Memphis Tn and well worth the drive. I've purchased LOTS of trees from Brussel's (at the nursery, by mail and at bonsai shows) and have always been satisfied. You get great trees at really resonable prices. Pay particular attention to if the tree is rated for indoor or outdoors. Outdoor bonsais that are brought indoors for more than a few days will die. I love the Chinese Elm variety. It has tiny vergated leaves just like the mamouth elm trees that used to blanket Chicago neighborhoods. The Chinese Elm can be kept inside during the winter. but ALL bonsai's will do much better if you let them enjoy the summer weather outside. If you fertilize them, they will grow profusely, thickening the trunk and developing more character and allow to enjoy your had at shaping your tree to what you define as Cool. Dive in and Enjoy!

I just received my Elm, It was in perfect condition! Brussel's did a great job packaging it. It looks just like the photo, same "S" shape trunk. I just ordered two more trees from them!!

I have been growing bonsai for a number of years now, and this was my first experience with buying a young tree online. The tree was almost exactly as pictured, and the ceramic pot was an even prettier shade of blue. The one thing I noticed was that the tree was root-bound, and obviously hadn't been repotted for several years. I cut back the roots and put it back in with some new soil and it's thriving. It has already sent off a few new leaves.

2/18/2011 Update:
I changed my review from 4 to 5 stars. This little tree is amazing! When it arrived it looked ready to die, especially after my severe root trimming, but now it looks absolutely fabulous and WAY better than the picture. It does very well indoors and for whatever reason it's the only plant my cat won't touch, making it an even better houseplant. Highly recommend!