My daughter and I were out on the town this afternoon and happened across a bonsai store(I didn’t even know these existed!). She was intrigued and so was I so we stopped in. Holy moly, we were in a a tree store! This was something I’d never seen in my life. All there was for sale were trees and rocks! Well, the rocks were free. 
Anyways, I’d heard of bonsai trees before and it interested me when I wandered in. We spent an hour or so there and somehow…with the advice of an 8 year old, I bought a tree. Now, I have two cats who do quite well at taking care of themselves as long as they have food and water and a reasonably well taken care of place to eliminate themselves and…a $50 tree as pets.
How the heck do I take care of this tree!? It will supposedly live 100’s of years if taken care of properly! I’ve just bought myself something new to have to worry about when it comes will-time! I’ve done the ‘google search’ but I haven’t come up with anything specific.
The only thing I can think of is to let it exist with the rest of the plants in my house and die a quick death. Heck, with my ‘non-green’ thumb, mold is looking for the suburbs. I’m reasonably certain that this is a pet of the ‘Fukien Tea’ variety. While it is beautiful…I’d hate to kill it before I can leave it to the folks in my willl…or a favored enemy!
-K
You spent $50 on a Bonsai and didn’t ask how to take care of it?
From here:
General Care : The Fukien Tea grows well as an indoor bonsai (Depending on your climate it can be left outside and brought inside for the winter when temperatures drop below 15°C (60°F) or left inside all year as long as the plant is in a sunny position with adequate water and humidity).
Branches can be pruned all year. Pinch out new shoots that detract from the overall shape of the bonsai. Trim new shoots back to two to three leaves regularly in the growing season, and every month in winter.
Feed fortnightly from spring to autumn and monthly in winter with a low nitrogen feed. Water regularly.
Other Comments : This plant does not like shade, keep in a position of full sun - but at the same time ensure it doesn’t get burnt.
Fukien Teas do not like cold weather, especially frost or cold draughts - which could be very detrimental to the plant and could even cause it to die.
Well, I did ask while I was there. The store owner told me that it was easy to take care of. He told me the basics. Like I said, when I got home I did a bit of searching on the internet and found out that these things aren’t as easy to take care of as it seems. I didn’t realize that these were regarded more as art than as a plant to just keep and enjoy. I couldn’t find anything specific though about temperature, sunlight, how to prune, wrapping, etc…
I’m going to head out today and pick up a book to find out more.
Bonsai can be tricky to keep healthy, or indeed alive. I’m the only person I know who has managed not to kill them in short order. I’ve had five, now I’m down to one 
All the casualties are from when I’ve left them with other people. Mostly they died of thirst, my mum managed that in about a week, a couple were frozen to death when the cleaner turned off the central heating.
I think it’s a bit odd the shop didn’t give you any instructions, every time I’ve bought one I’ve been given a leaflet on pet tree care.
It is probably better to regard your tree as pet than a plant, it requires way more care than a normal house plant. You will have to water it a lot to keep it from drying out. And keep it fed too.
Good luck.