Question
Vance ...
While in the supermarket I saw a pretty little Bonsai and purchased it. I've owned lots of house plants, but never Bonsai.At home I read the directions that came with it. They said, "To know if your Bonsai needs water, press the soil around the base of the tree." O.K. except the surface of the soil is a bunch of tiny pebbles that seem to be set in cement. Pressing anything is impossible.
Even the large river stone (? garden feature ?)is set in cement. My question... how do I decide when the poor thing need water? Thanks, Wms

Answer
The first thing you need to do is get rid of all the rocks.  The second thing is that you do not water the tree until it is almost dry.  It needs to be kept in a sunny location.  Third thing is, and sadly, it will probably die.  Most of these comercial bonsai do not survive for a variety of reason, chief among which is that most are dieing when you purchase them.  The care instructions are terrible, and they don't tell you that a bonsai unless it is a tropical species will not survive indoors.  Cultivating a bonsai as a house plant is one of the most difficult aspects in bonsai culture even with the correct tree.  All that being said does not necessarily mean you will fail or that your tree will die.  Bonsai cultivation is not like your every day house plant.  Bonsai are trees that are programed by nature to grow to maybe two-hundred feet tall, a pot is not a favorable environment for a tree and if proper procedures are not followed it will die within a year or two.  I would advise you to get a book on bonsai and learn how these trees are cultivated.

Vance Wood.