Hello, need some help

[inexion]

Hey there,

New to your forums here, I just wanted to stop by and ask for some help with my bonsai =/

I will post some pics, but first I'd like to explain it, it was given to me as a gift and I've had it for about 3 years. During that time I took it not knowing much about bonsai, and cared for it myself - but now its getting to a point where I'm not sure where to go with it. By the way, I've never known what kind of actual plant it is, so if anyone can ID it, please go ahead I'd love to know.

Its getting quite large, and Ive let it do some growing so now it has some new sprouts around the top of its main stalk, and two of the lower leaf stalks that were quite old and much lower down on the same stalk, have died and fallen off - and the way that this tree grows, I don't think Ill ever get those branches back, or be able to grow them again - so I need to think about pruning, unless that is totally wrong in the case of this particular plant. Who ever originally created this wonderful tree did a great job, the rootball and lava rock configuration is almost flawless, its truly a very well done tree it seems.



Sorry for the poor quality of these pics, but heres whats going on
This is 2 days after watering
[img]https://bytestash.com/img/bonsai/01.jpg[/img]

In this pic, you can generally get the layout of this plant and how it grows
[img]https://bytestash.com/img/bonsai/02.jpg[/img]


Here, you can see its enviroment, its in the corner of two windows I leave open to light during the day - by the way, this plant hates cold weather of any kind, it starts shedding when it gets cold - and I live in Ohio, so I might have to move it away from the window panes
[img]https://bytestash.com/img/bonsai/03.jpg[/img]

And one more of the rootball and rock formation, poor quality but gives you a general idea of whats going on
[img]https://bytestash.com/img/bonsai/04.jpg[/img]

So all in all, since its been growing for these past couple years it wasnt bad until now, alot of the lower stalks seem to be dying and have pretty much all died, and now some of the older leaves are turning, and its getting me worried. Obviously I don't want it getting too big, so I need help on managing it at this stage in its life. Thanks ahead of time for your help, and great forums here.

[The Helpful Gardener]

The roots coiling around the pot tell the whole story; this is years overdue for repotting. You might have kept it in the same pot for it's life by keeping the roots pruned to size (this also helps dwarf the plant) but thiss needs a new pot at this point.

I likew to repot in spring but this is an emergency and it is a tropical. I would probably pot that into the container it is sitting in with regular potting soill and try for a repotting into a bonsai pot in spring. Make sure to read the articles on potting here at the site, applying it to the spring potting, but just treating it as a houseplant for the winter. Safest way to go...

HG

[inexion]

so for the winter, should I worry about the composition of the soil? or should I just grab some regular potting soil and use that? also, how far down should I pot it for the winter, if I stick it in that copper pot - how much soil should cover the base actually? thanks again for your help!

[The Helpful Gardener]

I think that repotting into bonsai soil this time of year would be risky; I suggest using potting soil and let the plant regain some vigor over the winter. That will make the spring repotting into a smaller bonsai container less traumatic.

Plant it at the same level it is currently at; you should always repot at the same soil level (tomatoes are my only exception)

HG