I got this bonsai in April from a friend who moving. Since I brought it home the plant did okay though it continually shed leaves. About 15 days ago I moved it to another room and since then all the leaves have dropped off.
Is it dead now? Though I see two tiny leaves shoots at one end, I am afraid they will turn brown. Does that mean the plant is dead then?
Also, is there anything I can do to save it? I spritz water on it, have never immersed it. And since it is indoors and near the window (which stays open) it gets about 2 hours of sunlight everyday. Here's the photo of the plant. It's a ficus retusa, says my friend.
Here are two photos of the plant:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nuttie_cat/4771940868/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nuttie_cat/4771940836/
Please help me save my bonsai!
Hey the trunk still looks good. Try carefully scratching the bark off to see if it's still light greenish underneath and not dark green(unhealthy) or brown(dead). You may find that some of branches are dead and some are not. If the trunk bark is still greenish then it still has a chance.
how often are you watering it? With no leafs, the roots won't need to take in as much water. Normally Ficus likes to dry out a bit before watering it thoroughly from the top. I see moss and gravel in the pot which may restrict Oxygen from entering the soil.
I hope you meant it gets 2 hours of direct sun and indirect sun during the day. And is this during mid day? It likes direct sun in the morning or late afternoon and should be protected during mid day sun, especially with this 100F weather we're having around here.
how often are you watering it? With no leafs, the roots won't need to take in as much water. Normally Ficus likes to dry out a bit before watering it thoroughly from the top. I see moss and gravel in the pot which may restrict Oxygen from entering the soil.
I hope you meant it gets 2 hours of direct sun and indirect sun during the day. And is this during mid day? It likes direct sun in the morning or late afternoon and should be protected during mid day sun, especially with this 100F weather we're having around here.
Last edited by linlaoboo on Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Remember, some plants don't like sudden changes in their environment. They don't have legs, afterall.....
It may have been stressed already, and moving it might have made it worse. Ficus will drop their leaves if their environment changes. But I agree that if you leave it alone (and don't move it around) it should come back.
Placing a tree in front of a window is not always the best thing to do, especially if it gets direct harsh afternoon sun.
It may have been stressed already, and moving it might have made it worse. Ficus will drop their leaves if their environment changes. But I agree that if you leave it alone (and don't move it around) it should come back.
Placing a tree in front of a window is not always the best thing to do, especially if it gets direct harsh afternoon sun.
I have a Texas Ebony, which is fairly young (8 or 9 years, maybe?). I was repotting it last October when I got a phone call - family emergency. I left my poor bonsai in a plastic container, with some dirt piled on top to cover the roots, for over a week. When I did repot it, I didn't pay any attention to the soil I was using (hello?!?), which turned out to be totally inappropriate. After a thorough watering, the soil would stay soaked - completely water-logged - for days. After that, though, it quickly became bone-dry so that normal watering accomplished nothing but a bunch of water draining out of the bottom of the pot.
By December it had lost all of its leaves (which is typical of Texas Ebonys under stress, and had happened before, with new leaves emerging within a week or two).
Fast-forward to March: My bonsai remained completely barren. In a last-ditch effort to save my tree, which I'd had for about 5 years, I re-potted it again (this time with a carefully prepared soil mixture!). I was surprised, but glad to find no evidence of disease or parasites, but the roots were in bad shape (I.e., most were brown, few were white). I cut off the worst of them, but tried for the most part to leave well enough alone, since I feared further traumatizing my poor plant.
Although the new soil worked beautifully, and I was able to keep it lightly hydrated, occasionally applying a VERY weak (2-6-2) fertilizing solution, first April, then May, and then JUNE, came and went while my still-leafless tree languished. By the end of June (tired of peering at potential buds and convincing myself that I saw hints of what could be green), I'd pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I'd probably been caring for a dead tree all spring.
However, four days ago (July 4th), my fiance came downstairs carrying my Texas Ebony. To my utter shock, 3 sets of leaflets had appeared. As of today it has over 30! And judging from the buds, not a single branch appears to have died.
The moral of the story? Given time and patience, even a very traumatized tree has the potential to bounce back. Given that you have a ficus, chances are even higher that it will endure while you figure out what's been making it so unhappy, and once that's been solved, it will flourish.
By December it had lost all of its leaves (which is typical of Texas Ebonys under stress, and had happened before, with new leaves emerging within a week or two).
Fast-forward to March: My bonsai remained completely barren. In a last-ditch effort to save my tree, which I'd had for about 5 years, I re-potted it again (this time with a carefully prepared soil mixture!). I was surprised, but glad to find no evidence of disease or parasites, but the roots were in bad shape (I.e., most were brown, few were white). I cut off the worst of them, but tried for the most part to leave well enough alone, since I feared further traumatizing my poor plant.
Although the new soil worked beautifully, and I was able to keep it lightly hydrated, occasionally applying a VERY weak (2-6-2) fertilizing solution, first April, then May, and then JUNE, came and went while my still-leafless tree languished. By the end of June (tired of peering at potential buds and convincing myself that I saw hints of what could be green), I'd pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I'd probably been caring for a dead tree all spring.
However, four days ago (July 4th), my fiance came downstairs carrying my Texas Ebony. To my utter shock, 3 sets of leaflets had appeared. As of today it has over 30! And judging from the buds, not a single branch appears to have died.
The moral of the story? Given time and patience, even a very traumatized tree has the potential to bounce back. Given that you have a ficus, chances are even higher that it will endure while you figure out what's been making it so unhappy, and once that's been solved, it will flourish.
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TomM
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D 13,
What a wonderful narrative and inspiration - the power of patience and persistence !!! In our club we have the occasional "dead tree contest" but we are also told never to give up on your 'dead' tree for at least 1 year. Care for it, give a little water now and then, and watch it closely. It just might surprise you.
But you've done more than that - the fresh ( and proper ) soil and a bit of fertilizer, plus a whole lot of TLC ( prayers too? ).
Good for you !!!
Pics of your Texas ebony would be the final note.
What a wonderful narrative and inspiration - the power of patience and persistence !!! In our club we have the occasional "dead tree contest" but we are also told never to give up on your 'dead' tree for at least 1 year. Care for it, give a little water now and then, and watch it closely. It just might surprise you.
But you've done more than that - the fresh ( and proper ) soil and a bit of fertilizer, plus a whole lot of TLC ( prayers too? ).
Good for you !!!
Pics of your Texas ebony would be the final note.
did u do the scratch test? Once the soil has a chance to really dry up might wanna pull it out of the pot(with all soil intact) and inspect the roots. If there's still a lot of healthy roots, leave it alone. But if there's a lot of dead roots with some healthy roots, go ahead and remove the dead roots and do an emergency re-pot into a good bonsai soil. Water it thoroughly once and leave it alone for a few days.nuttiecat wrote:No. The last two green buds on the tree have started turning brown and shrivelling up. I think the tree is dead. I am going to leave it alone and hope it comes back some day. But for now I have shed some tears over it and I think its the end of life for this plant.
I'm not surprised if some branches are dead. Try scratching the trunk at different locations. Sometimes the upper trunk is dead while mid to lower trunk are still alive. On mine, the bark is very thin and takes very little effort to reveal the green cambium layer upon light scratching.
healthy roots will have white, orange to brown color and it's flexible enough that if you comb them with your fingers, they won't break as easy as the dead ones which are more brittle. Roots that have rotted look almost black and if you pull on it toward the end, the outer layer which have rotted will come right off.
healthy roots will have white, orange to brown color and it's flexible enough that if you comb them with your fingers, they won't break as easy as the dead ones which are more brittle. Roots that have rotted look almost black and if you pull on it toward the end, the outer layer which have rotted will come right off.
Dear all,
I have a problem with my tree...It's a fukien tea tree (carmona). I repotted it about month and a half ago so it would not sit in the clayish mixture I bought it in. I tried making a soil mix according to the instruction found on the internet.
After repotting, it simply threw off all the leaves, and before that it looked dehydrated (even though I watered it). I am now wondering if I really left it too dry...
Now my tree has no leaves. I scratched its bark. It is white at bottom, green at top.
Is there any hope, and what should I do? Any particular advice for this tree specifically?
Thanks
I have a problem with my tree...It's a fukien tea tree (carmona). I repotted it about month and a half ago so it would not sit in the clayish mixture I bought it in. I tried making a soil mix according to the instruction found on the internet.
After repotting, it simply threw off all the leaves, and before that it looked dehydrated (even though I watered it). I am now wondering if I really left it too dry...
Now my tree has no leaves. I scratched its bark. It is white at bottom, green at top.
Is there any hope, and what should I do? Any particular advice for this tree specifically?
Thanks
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