My wife purchased a small Bonsai tree (maybe an Oak not sure). It was going okay. The lady who sold it said to put a special nutrient fertilizer every few months and to water as needed.
It was doing good indoors but then suddenly all the leaves dropped off?
I am curious if this is normal or if the weather (its hot here) could of caused this or what? It's now outside but the leaves are not coming back
Hello hydro, could be a few different things. What kind of soil are you using? Does the tree have access to lots of light. Also what are you doing to increase the humidity around the plant?
If it is an oak tree, your wonderful year round warm climate (I've spent time in Costa Rica and love it there!) is indeed a problem for it. It is a cold climate deciduous tree, that needs a cold dormancy period each year and will eventually die without that (though it could survive one or two years before giving up exhausted).
You have so many wonderful trees where you are, you would be much better advised to grow something that likes your climate, instead of trying to force something that doesn't. (On the forcing side you could try things like refrigerating your tree, etc, but it will be difficult and your tree will never be totally happy.)
But first step is to find out for sure what you have, if you are not sure. Try posting a few pictures.
First, without a proper identification, it's going to be virtually impossible to be helpful here in terms of what and how needing to be done to care for this tree. If the tree was purchased at a local bonsai nursery in a tropical or subtropical environment, it is unlikely that it is a temperate tree and more likely that it is a local species or a species that is used locally as ornamentation or for farming or what have you. Most people think of oaks as exclusively temperate trees. But, with hundreds of speces, such is not the case, there are a few Quercus species that are tropical or subtropical, including species native to southern North America, Central and South America. While certainly "exotic" in North America and Europe, these trees are fairly common where they are found.
However, it is pointless to offer Oak-specific care for a tree that may or not be an Oak. What I can offer is this:
Many trees that *can* be kept indoors will require that they be kept in close proximity to a window facing any direction but North. As long as they're getting enough sun AND are in a free draining soil mix AND are kept at around 50% humidity, most trees should not require watering more than once per week indoors. If you've been watering daily, or even every other day, it might be very likely that the tree is experience root rot. This is one reason why it might be doing what it is doing. Other tree I have seen do this are newly repotted trees that have just been root pruned without also being branch pruned or defoliated and cuttings that have not really rooted enough to support the tree. You should not water, in the case of most trees, until the soil is dry or drying. Use the toothpick or chopstick method. As for fertilization, better not to fertilize until you know what you're doing than to fertilize on schedule.
Can you take a picture of the tree and leaf? It would be very helpful in offering further assistance.
That tree looks dead're'n the poor bird dangling from its branches.
Seriously. If you scratch the bark, is it green underneath?
Can't tell the species, not without leaves as well, but my first inclination is to say Chinese Elm from the browned and crisped things hanging from the branches.
