new fukien tea tree questions

sophia · Wed Jul 04, 2007 3:08 pm

Hello,
I just received a Fukien tea tree as a gift and I am a bonsai newbie. I was surfing the internet trying to find info about Fukien trees and I found the bonsai forum and it has been very helpful so far but I still have some questions I hope someone can answer.

1. I grasp the concept of pruning but I don't know where to start and there are some dead looking branches on it, should I cut them off?

2. I found some tiny cobwebs underneath the the leaves and a tiny white spider thing. I wasnt sure what to do, so I just rinsed it with tapwater. do I need insecticide?

3. Do I need special fertilizer or soil? right now it has a layer of little rocks covering some dirt. also there are tiny little plants sprouting (see pics) should I weed the pot?

4. Does it flower all the time or only sometimes? and are the berries edible?

5. Is there any way to tell how old it is? without cutting it down, of course

I'm sorry about the pics being huge, I don't know how to scale them down...

I'm looking forward to reading your answers

thanks, sophia

[url=https://www.exoload.com/view.php?file=https://f.exoload.com/707/HPIM0819.jpg&title=HPIM0819.jpg][img]https://f.exoload.com/707/HPIM0819.jpg[/img][/url]

[url=https://www.exoload.com/view.php?file=https://f.exoload.com/707/HPIM0820M3f0h.jpg&title=HPIM0820.jpg][img]https://f.exoload.com/707/HPIM0820M3f0h.jpg[/img][/url]

[url=https://www.exoload.com/view.php?file=https://f.exoload.com/707/HPIM0822.jpg&title=HPIM0822.jpg][img]https://f.exoload.com/707/HPIM0822.jpg[/img][/url]

ynot · Wed Jul 04, 2007 5:03 pm

sophia wrote: 1. I grasp the concept of pruning but I don't know where to start and there are some dead looking branches on it, should I cut them off?

2. I found some tiny cobwebs underneath the the leaves and a tiny white spider thing. I wasnt sure what to do, so I just rinsed it with tapwater. do I need insecticide?

3. Do I need special fertilizer or soil? right now it has a layer of little rocks covering some dirt. also there are tiny little plants sprouting (see pics) should I weed the pot?

4. Does it flower all the time or only sometimes? and are the berries edible?

5. Is there any way to tell how old it is? without cutting it down, of course

Welcome to the forum:

First things first:

I'm sorry about the pics being huge, I don't know how to scale them down...

Go to this site: https://www.irfanview.com/
It is FREE & Effective and I use it all the time to resize photos. Then rehost them wherever your others are and simply click 'edit' in the upper right hand corner of your post above this one and replace the links to the old huge pictures with your new links an you will be golden.

I honestly have not looked at the pictures, I side-scroll for no post

:evil:

1. Not yet. Have an idea on what you want to do with it before you go chopping. We see this mistake over and over and over and o...You get the point.
I am not faulting your asking [Asking is good in fact] just mentioning that this is something that rookies often do [Some repeatedly

:lol:]
After we have a few good pictures to work from it will be easier to discern this trees +/- and see what possibilities lie within it.
2.Not yet
3. Special fert no [There is no such thing as 'bonsai fert' - That is a marketing ploy - More on that later if you wish.] Just use something balanced.

Soil IS an issue, If those rocks are glued on please remove them. Next take a look at the stickys about soil at the top of this forum and do check out the pictures and follow the links. See how your soil compares to the concepts explained [and pictured] there.
IMO - ANYTHING else that is growing in the pot is competition to the tree for the available resources within the pot:evil:...Weed it right out of there.

4.Sometimes, My understanding is that they can produce edible fruit though that does not mean yours will and you should understand that producing fruit uses massive amounts of the trees resources [This requires skillful care to insure the trees survival & is not suggested.]
5. No, It is not relevant anyway as bonsai is about the illusion of age...Not the actual age.

For some bonsai photo tips go to: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3557
Please take note of the additional information that would also be helpful to us [in helping you.]

To see some truly inspiring bonsai of all sizes and styles go to:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3343

I look forward to seeing the resized photos.

ynot