Nicknack
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Half Dead Bonsai?

First time poster looking for some advice. I have a fairly large bonsai (about 2.5 feet tall). It was given to me by someone who no longer wanted it so I don’t know the type I’m afraid. I have kept it in the conservatory for the last couple of years and it’s been fine. This winter was a bit too cold and now it’s struggling. The leaves on the top half all tinted brown and have fallen off. However the bottom half seems to be fine with new growth.

The stems in the top half appear dead with brown/brittle wood. My question is: should I cut the tree down to half size I.e back to where there is good growth or should I give it chance? It just looks a bit silly with the top half bare and the bottom healthy.

Thanks in advance for any advice

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rainbowgardener
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It is hard to say much with out knowing what kind of tree it is. Some trees respond much better than others to being chopped.

A picture or two would really help, to see the condition of the tree and hopefully to ID it for you.

imafan26
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A picture would help, but if you are sure the branches are dead, I see no reason to keep them. It may mean that the plant will need a lot of time to recover an probably will not retain its shape. If you have had it in the conservatory for a couple of years, I am thinking, it probably had not been repotted in a while. Bonsai need regular repotting and feeding because their roots are deliberately confined.

Nicknack
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Thanks for replies. It has had feed but not been repotted. Can this be done in summer or is it best in autumn? By repotting does that mean a new bigger pot or just new soil? Sorry for the amateurish questions. Thanks again
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rainbowgardener
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Good pictures, they enlarge very nicely.

At a guess, it is some kind of ficus. It is ficus that is frequently braided like that. It was probably a couple trees that were braided together and fused. Ficus can survive and grow back from a severe pruning/ trunk chop. So you could just cut a foot or so off the top. But you would want to do some reading about where and how to make the cut (which direction it should slant, etc) in terms of what the new growth will look like.

The soil is all wrong for it. It doesn't even look like potting soil, just dirt. Proper bonsai soil is very mineral and gritty/rocky/sandy so that it does not hold too much moisture. Do some reading here: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1479 and here https://www.helpfulgardener.com/bonsai/ about bonsai soil, watering techniques, etc.

When you do the trunk chop, you will also repot (not a bigger pot, just good new bonsai soil), and trim the roots so the roots stay in proportion with the now smaller tree. Someone who knows more than me will have to say whether this can be done now or should wait until fall.

Nicknack
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That’s great, thank you. I’ll take your advice and get some proper soil and get it repotted. Will also do some more research with regards to cutting it back. Interesting to know that it was probably 2 trees fused together, makes sense when looking at it.



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