To help us help you, please address as many of the following items as possible in your initial post. Our hope is to improve the quality and timeliness of our responses.
1. Proper identification - This is best achieved by a few pictures and will help us advise whether this tree is best cared for indoors or out. A few pictures of the entire tree, and a picture of the leaves. Also please post a picture of the flowers, if the tree has any.
How to post pictures: Look here if you need [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3724]assistance posting photos.[/url] Look here for tips on [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3557]taking better bonsai photos.[/url]
2. Poster's location in the world - This is also helpful for us to assist with care and advise whether this tree will do better indoors or out.
3. Tree's age and History - How old is the tree, if you know? How long has it been in your care? From where did you purchase/receive the tree (online vendor, local store, gift, etc.)? Please be as specific as possible.
4. [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1479]Watering care[/url] - The number one killer of new bonsai is improper watering. Please read over this post and let us know how the tree has been watered to this point.
5. Soil and Pot - Pictures of the soil are very helpful. Also, a quick explanation of how well the soil absorbs water, whether the soil drains quickly and if there are holes in the bottom of the pot to aid in this drainage. Find information on soil [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3422]here[/url].
Important Note: If there are rocks and/or moss glued to the top of the pot, please remove these immediately and let us know if they were present. These are purely for decoration and shipping purposes and should not be left on the pot as they are detrimental to the soil's ability to breath.
6. Lighting and location of the tree - Please let us know where you keep your tree (south facing window? under a light? if so, what type?). Trees need lots of light to perform photosynthesis and stay healthy. Low light equals poor health and may lead to other problems, such as pest infestation. Many trees kept indoors require supplemental light.
7. Are you willing/able to grow outdoors? - Bonsai has traditionally been an outdoor activity and for many species growing outdoors is all but a necessity. For others, spending the summer outdoors will help to invigorate them. Of course not all species can be grown outdoors in all climates so exercise caution until you are sure of your trees requirements.
8. Humidity trays - Also very important to trees kept indoors. A humidity tray is a tray kept underneath the tree's pot. This tray is lined with gravel or other small stones and should have water in it at all times. A humidity tray provides a small pocket of humidity around a tree, making up, to some extent, for the lack of humidity in many houses.
Thank you, and welcome to the forum!
