girardmj
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Recently bought this bonsai...

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Bought this bonsai at Home Depot about 3 weeks ago...every couple days or so, there will be 1-3 leaves that turn a dark brown and fall off (not a dry brown, just dark brown and they still seem hydrated). The browning begins at the tip of the leaves, rather than the base and there doesn't seem to be any pattern to it in terms of location on the tree.

Attached a picture...unfortunately there are not currently any browned leaves or I would snap a close-up. The tree is double-potted with the inner pot containing soil with a layer of rock on top and the outer pot being empty to allow drainage.

I'm hoping to ID the tree so that I can properly care for it as well as get any info possible on the browning issue. The Home Depot tag just said "water thoroughly and allow to dry completely...fertilize every 2 months". Somehow I feel those directions aren't specific enough. :>

Thanks in advance,
Michael

tomc
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Your tree looks to be set out in a pot-with in a pot set up. Slip the inner pot out and set it by itself in a saucer.

Questions you must answer for your self are:

Is your fig sitting in standing water? That must stop.

Are you testing soil for dampness with a chop-stick before watering? Do so daily.

Figs drop leaves when ever temperature or light levels change much. Supplimental light may be needed.

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rainbowgardener
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ummm.... tom, did you look at the picture at the biggest magnification? (you can click it to enlarge twice) I don't think it is ficus. The leaves seem more substantial than ficus leaves. And, although it is not as distinct as you might expect, if you look at the farthest left leaf edge and the farthest right leaf edge, they look like they have the notched pattern typical of fukien tea/ carmona. Do you think so?

Girard, here's a description of carmona : Its small dark-green shiny leaves have tiny white dots on the upper side and are covered with [small, fine] hairs underneath. Is that how yours is?

Fukien tea bonsai:

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In this picture you can see the leaf notching and that not all the leaves show it.

Fukien tea is a good indoor bonsai. You can look up "fukien tea bonsai care" and find lots of information. But everything that tom said about care for it is still true. You need to get it out of the cache pot. You probably need to get the rocks off the top, so you can tell better when to water. And you probably do need supplemental lighting, carmona likes bright indirect light. Proper lighting for bonsai is a fluorescent lamp directly over it, just a few inches away.

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girardmj
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Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2016 2:07 pm

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Thank you both for your suggestions...I have removed the inner pot and indeed, there was pooled water in the bottom of the cache pot. The rocks appear to be glued in the pot somehow, so removing them without risking damage to the plant may not be an option, but there are multiple drainage holes in the bottom of the inner pot, so I can use them to monitor soil dampness if you think that will work.

As for the ID, it does appear that some (not all) of the leaves are notched (closer picture attached)...I am not noticing any fine hairs underneath the leaves nor small, white dots on the upper-side though.

imafan26
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I only saw one leaf with a curve that might have been mistaken for a notch by the angle. I think it is a ficus too. Fukien tea does have a seration on the edge, but the leaf is also shiny and rough. I think your leaf is smooth. Break off a dying leaf, if it has a milky sap it is more likely to be a ficus. Ficus will drop all of its leaves to changes in light levels, but they usually grow back.

Peel off the glued pebbles, it usually comes off in a sheet if you are careful. It only hurts the plant to keep it.
The plant was definitely over watered if it was sitting in a pool.

girardmj
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A-ha! I had snipped one of the damaged leaves previously and it did have a milky sap.

I will carefully remove the stones and invest in proper lighting...thanks to all for the help on this one!

- Michael



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