Hello everyone. I am sad to say that I think my first bonsai, a ficus retusa named Buddha has died. Buddha had some problems with leaf drop and so forth for a few months now, and I did everything I read I was supposed to do. I placed him outside in the sun. I watered him regularly, and I even went so far as to prune the damaged leaves and stuff. Recently, we have had an Arctic front move through my area of South Florida. We had bitter cold and we had a lot of clouds for a few days as well. Today I went to check on him, and low and behold, the new branches and leaf buds that had developed and given me hope for a recovery had browned. He is still in his pot; however, I am not very optimistic. He has no leaves at all now, and only a bit of green left in any of the buds or new branches. If dead trees are the tuition we all pay to learn the art of bonsai, then I owe a bit less on my student loans. Buddha is/was a good tree.
Rich