Please HELP my zalkova bonsai leaves turning yellow

[tamkeenkhan]

hiya,

i just got a 4 year old Zalkova bonsai as a present, and i have no idea how to take care of it..although im really concerned. the box had no instructions or anything. im from london so its pretty much cold out here. my plant is an indoor bonsai 4 year old. how many times should i water it...and there not much sunlight out here these days and i think putting it outside for freh air is too harsh for the poor thing coz its extremly cold. i water it atleast once a day coz insaide the room the tempratures are prettu constant due to heating and all. now the leaves are turning YELLOW.....what shud i do

Please HELP

[Gnome]

tamkeen,

Hello and welcome to the forum. Zelkova is not a species I would consider a good candidate for an indoor bonsai. Since you say the leaves are yellowing I assume it came to you leafed out and green. This tells me it was either forced early or never allowed its required dormancy.

Read this for tips on watering. Use the Chopstick method to determine when to water. Every day may be too often and this may be partly responsible for the yellowing. Keep it away from forced air heating and try to give it as much light as you can manage. You'll need to get it outside as soon as the weather permits.

If it makes it through this coming season it will need to stay outside next winter. Some additional protection may be required but let's not worry about that right now.

Oh, one more thing, can you post some pictures with something to indicate scale? I ask because sometimes a different species is misrepresented as Zelkova in order to skirt importation laws. If this is the case it is actually better for you.

http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... php?t=3724


Norm