I recently purchased a new Fukien Tea bonsai and everything was going good until I noticed little black bugs all over the underside of many leaves. I tried knocking them off with water, and they came back. I purchased neem after doing a little research online and still they are everywhere. I just sprayed it with soapy water in an attempt to suffocate the bugs. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do? Also, the leaves on my bonsai seem to be very weak and some fall off if you barely touch them, they are still green too.. any ideas what is causing this?
-Thanks, Max
I live on the east coast of the US, (Virginia) and It had been doing very well inside as it is placed in a window that gets good morning sun and the location is very warm all day (70-80 degrees F). I usually keep a window cracked too so the temp stays pretty good. I don't see how it would be hard to keep it indoors in the winter as long as it stays warm and I use a humidity tray.
Do your tree a favor and search on this forum, or any bonsai forum for that matter, for "Fukien Tea". Heck Google the entire web for "Fukien Tea dying". Just remember, when it is dead, that there was plenty of information offered to you letting you know that keeping it flourishing indoors is about as easy as keeping a shark healthy in your bathtub. Easy for a day, maybe, but not for a lifetime.
Here's a list of commonly sold indoor "bonsai" that are completely unsuitable:
Serissa (all species and cultivars)
Fukien Tea (all cultivars)
Moonjean Tea (Nashia inaguensis)
Chinese Elm (all cultivars, virtually all species)
Gardenia (all commonly used cultivars)
Junipers (all species and cultivars)
Azalea (all commonly used cultivars)
Money Tree and Bamboo (Impossible to style)
This is, by no means, a full list, just those most commonly sold for indoor use.
Here's a list of commonly sold indoor "bonsai" that are completely unsuitable:
Serissa (all species and cultivars)
Fukien Tea (all cultivars)
Moonjean Tea (Nashia inaguensis)
Chinese Elm (all cultivars, virtually all species)
Gardenia (all commonly used cultivars)
Junipers (all species and cultivars)
Azalea (all commonly used cultivars)
Money Tree and Bamboo (Impossible to style)
This is, by no means, a full list, just those most commonly sold for indoor use.
I have a Fukien Tea tree indoors (I've only had it for about 6 months) but it's doing good, growing and flowering (with 16 hours of light)
I recently had a mite issue, I used some neem oil, which killed the mites. My tree threw about 5 leaves the following day, maybe 5 more the day after, and then it went to only a couple of leaves, and yesterday just one leaf lost! (there is still constant new growth and flowering) But they are known to be finicky when anything is used on them.
I'm a beginner and don't have NEARLY as much experience as some people on this forum, but if I can keep an unkeepable indoor tree in a good and growing condition, maybe it can be kept indoors (with good lighting). It's not as good for indoor trees as some other ones out there, like ficus or scheff. But at least it CAN grow indoors (with right conditions).
Maxin as far as your bug problem goes, keep trying with what ur doing, it won't get better overnight. And just know that Fukien tea do react poorly to any kind of pest control, but they can recover, if you can provide good growing conditions for your not ideal indoor tree.
I recently had a mite issue, I used some neem oil, which killed the mites. My tree threw about 5 leaves the following day, maybe 5 more the day after, and then it went to only a couple of leaves, and yesterday just one leaf lost! (there is still constant new growth and flowering) But they are known to be finicky when anything is used on them.
I'm a beginner and don't have NEARLY as much experience as some people on this forum, but if I can keep an unkeepable indoor tree in a good and growing condition, maybe it can be kept indoors (with good lighting). It's not as good for indoor trees as some other ones out there, like ficus or scheff. But at least it CAN grow indoors (with right conditions).
Maxin as far as your bug problem goes, keep trying with what ur doing, it won't get better overnight. And just know that Fukien tea do react poorly to any kind of pest control, but they can recover, if you can provide good growing conditions for your not ideal indoor tree.
Svet, if yours is not in a terrarium (high humidity), you can fully expect that it will look pretty okay for 9 months to a year with great care. Beyond that, with great care, they *usually* start to fail. Not to burst your bubble, but I would not, personally, consider anyone successful with keeping Fukien Tea alive indoors until they've had it that way, flourishing, for five years or more. Three years seems about the max that most people, even those with decades of experiece, can manage. There are the odd few here and there (like 1 in thousands, just like Serissa) that can keep them alive. But, that's a far cry from keeping them as bonsai. "Benign neglect" would be the key there, according to those who are moderately successful. But that means little to no repotting, no root pruning, little to no wiring or top pruning. That's really not what bonsai is, that's a house plant with a woody stem is all.
I know that using a humidity tray tends to be a bit iffy but if one was to use a humidifier would that work? Also I have seen mini greenhouses on places like amazon and such, could those be used inside as a way to trap humidity? I'm just thinking of ideas because while I am not worried about its conditions now, I am definitely concerned about the winter. Also, is it a bad idea to keep a window near the tree open 24/7 to keep humidity levels up?