zormanze
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2016 12:44 pm

Fukien Tree losing leaves

Yes, I know there are many many threads with this content, but despite reading them (almost) all I still want your advice.
I bought my Fukien about half a year ago and it was all good for quite some time. I came back from holidays (3 weeks) during which time my father was watering the bonsai a little less then I did before (2-3 times a week about 2 dcl/when the soil felt dry). So since coming back the bonsai started shedding leaves, like a lot!.
During all the time I have this tree it is placed on the same table with more or less the same conditions. The bonsai looks like this (DB link). It is still in the same pot and with the same soil as I got it in the store.
Do you need any more informations?
Thank you for your help

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

If you water in the pot and not soak the tree and it went dry for a while, it may still be dry in the middle. Take the tree to the sink and either fill the sink or a tub that can hold the plant with water up to the rim of the pot. Submerge the pot in the water until the bubbling stops then drain. You probably have already lost some roots but a good soak may revive what is still viable. The leaves should stop wilting and perk up. If the roots are too badly damaged it may be hard to save it. Eventually, if the tree recovers you will need to repot the tree in bonsai mix. It will be tricky, but you should try to remove the dead roots if you can. When doing rootwork, you have to be careful not to damage the roots. It takes patience and a fork to do that. The idea is not necessarily to wash all the soil off but just to get the dead roots out and tease the good roots out so they will move out into the media.

zormanze
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2016 12:44 pm

It might be what you are saying but does it still apply (dryness in the middle) if I get water sipping through? This is usually the time I stop watering...

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

If the media becomes very dry, sometimes it is also compacted especially if it has been awhile and the roots are packed into the spaces. If the media has dry spots, the water can run around the rootball rather than through it so water runs out the drain hole but the root ball remains dry. If the media is uniformly moist it helps with wicking water more evenly.



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