mould on soil and base of trunk

Mon Dec 26, 2011 11:26 am

hi there any help would be greatly appricated,
ive got a ceder that seems to be moulding on the soil after a day or two after i water it, ive been dunking it in a bowl of water for around 5 mins which seems to me to be the wrong way as ive grown a fair few plants in my life and have never submerge them in water as a means of watering them ( but was told to do this by the man i bought the tree off and it had it on the fact sheet i was given) so ive been doing it and now ive got this mould and its not very pleasent to look at.. ive got it on the kitchen window sil that gets plenty of light though the day..
ill post a few pics soon to let u guys ave a look and maybe u can help me out.
many thanks

Mon Dec 26, 2011 4:02 pm

scott1m,

Most bonsai growers don't water by submersion, at least not on a regular basis. But There is nothing inherent to this technique that would cause mold, perhaps you are simply watering it too frequently. Since you have grown other potted plants you probably know to take care not to water too often. Other than that I will wait to see what the other have to say.

BTW, was this a holiday gift, and how long have you owned it?

Norm

Mon Dec 26, 2011 7:10 pm

Gnome wrote:scott1m,

Most bonsai growers don't water by submersion, at least not on a regular basis. But There is nothing inherent to this technique that would cause mold, perhaps you are simply watering it too frequently. Since you have grown other potted plants you probably know to take care not to water too often. Other than that I will wait to see what the other have to say.

BTW, was this a holiday gift, and how long have you owned it?

Norm

hi there, thanks for the reply..
i bought the tree about a month ago from a bonsi dealer down the country from me so its kinda hard to go back to the shop.. ive had a elm before which was 15yrs old and looked well but i put it in the garden one day up a height (cos of my dog) but he still managed to jump up at it and was chewing it like some toy (i was not happy with him at all for that), this tree gets watered around once a week when the pot feels like its drying out abit, but im going to let it have a bit of a dry out (not to much) and brush the mould off and see if this helps at all, ive never had this problem before or really heard of it, so im kinda stumped...

Mon Dec 26, 2011 11:07 pm

scott1m,

Something's not right here. A cedar is not an indoor 'tree' or a houseplant. Cedars are hardy outdoor trees - and yes they can take the cold. That's where they live in nature. A tree that will grow in cold weather (generally) can not live indoors. It needs winter dormancy.

You did not indicate, in your profile, where you live. That is important as different climates dictate how a tree can be grown - whether they are used as bonsai or not. To me that is a bigger issue than the mould.

I live in CEDARVILLE, NY which lies in zone 4. ICY COLD and our Cedarville cedars never come into the house. We never water our bonsai by soaking in a bowl except as an emergency measure to rescue a severely over dried tree.

Mold problems can usually be traced to poor soil components, poor drainage, and/or poor air circulation. Temperature will have an additional effect if a tree is brought indoors.