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Another clueless beginner needs help, have pity! 7 years 2 months ago #28786

  • azara
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Hi knowledgeable bonsai folks,
I bought a young "bonsai" Chinese Elm (though reading here, I don't think it's a legit one) from a large nursery about two months ago. I trimmed it loads, I potted it with a little fertiliser and left it under a window. Temperature of the room is kept around 20 degrees C (about 80 F) as I fear leaving it outside in the 40 degree C (100+F) Australian summer would fry it immediately. I probably overwatered it out of enthusiasm, but cut back on that a week or two ago. My beautiful plant sprouted lots of new shoots instantly when I bought it, but after that, started to brown and die, and lost many leaves. The leaves became brittle and break off at the touch. More fertiliser instantly caused new shoots to grow overnight, but only on one side, and they haven't kept growing since.

I read the forum and used the "save my tree" page. I concluded that I was overwatering it (I stopped doing that) and that it may not have enough light, so I've moved it to the house's largest window where it is now constantly lit throughout the day. However, neither of these have helped. I wonder whether the soil is poor quality, but don't know how to tell.

I'm sure you've seen this many times, so thanks for bearing with me. Whether it's really a bonsai or not, I do like it, and advice would be very much appreciated!

I can attach photos if required.

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Another clueless beginner needs help, have pity! 7 years 2 months ago #28788

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Here are some photos!

1. What it looked like when I bought it
2. After I trimmed it
3. Today - left side
4. Today - right side

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Another clueless beginner needs help, have pity! 7 years 2 months ago #28806

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It would have been a good idea to ask how/when/what to prune, before actually pruning it.
I cannot see if you actually had a plan. Also, I don't think this plant should have been pruned at this stage. It's too young/thin. You need growth.

www.bonsaiempire.com/blog/bonsai-trunk-creation
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Another clueless beginner needs help, have pity! 7 years 2 months ago #28808

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Thanks for your response. I did do some research before I pruned it back, so honestly I didn't go in completely blind, and there was certainly some explosive growth after I did it, though that mostly didn't survive. I'm sure I made mistakes, but there's nothing I can do about that now, so I'm just looking to improve going forwards! My aim isn't to create something groundbreaking or very artsy, just to make a natural-looking, healthy small tree as I am not exactly a green thumb. At the moment, my main aim is to return it to health.

Thanks for the trunk article. The nursery appears to have left it in a small pot and just cut off the top routinely. I would like to allow it to grow thicker for sure. Once it's a bit healthier (or should I just do it now?), would I be okay to remove it and plant it in the ground to allow it to grow thicker? Or is this inadvisable, now that it's been living in a smaller pot?

I fertilised it again last night out of desperation, and this morning found that it has sprouted a large number of buds along all of the branches. This is very pleasing to me, as I was afraid it was past the point of no return! Unfortunately fertiliser is probably not a sustainable solution as I don't want to burn the roots by using too much. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

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Another clueless beginner needs help, have pity! 7 years 2 months ago #28810

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I would put it in a regular size (3-5 gallon) pot with good soil that drains well. Just know that roots don't adsorb water but water vapor. So when you water the plant the soil needs to drain some and retain some. As the water goes to evaporate the roots absorb it.
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Another clueless beginner needs help, have pity! 7 years 2 months ago #28814

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Just know that roots don't adsorb water but water vapor.

Never heard this before. Do you have a reliable source for this information?

The plant is a bit young to do drastic pruning if you want the trunk to grow indeed.
I am worried that the die-back might be due to its current location. If it is indoors over a heater, this may cause drying out of leaves. Also, fertilizing as much as you are fertilizing now is too much. Some peoplke seem to think of it as food. It really is more like vitamins. The fertilizer contains some specific elements that a plant needs to grow. but the energy to grow comes from the foliage. I would just give it optimal care. Allow it natural light, with a few hours of direct sun each day. Stay away from air conditioners and heaters and other appliances that dry out the air.

If you have a spot outside where the plant would not get direct sunlight, you could consider putting it there outside. But I understand your worries re. the summer sun, having lived in Australia for a few years myself. I do not know how elm would respond to it. Here summer temps peak at 35, 38C. That is never a problem. The tree just drinks water by the liter, and watering twice a day is a must in those temperatures. It looks like you are not in the driest parts of Australia, and I think it would be fine in a sheltered spot between the trees, out of too much wind (It is often the wind, and not the temperature per se that kills the plant; The leaves just cannot get the water fast enough)
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Another clueless beginner needs help, have pity! 7 years 2 months ago #28815

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The plant is a bit young to do drastic pruning if you want the trunk to grow indeed.
I am worried that the die-back might be due to its current location. If it is indoors over a heater, this may cause drying out of leaves. Also, fertilizing as much as you are fertilizing now is too much. Some peoplke seem to think of it as food. It really is more like vitamins. The fertilizer contains some specific elements that a plant needs to grow. but the energy to grow comes from the foliage. I would just give it optimal care. Allow it natural light, with a few hours of direct sun each day. Stay away from air conditioners and heaters and other appliances that dry out the air.

If you have a spot outside where the plant would not get direct sunlight, you could consider putting it there outside. But I understand your worries re. the summer sun, having lived in Australia for a few years myself. I do not know how elm would respond to it. Here summer temps peak at 35, 38C. That is never a problem. The tree just drinks water by the liter, and watering twice a day is a must in those temperatures. It looks like you are not in the driest parts of Australia, and I think it would be fine in a sheltered spot between the trees, out of too much wind (It is often the wind, and not the temperature per se that kills the plant; The leaves just cannot get the water fast enough)


Thanks for your very helpful response. I didn't think of air conditioning as a problem (it's on very frequently in these temperatures as I don't think my family would appreciate sweating for the sake of my bonsai, lol) but your suggestion makes sense. I knew fertilising twice in two weeks was excessive; I was trying to give it a "kick-start" back to life which I think may actually have worked, but I'll definitely cut back now!

The trees in the background of my photos aren't actually part of my property, but we have a deck below which should be relatively sheltered from wind. I'll place it outside for a few days there, with plenty of watering, once I've transferred it over to a larger pot tomorrow.

Thanks once again.

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