Hi Guys,

First time poster here.

My partner was super awesome and bought me a Bonsai for my birthday to add to my collection.
I'm only a few months into the hobby so my knowledge is limited.

Long story short, she bought the Bonsai from a seller on facebook who had a few bonsai for sale and seem reputable.

the first thing i noticed even as a novice is that he had very heavy guage training wire wrapped around the trunk through our growth season ( Now till march ).
it looked like it was cutting into the trunk so i have just removed it and it indeed has done some damage to the trunk.

my first question is what is the best course of action to help heal this or is this just going to be apart of the tree now?

Question 2 is,

The foliage on the outside of the tree is beginning to turn really light green and becoming very very brittle and falls off when you touch it.

The tree lives outside, it receives water when it needs it, the soil never becomes dry and is never overly damp.
im not sure about the soil he was using but i replaced it with my own and now has slow release fertilizer to feed the tree through out the growing season.

So is this a sign of the tree dying? or is it maybe because we are having really hot days here in australia? the trees usually get 4-5 hours of morning sun and the area becomes shady by the hottest part of the day as the sun moves to the other side of the house.

please find pictures below.

i look forward to learning more and more and i hope this little guy can be saved. All my trees i have made myself so far are healthy and thriving!

Thank you

welcome to the empire!
Wher in Aus are you? I used to live in St Kilda, Melbourne.

This tree is loosing at least the part that is dull and brittle. The rest of the plant does not look too healthy either. It could be that tis tree has been repotted this year. The substrate does not look like it has been there for long.

The branch growing around the wire is normal; The only way to fix a branch in place is through growth. This is not bad yet, and will disappear in a few years, assuming the tree lives.

Thanks for the reply!
I'm in NSW.

The soil looks fresh because I had just repotted before taking the photo. It seemed like there was something wrong so i took some preventative measures to give it the best chance. Because i didn't know what old mates care was like or how he had potted it i decided id give it some fresh soil and check the roots out, they were dark brown and pretty short.

I will see how it goes with the fresh soil and a proper care routine. Hopfully we just lose that 1 side

I Found The Problem....

He had super thick wire holding that outside branch up when it had already grown down,
by doing this he has snapped the branch from the trunk ( not completely but at least half off) and the wire was actually holding the branch up...

Not sure if it can heal over a few years if i wire it back into the position it wanted to be in ( which actually looks better ).

But the branch looks pretty dead, ill keep an eye on it over the growing season and see what actually happens to it.

Kenshi Josh wrote: He had super thick wire holding that outside branch up when it had already grown down,

Ah yes. That wire is too thick. You're branching the wire in stead of wiring the branch...

Yeah as soon as i seen the wire on it i was like that is stupid thick. And it was wrapped over the tree so tight.

But i removed all the wire now and im trying to save it from all the damage done. At least this will be a good lesson for me.

Do you think from your experience that theres a chance the branch could heal or should i just chop it and re style the tree?

Kenshi Josh wrote: Do you think from your experience that theres a chance the branch could heal or should i just chop it and re style the tree?

Seems unlikely. There where the foliage is dry and brittle and there's no fresh green, live foliage, you will not get new growth.
Apart from that, I would not style this tree yet. It's too young and needs lots of growth.