Hey guys, i recently re-potted my Acacia because the soil was shocking, no drainage etc. That soil i had before was a typical rookie error haha. I put it into awesome soil that drains perfectly. It started shooting so nicely and now all of a sudden its just stopped mid way. Some buds are half developed, the new branchlets are just dropping their leaves leaving a bare stalk?

Does anyone know what could be wrong? It did this last season too. All i want is for the bloody thing to develop branches and leaves and this is what it gives me! My chinese maple has leaves all over the place and mr acacia has to be so stubborn. Its not like the soil doesnt have enough nutrients because it is fresh delicious soil.

Accacia are not the easiest trees. They do not like rootwork, in my experience. Also, acacia form symbiosis with bacteria the fix nitrogen. If you have recently changed the soil, one thing might be that you now have soil which the bacteria don't like? Also: If you have true bonsai soil, it may have very low levels of nutrients. And as it drains so easily, you might need to water more often?

Re. the 'rookie error': I disagree. I would always bring a tree up to size and structure in as native a soil as possible. The roots have adjusted to the types of soil they commonly occur on. Why try to improve upon nature? So young trees that need to bulk up before becoing a bonsai? Keep them in their native soil where possible.

Only when you start training them you start thinking about bonsai soil, and only when you have a semi-finished soild is there a need for controlling growth, in my opinion. Untill that time has arrived, I am not even going to look into soil mixtures. All my plants grow along nicely in the soils I mix for them, and often I don't even mix, and just use soil from the garden centre.

Well.. THose are my thoughts, and I am sticking to them.

yep i would agree wholeheartedly...you also have to consider that when repoting you will loose a large part of the microscopic roots that uptake nutrients (especialy if the soil is compacted).the tree sprouted with the roots residual energy and now is struggling to pull nutrients from the soil while wasting energy to grow leaves instead of roots.your tree needs time to rest and figure out what just happend.

I agree with what you guys are saying but the soil was just plain potting soil and it wasnt draining at all. When i bare rooted the tree i discovered maggot like worms in the soil:sick: this gave me a wake up call. The potting soil i was using is obviously not good haha. Im just going to leave the tree now and see what happens. Siiiiigh

Hey Jon...You gave me a good chuckle with your comment...
"...because its fresh delicious soil". Your enthusiasm is wonderfully refreshing!

Keith...two questions, please: 1. What do you mean by "a semi-finished solid"?
2. When you use soil from the garden centre...is it the pre-bagged potting soil or the bag-your-own top soil?

Leslie,

I'll anwer if you stop calling me keith ok?

I mistyped: Semi-finished tree, the soil is there to...

In the Netherlands there is no such system as 'bag your own soil'. It is typically composted garden waste, which has been sterilized I think, maybe mixed with turf. For some of my plants I add some30-50% sand (Mainly for succulents / heavy soil loving plants -olives, yucca, agave).

Cheers,

Jelle.

Augh! Sorry (again) Jelle. I have been really trying to improve on that recently. I'm blaming it on what I refer to as "pre-senior moments".

Thank you for your answers.