Hello Guys,

I need your help i've purchased a ligustrum japonicum bonsai tree about 2 months ago from a local flower shop, the woman there told me it needs water daily but after i've done some research i found out she was wrong especially since the tree has moss on the soil which keeps moisture in.

When i bought the tree the moss was green and healthy meaning the bonsai was over-watered but now i water it once every 5-7 days the rule of thumb being that the soil must be dry and now the moss is turning brown (see first pic).

Due to the initial over-watering i had problems with gnats and leaf spot and i applied a treatment with a spray that is both an insecticide and a fungicide , after 2 weeks the gnats were almost gone and the leaf spot was retreating.

But now i have a bigger problem ... many leafs begin to wither and die (see pic 3) and i don't have a clue why... from what i read it could be from watering but i tried my best to water the tree only when it needs it.

So please help me , any suggestion is more the welcomed

Hi Stefan,

First of all, welcome to this forum.

Now, by inspecting those photos you sent the soil of your tree seems to be in a very poor condition. Also, the fact you were initially watering on a daily basis hasn´t help, that is for sure. I feel that you should have performed a small search before you decided to buy your first tree... I mean, each tree has specific care guidelines that should be met in order to keep it healthy. In your case here it is:

www.bonsai4me.com/SpeciesGuide/Ligustrum.html

Also, this time of the year you should keep your tree outdoors receiving lots of sun and fresh air. This would greatly help with gnats problem. So, my first question would be... Where are you keeping it? If you have it indoors you should place it outside. Right now, in its current state a shady spot would be fine, I wouldn´t recommend put it on direct sunlight right now, despite this claim is in direct contradiction with my first. It is just that this tree is in a very poor health situation. Another thing I would possibly do it is trying to remove it from its current soil mix and repot it using a new soil mix. One that could drain water properly and at the same time could provide the roots with the always necessary airation. Also, if you finally decide to do this emergency repotting I would inspect the root mass and remove all those roots that might look black or in bad health (black color means that the roots are rotten). The ideal would be keeping those roots that you see that the tips are white or at least in light brownish tones.

Anyways, seeing the current state of this tree I would also keep my fingers crossed, because you are going to need all the luck you can get. Reading about this species and its careguides won´t hurt either. And as a final piece of information I´m given you a link of this forum related to this very same subject and an article from this site´s blog related to the basic requirements a soil mix must meet.

www.bonsaiempire.com/forum/help-me/7453-wilted-dry-leaves
www.bonsaiempire.com/blog/bonsai-soil-requirements

Good luck,

Alain

Hello Alain,

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I've read before the care rules for this species that is why it has a humidity tray since it's staying indoor but in the balcony where the windows are opened 24/7 and receiving 2-3 hours of direct sunlight.

I suspected that the soil has poor drainage and needed to be changed but I read that repotting should be done only when the tree is healthy so I've been hoping for tree to get better. As you mentioned this might be the only way to save him.

Should I remove the moss ?
Should I use a bigger pot ?

Thank you.

the thing is, if it is kept in that soil, it most likely won't get much better, it might get a bit better but not to the extent of a healthy repot. in my mind, it is now or never.

Stefan wrote:

I've read before the care rules for this species that is why it has a humidity tray since it's staying indoor but in the balcony where the windows are opened 24/7 and receiving 2-3 hours of direct sunlight.

Uhmmm... Humidity tray is a myth that it has been largely discussed within this forum. The fact is a "humidity" tray won´t rise effectively the amount of surrounding humidity in any room. It could actually be perjudicial at some extent if the roots of your tree come out from the pot holes and begin to touch the water beneath it. I´d remove it, but that is your choice.

Stefan wrote:

I read that repotting should be done only when the tree is healthy so I've been hoping for tree to get better. As you mentioned this might be the only way to save him.

Yes, indeed repotting is perform in certain times of the year and preferably in trees that exhibit good health. However, in your case, and for this tree in particular, an emergency repot might save its life. Again, up to you... But if you do decide to do it, this link might also proof valuable:

www.bonsaiempire.com/blog/bonsai-starterkit

Stefan wrote:

Should I remove the moss ?
Should I use a bigger pot ?

I would remove remove the moss, however moss is not the main concern here.

And you could use a bigger pot, yes, but instead I would inspect the root mass, remove as much defficient substrate as possible without further damaging the roots, remove those roots that might be rotten and then place it again within this pot, but in a fresh, new and adequate soil mix.

Please, do read those links and if someone with more experience can aid you in performing the repot, that would be just great!

Again, good luck

Thank you again for the answers.

I'll remove the humidity tray and the moss also I will get the proper soil mixture according to the repotting tutorial and a bigger pot.

The key thing being able to clean the roots by removing the current substrate and eliminating the rotting roots as you said.

I'll begin this operation asap.. today or tomorrow and I'll post new pics.

Rotting roots are less of a problem then you might think. Rotting roots will not per se infect living roots. Only very few fungi can actually infect living trees.

As for repotting.. *very* dificult to give good advice, as a lot depends on the caretaker & personal interpretation of the situation hands-on. In situations where I suspect root problems, I take the plant out of the comntainer, and have a carefull look at the rootbal to assess the extend of the damage. Basically, I would very carefully peel substrate away untill I get to healthy roots and then repot into a suitable well-draining substrate. Then treat is as if it is a cutting (Out of wind, avoid direct sun), untill healthy growth is observed

I've finished repotting my tree in a bigger pot (36 cm diameter) with 4 drainage holes since the container is so big, the first layer is composed of fine gravel (4-8 mm) and the second layer from substrate made specialy for bonsai trees , finally I've watered it (the water contained some liquid fertilizer to trigger the regeneration).

As a side note I cleared the roots from the old substrate and then washed away anything that remained but I didn't saw any rotten roots (black and mushy) or maybe I didn't recognized it... In any case the roots looked healthy and white.

Thank you all for the help.

Sounds like you have just had bad luck with the tree hitting a dry spot then, and re-watered in time. Load of white roots is a good sign and you can expect the tree to recover. Just make sure you provide good aftercare. (Dont leave the tree in the full sun for the next week or so)

Good to know , I will avoid sun exposure for the next week... Pruning in the next period is out of the question I assume until the tree recovers.

My question is about the fertilizer : should I use it just like in normal conditions or should I use it weekly to help the regeneration and new growth ?

Thank you for the help.