I don't get it either... Which is why I asked, Its confusing me.

I decided I would start watering it twice a week and eventually water it more or less depending on what it needed. The top of the soil always seemed very dry. I would poke my finger into the soil to check if it was too wet before watering again and it always felt dry.

When watering the tree I usually hold the pot under a running tap for a few seconds and let it drain and place the pot on a plate slightly tilted for a few hours before putting it back into the ceramic pot.

It does have drain holes. Maybe I'm just watering it too much when I do water it?

Ghataora wrote: Maybe I'm just watering it too much when I do water it?

It is not very likely that that is the problem. When I water my plants, I do it with a garden hose and they get loads of water. I use a quick draining soil, so excess water drains out. So, giving a lot of water should not cause problems - as long as the soil drains properly. However, to me it seems your soil is wetter, and stays wet longer, than you think. Touching the soil won't tell you much. You could use a chopstick and see if it comes out dry.

Springtails don't like dry soil, so again, that's an indication your soil stays wet. If it stays wet, even if you water only twice a week, to me it seems your soil mixture is the problem. Not sure though... where do you keep the tree? If it's in a cold, dark, spot, that could explain. It still doesn't look unhealthy. How long have you had it ?

It lives on my windowsill and get a lot of sun coming in during the day. And I've had it since around the start of this month so not long at all.

Ghataora wrote: It lives on my windowsill and get a lot of sun coming in during the day. And I've had it since around the start of this month so not long at all.

I guess that's why it is still looking OK.
I'm going to change my mind again and recommend to repot it in a proper, free-draining bonsai soil.

If it's any help - I repot Chinese Elms at any time of year and have had no problems at all.

Dave

Thank you for all the advice! I will be repotting the bonsai. Im currently trying to find some online that is fast draining and so forth. And possibly buy a new pot too so i can remove it from the plastic pot that fits into the ceramic type one. Which is a shame as i love the ceramic pot but it doesn't have any drain holes

When repotting would it be ideal to wash the soil off the roots? And hopefully get rid of some of the springtails?

How does one get rid of springtails anyhow? :blink:

Ghataora wrote: Thank you for all the advice! I will be repotting the bonsai. Im currently trying to find some online that is fast draining and so forth. And possibly buy a new pot too so i can remove it from the plastic pot that fits into the ceramic type one. Which is a shame as i love the ceramic pot but it doesn't have any drain holes

Well... that doesn't help. I specifically asked "Does the ceramic pot have a drainage hole ?" and you replied "It does have drain holes".

If you want correct advise, please give correct information.

[quopte]When repotting would it be ideal to wash the soil off the roots? And hopefully get rid of some of the springtails?[/quote]

Water thoroughly until water comes out of the drainage hole (which your current pot apparently doesn't have). Then let it dry, don't water again until the soil feels slightly dry, but don't let it dry out completely.

Springtails do not like dry soil, a proper watering regime will get rid of 'm.

Well... that doesn't help. I specifically asked "Does the ceramic pot have a drainage hole ?" and you replied "It does have drain holes".

If you want correct advise, please give correct information.


Sorry my bad, as I stated before the tree itself is in a plastic pot with drain holes. However the ceramic pot itself doesn't.

Which is why when I water the tree I leave it out of the pot for a few hours tilted on a plate so it drains as much as possible before going back in the ceramic pot.

It's possible with care to drill drain holes in ceramics but you need a proper glass/ceramic drill bit and a slow drilling speed so as not to crack the pot. Those bits are available in sets from EBay and are not expensive - I have done a few myself but it can be a slow process.

Dave