Ligustrum Sinense Question

Horticultural allways comes first. Any bonsai related topics after. You cannot prune an unhealthy tree.

Sadly this species needs to go dormant in winter. If you cannot provide dormancy there will be no posibility to develop it as bonsai. No matter If it survives or not. So my recomendation is to find the coldest and brightest spot possible to put it in. 5-10 degrees will be sufficient.

Double post.

Note that this species is only moderately frost-hardy.

It is best to keep this frost-free, and in winter, on the dry side, with temps below 18C. So a bright windowpane in an unheated bedroom would be perfect.

It is listed as hardy to usda zone 6 or 7 on most gardeners websites. But on bonsai sites as non frost hardy. Sounds like very sensitive roots to me. I have kept mine around 7 degrees last winter, but it didnt come out strong. No growth until late july. Maybe it was due to repotting and root prunning in spring., I dont know. This year I am trying 5 degrees in a heated greenhouse and a lot dryer than last winter. So far so good, hopes it bounce back strong this spring, if not I will give it to the compost worms. Very fussy tree in my climate.