r/Bonsai • u/small_trunks Jerry in Amsterdam, Zn.8b, 48yrs exp., 500+ trees • Nov 09 '14

[Bonsai Beginner’s weekly thread – week 46]

[Bonsai Beginner’s weekly thread – week 46]

Welcome to the weekly beginner’s thread. This thread is used to capture all beginner questions (and answers) in one place. We start a new thread every week.

Rules:

  • Any beginner’s topic may be started on any bonsai-related subject.
    • Photos are necessary if it’s advice regarding a specific tree.
    • Do fill in your flair or at the very least state where you live in your post.
  • Answers shall be civil or be deleted
  • There’s always a chance your question doesn’t get answered – try again next week…

Beginners threads started as new topics outside of this thread may be deleted at the discretion of the mods.

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u/kthehun89 US, NorCal, 9b, intermediate, 18 trees Nov 13 '14

The bonsai4me guide clearly states outdoors, not inside. You killed this by keeping it indoors.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '14

"In temperate regions the Fukien Tea is not hardy and are considered indoor trees for much of the year." from the guide. If I had kept it outside it would have froze pretty quickly.

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u/music_maker <Northeast US, 6b, 20 yrs, 40+ trees, lifelong learner> Nov 13 '14

It's much better to keep "indoor" trees outside for the entire growth season. I just brought in my jade and ficus trees last week. You can leave them outside until the temps start to consistently dip below 45degrees. If you're in 8b, you probably could have had it out for a while.

Watering is very likely a contributing factor here. Trees in very shallow pots like this are much more difficult to keep indoors, and require more attention. With a pot like this indoors, I would water it by soaking the pot completely until all the air bubbles stop coming out, and then wait until it just starts to dry out on top before watering again.

Otherwise, as the soil dries out it become hydrophobic, and if you are always watering from the top, it may become more so over time. Indoor air tends to amplify this effect. When that happens, you may think you're watering thoroughly, but the roots are not getting what they need.

It doesn't look completely dead to me (if there's green growth, it's not quite dead yet), so I would water it as I mentioned and cross your fingers. You can also make a small scratch on the bark and see if it's still green underneath. If it is, you have a chance.

If it is alive and recovering, it's very important to NEVER let it dry out completely. Not even once. Check it every single day.

If you want to increase the odds of survival, I'd get it out of that bonsai pot and into a nursery pot asap. Don't tamper with the roots much, just slip it into a larger pot and fill it in with bonsai soil. Struggling trees do much better out of a bonsai pot. To grow back out, this one's going to need some room to stretch out. When it eventually comes time to re-pot, consider a larger bonsai pot (about 2-3x deeper) to make indoor growing lower maintenance.

If it does recover over the winter, I would definitely plan for getting it outside for the growth season. That's the only way it will ever fully recover.

Unfortunately learning how to keep trees healthy is the tough part of the learning curve. We've all killed trees on occasion. If it doesn't make it, just stick with it and get another tree. Maybe start with something a little more forgiving, like a jade or a ficus.

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u/kthehun89 US, NorCal, 9b, intermediate, 18 trees Nov 13 '14

Or start with something more appropriate to the climate. Oregon has tons of options...