Bonsai trees ?

LEGION 12 · May 10, 2015

I inherited a Chinese elm bonsai the leaves are turning brown anyone know anything about them ? Thanks in advance.

Rupestris · May 10, 2015

I mess around with them a bit but have a lot to learn. Very few trees sold as bonsai are indoor plants and do better outdoors. That one looks like it has been neglected a bit so it could be that it has been in that pot for quite a while.

If so it could be that it needs some fertalizer/plant food added to the soil. A root pruning might be in order if it has been in that pot for a long time.

Get some organic plant food and put it outside and see if it does better.

LEGION 12 · May 10, 2015

I did fertilize it and I will put it outside when it's warm enough. I noticed that there is no mesh in the drain holes and its not wired to the the pot. I would like to pull it out put the mesh in and secure it to the pot. Would that kill it ?

David Stifle · May 10, 2015

Rich, I have grown bonsai's for twenty five years. The Chinese Elm is advertised as a tree that can be kept indoors, and quite frequently when they are, they get tiny, almost invisible mites. to stop that, spray the tree with dish soap in water. Next, take it out of the pot and look at the roots. If it's healthy you will see white new root growth. It the roots are spongy, you probably have root rot from overwatering, a common mistake. Cut out the bad roots, put it back in the pot, and add new soil. Use a stick to get all the air pockets out. It's a tree that likes a lot of light, but not too much bright sun in the summer. To water it, set it in a pot of water and let it suck it up from the bottom. When the top surface of the soil is damp, take it out and let it drain. Hope that helps a bit.

LEGION 12 · May 10, 2015

Thanks chief I didn't know you grew them ! I will do that .

Thomas Linton · May 10, 2015

People selling plants as "bonsai" routinely lie about the suitability of the plant for indoor life.

Your tree need lots of sun to do well.

Lots of information is available via Google, not that anything above is bad advice. Ass stated, excellent drainage is a must. It is not a swamp species.

Rupestris · May 10, 2015

LEGION 12 said:
I did fertilize it and I will put it outside when it's warm enough. I noticed that there is no mesh in the drain holes and its not wired to the the pot. I would like to pull it out put the mesh in and secure it to the pot. Would that kill it ?

If I'm not mistaken, mesh is used to keep the soil in if it is a mixture of Akadama (hardened clay) and crushed lava rock that might fall out of the drain holes. If that one is planted in a potting soil then it'll probably be fine without mesh and being wired in.

David, I started just over a year ago with some very basic stuff. A yamadori Eastern White Pine and an Eastern Red Cedar, and a couple Mugo pine that were found at Lowes at the end of the season on clearance for $3. I recently picked up a Willowleaf Ficus that is shedding like mad.

I'd love to see some of your bonsai.

LEGION 12 · May 10, 2015

I'm going to take a look at the roots and see how they look it's been around at least 10 years hate to see it die now. I think it's needs better soil the stuff in there is hard as a rock. I bought a bag of Japanese bonsai soil.

mete · May 10, 2015

Yes ! Then you can make or have members make for you some nice miniature pruning tools !

LEGION 12 · May 10, 2015

mete said:
Yes ! Then you can make or have members make for you some nice miniature pruning tools !

Only if they fold.

Scott Hanson · May 10, 2015

LEGION 12 said:
I did fertilize it and I will put it outside when it's warm enough. I noticed that there is no mesh in the drain holes and its not wired to the the pot. I would like to pull it out put the mesh in and secure it to the pot. Would that kill it ?

Is it getting enough sun light?

LEGION 12 · May 10, 2015

As nuch as I can give it I move it from where the sun is in the morning to where it is in the afternoon.

Rappy · May 10, 2015

I always liked Bonsai tree's yours is fantastic

good luck hopefully it'll fight off the brown leaves!

Thomas Linton · May 10, 2015

It should not be planted in potting soil.

David Stifle · May 10, 2015

Rupestris said:
If I'm not mistaken, mesh is used to keep the soil in if it is a mixture of Akadama (hardened clay) and crushed lava rock that might fall out of the drain holes. If that one is planted in a potting soil then it'll probably be fine without mesh and being wired in.

David, I started just over a year ago with some very basic stuff. A yamadori Eastern White Pine and an Eastern Red Cedar, and a couple Mugo pine that were found at Lowes at the end of the season on clearance for $3. I recently picked up a Willowleaf Ficus that is shedding like mad.

I'd love to see some of your bonsai.

Chris, I had a ton of pictures stored on my previous computer, very few on this one. At one time, I had approximately thirty bonsai of many different species and various ages. I belonged to the Northern Virginia Bonsai Association, and we conducted annual shows, seminars, etc. One of my favorite events was the bonsai exhibit at the National Arboretum. They have some absolutely stunning bonsai's there, some of which were donated to us by the Emperor of Japan, and are reputed to be over 400 years old.

I currently only have four bonsai's, a very old ficus with a gnarly trunk of 17"'s in diameter, standing less than two feet tall. This tree suffered severe damage a few years ago when we had a dericho, a straight line wind storm of gale strength wind. since then, it's started to bounce back, and will look pretty decent in another couple of growing seasons.

I also have a Juniperious Contorta, or Hollywood Juniper, which was collected from the wild and has a Mother and Child twin trunk style. And, a fairly nice, but unremarkable Japanese Maple.

If I can, I'll see if I can find some of my old photo's, and will be happy to post my current trees as well. Like knife making, this hobby too requires a lot of knowledge, a measure of good luck, and patience, but I enjoy it

LEGION 12 · May 11, 2015

David Stifle said:
Chris, I had a ton of pictures stored on my previous computer, very few on this one. At one time, I had approximately thirty bonsai of many different species and various ages. I belonged to the Northern Virginia Bonsai Association, and we conducted annual shows, seminars, etc. One of my favorite events was the bonsai exhibit at the National Arboretum. They have some absolutely stunning bonsai's there, some of which were donated to us by the Emperor of Japan, and are reputed to be over 400 years old.

I currently only have four bonsai's, a very old ficus with a gnarly trunk of 17"'s in diameter, standing less than two feet tall. This tree suffered severe damage a few years ago when we had a dericho, a straight line wind storm of gale strength wind. since then, it's started to bounce back, and will look pretty decent in another couple of growing seasons.

I also have a Juniperious Contorta, or Hollywood Juniper, which was collected from the wild and has a Mother and Child twin trunk style. And, a fairly nice, but unremarkable Japanese Maple.

If I can, I'll see if I can find some of my old photo's, and will be happy to post my current trees as well. Like knife making, this hobby too requires a lot of knowledge, a measure of good luck, and patience, but I enjoy it

I would like to see some of both of yours. Another hobby I really don't need but it was given to me so I will try Dave what do you think of the soil I got ?

David Stifle · May 11, 2015

LEGION 12 said:
I would like to see some of both of yours. Another hobby I really don't need but it was given to me so I will try Dave what do you think of the soil I got ?

The soil is probably just fine, Rich. One thing you sacrifice when you get a good draining commercial bonsai soil is organics the tree can use to grow. They just don't have a lot of nutrients, so you will need to fertilize it. See if you can find some Bonsai Pro fertilizer, 7-9-3, which is urea free (salt free). Mix 1/4 of a teaspoon to one gallon of water and use as needed. The only other thing I would suggest is to place a couple of tupper bowls of water near the plant, it provides a little extra humidity for the plant. I'll probably get around sometime to posting some pics up, Rich.

LEGION 12 · May 11, 2015

David Stifle said:
The soil is probably just fine, Rich. One thing you sacrifice when you get a good draining commercial bonsai soil is organics the tree can use to grow. They just don't have a lot of nutrients, so you will need to fertilize it. See if you can find some Bonsai Pro fertilizer, 7-9-3, which is urea free (salt free). Mix 1/4 of a teaspoon to one gallon of water and use as needed. The only other thing I would suggest is to place a couple of tupper bowls of water near the plant, it provides a little extra humidity for the plant. I'll probably get around sometime to posting some pics up, Rich.

Thanks Chief will do on the fertilizer if you look in the pic I did buy an humidity tray filled with pebbles .

David Stifle · May 11, 2015

LEGION 12 said:
Thanks Chief will do on the fertilizer if you look in the pic I did buy an humidity tray filled with pebbles .

Okay, that will work fine, Rich. Here are some pictures of my current bonsai's, nothing to brag about really. As I mentioned, the big ficus was damaged in a wind storm and it is still being styled and grown to fill in some awful big empty spaces. The other tree is a juniper I've been working on for five years or so, and I think it has a good bit of promise; and the other is a little Japanese maple I started a few years ago.

LEGION 12 · May 11, 2015

Those are very nice Dave I like the Juniper the most makes mine look kind of sad. What aboot moss on top do you think that's a good idea ?

Bonsai trees ?

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