Hi guys, why my Carmona (Ficus tree) Bonsai leaves turnin...
Last watered 1 year ago
8
I see 2 issues that are causing your tree issues.
I included a photo of mine.
1. You really need a pot with drainage Fukien Tea Trees need that.
2. She definitely needs to be watered more that every 11 days.
I’ve had mine for over 7 years and I water her every 2-3 days.
With a shallow pot you need to water more often.
I also am looking at your soil and it looks quite heavy for a bonsai. I feel like when your soil is wet it likely gets ‘muddy’ with that kind of soil. You want a lot of grit so she drains well but is not wet your goal is moist not wet soil.
When you water and the soil is too heavy, it’s forming a muddy soil then oxygen can’t reach your trees roots.
Then, she gets those yellow leaves because she can’t absorb nutrients when she’s essentially drowning. That’s why she has yellow leaves and also dropping leaves.
On a side note don’t forget to fertilize her regularly once she is strong and growing again. She will need the nutrients.
I included a photo of mine.
1. You really need a pot with drainage Fukien Tea Trees need that.
2. She definitely needs to be watered more that every 11 days.
I’ve had mine for over 7 years and I water her every 2-3 days.
With a shallow pot you need to water more often.
I also am looking at your soil and it looks quite heavy for a bonsai. I feel like when your soil is wet it likely gets ‘muddy’ with that kind of soil. You want a lot of grit so she drains well but is not wet your goal is moist not wet soil.
When you water and the soil is too heavy, it’s forming a muddy soil then oxygen can’t reach your trees roots.
Then, she gets those yellow leaves because she can’t absorb nutrients when she’s essentially drowning. That’s why she has yellow leaves and also dropping leaves.
On a side note don’t forget to fertilize her regularly once she is strong and growing again. She will need the nutrients.
Great tips from Shannon @SuperbRaspfern 🥳💚 mine looked a little like yours when I first got her... She even had rusty training wire still bonded to her trunk in places it was a nightmare!
So, I repotted right away. Bonsai in general, and the Fukien Tea particularly, don't like standard potting soil you need something REALLY gritty. I made my own with Akadama, a tiny bit of coir, pumice, castings and a bit of char. Akadama is expensive, but it's great because it colour changes when it dries, and you only want the surface of the soil to dry between waterings, they're thirsty (hence they need great drainage!).
They're also total fiends for light!! Lots and LOTS of bright light, mine is directly under a Sansi practically of her own (the Scottish sunshine isn't punchy enough for a healthy bonsai at this time of year! 🤣).
She should come back fairly quickly, mine did!
When you go to repot, my other tip is do NOT disturb the roots any more than you absolutely need to!! You're best to just gently shake off as much old soil as you can without touching the roots themselves (once she's been potted in your own soil, so NECT time you repot, you can just leave the entire football intact and with it's soil and transfer it to a new pot - I do it this way for all my plants tbh unless I know there's an issue to fix like root rot. It makes for much less stress on the plant!), and then put her into her new pot and backfill around the rootball.
There's loads of great guides online for bonsai care etc.
Let us know how you get on? Best of luck! Xx
So, I repotted right away. Bonsai in general, and the Fukien Tea particularly, don't like standard potting soil you need something REALLY gritty. I made my own with Akadama, a tiny bit of coir, pumice, castings and a bit of char. Akadama is expensive, but it's great because it colour changes when it dries, and you only want the surface of the soil to dry between waterings, they're thirsty (hence they need great drainage!).
They're also total fiends for light!! Lots and LOTS of bright light, mine is directly under a Sansi practically of her own (the Scottish sunshine isn't punchy enough for a healthy bonsai at this time of year! 🤣).
She should come back fairly quickly, mine did!
When you go to repot, my other tip is do NOT disturb the roots any more than you absolutely need to!! You're best to just gently shake off as much old soil as you can without touching the roots themselves (once she's been potted in your own soil, so NECT time you repot, you can just leave the entire football intact and with it's soil and transfer it to a new pot - I do it this way for all my plants tbh unless I know there's an issue to fix like root rot. It makes for much less stress on the plant!), and then put her into her new pot and backfill around the rootball.
There's loads of great guides online for bonsai care etc.
Let us know how you get on? Best of luck! Xx
Yeah you'll have similar conditions to me in Scotland! (Did you get hit by the storm on Saturday? It was WILD here! 😂).
I'm so glad to hear that!! 🥳🥰 Yeah light, light and more light seems to be key with them. They like moderate humidity too and I use a natural fert in every water with all my plants.
If she doesn't need a bigger pot you're right to wait! They do t like being moved AT ALL, and they do like being very snug. When she's ready you'll start to see wild roots breaking out of the soil surface, that generally means the pot is chock full and she needs to go up a size, but only a couple of cm bigger is needed. They are slow growing 🥰
My next research job is learning how to wire a bonsai up!! 😳 I bought the graded wire already just haven't gotten around to it, but my Carmen is growing a bit wild now. She was in TERRIBLE shape when I got her, it's so encouraging that you're seeing new growth already!!🥳💚🥳💚
Do bear in mind too that a certain amount of leaf drop is totally normal for them, so don't panic if she starts chucking away old leaves as she pushes out new ones!! Mine needs regular pruning and nipping out of old leaves, it's part of the fun 😆.
I think the before and after was taken about four months apart, and the other is her wild self now 🤣 x
I'm so glad to hear that!! 🥳🥰 Yeah light, light and more light seems to be key with them. They like moderate humidity too and I use a natural fert in every water with all my plants.
If she doesn't need a bigger pot you're right to wait! They do t like being moved AT ALL, and they do like being very snug. When she's ready you'll start to see wild roots breaking out of the soil surface, that generally means the pot is chock full and she needs to go up a size, but only a couple of cm bigger is needed. They are slow growing 🥰
My next research job is learning how to wire a bonsai up!! 😳 I bought the graded wire already just haven't gotten around to it, but my Carmen is growing a bit wild now. She was in TERRIBLE shape when I got her, it's so encouraging that you're seeing new growth already!!🥳💚🥳💚
Do bear in mind too that a certain amount of leaf drop is totally normal for them, so don't panic if she starts chucking away old leaves as she pushes out new ones!! Mine needs regular pruning and nipping out of old leaves, it's part of the fun 😆.
I think the before and after was taken about four months apart, and the other is her wild self now 🤣 x
@JenniB81 yes it was stormy and rainy 🤦🏻♂️, it's my 1st time going Bonsai I was more into big plants 😂 banana, Palm fig olive monstera and I decided to go for something smaller after watching some videos , wiring is something I'm a bit afraid of cause I have big hands 😂 hopefully I can learn that skill for now I'll let it be and take care of the other monsters around 😂
