dry, dying leaves on brand-new umbrella bonsai

16 years ago

Hello. About 2 weeks I received an umbrella bonsai as a gift by surprise. It saw it was healthy on the top, but many of the leaves at the bottom were dry, shriveled and falling off. I read the plant's instruction pamphlet which told me to water by misting the soil well, and apply mist to the plant often. It also suggested facing southern sunlight, to get plenty of it, and not let temperatures fall below 50 degrees F.

Apparently the person who sold the plant was very concerned about it traveling to my home that day, since the temperatures were in the 20s with high winds. On its journey it was wrapped up well, and had about a 25 minute journey home through the cold. The friend who bought it did not remember seeing dead leaves on it in the store. I wondered if they might have died on the way home in extreme temperatures.

Last week I was on vacation and I had another friend coming over to care for my plants. He was more familiar with bonsais and noticed that the soil was extremely dry so he soaked the pot in water, and said I had not been watering it enough. He also put the tree on a shallow tray of water to maintain humidity. The "soaking" was about 8 days ago and the soil is still moist, so I am guessing the plant isn't drinking much.

When I returned from vacation I saw that new leaves were sprouting on top (and a little growth in other places), while more leaves on the bottom of the plant had died, and are continuing to die. I still have only been misting the plant since it doesn't seem to need a drink (soil is moist), and it is always in a shallow tray of water. My apartment only gets southern light which is quite sparse since an 18 story apartment building is directly to the south. With the winter days I am guessing the tree sees no more than 6 hours of light a day, and many only 3-4 of it direct, if that.

I am hoping for an expert opinion on what I can do, and what may be causing the leaves to shrivel and die. Also, should I should remove the dead leaves or let them fall naturally? My friend already removed most of them. Should I re-pot it and look for rotten roots? The branches where the leaves are dried appear to be brittle and dead too. Should I remove these or give them more time to recover? I have read that pruning in "off-season" for growing may hurt the tree.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Please advise. Thank you!

Comments (2)

lucy
16 years ago
Ok, first get the pot out of the water... the roots will rot (trust me). Second, stop misting the soil. You'll get mold and who knows what. Dig your finger into it deeper than 1" and if it's dry there, water properly from above - enough so all the roots actually get a drink, but drain it in the sink - it may not have been watered properly in a while. If it's not dry though, don't water til it is - Scheffleras can get pretty dry between waterings and will react badly to being kept wet all the time. Thirdly, get it into more light for a lot of hours a day. And lastly, DO get a wide and high-sided tray of stones with water up to just below the stones. THEN put the pot on that for humidity - more effective than spraying but won't rot anything. Also keep the whole thing in a relatively warm but not drying atmosphere. Don't worry about the dead leaves - remove then if you want to, it doesn't matter much. And be patient... give it time to recover. Just remember once it's properly watered continue to do it that way, but allow a lot of the soil to dry out in between times. If you can repot, it would be best to do so adding lots of grit (perlite, small aquarium gravel) for fast drainage, which is really the key to growing healthy trees.
lishous79
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you so much Lucy! I will try this and let you know how it goes. I am off to buy a nice tray and stones tonight, and I will stop misting too!

I moved it to where it will get more light and I'll do my best with the humidity temperature. Humid days in NY like today are sure to be helpful.

I will plan to repot in the near future too, once I have what I need to do this.

Thanks again! Your advice is very helpful.
Related Discussions
Umbrella Bonsai Dying??
Q
Comments (5)
if you're watering the same amount (or as often as) you did in summer, that is likely the problem, particularly as it's not getting as much sun as it would have done then (not as many hours), and it's probably potted in crappy peaty potting soil that doesn't drain well at all and should be changed to a much coarser, gritty mix (lots of perlite and lots of tiny aquarium gravel). All of these make a difference, so stop watering (let most of the mix dry out between times), find some house plant fungicide and use it according to directions, put the tree in good light for as many hours a day as you can and if and when it recovers, then you should repot, but not yet. Pruning will not help, but may add stress.
...See More
Dying Maple Bonsai
Q
Comments (2)
If the leaves are dry/crinkled & obviously dead, remove them or let them be. If there is any green left in them, allow them to remain on the tree as the plant will need all the photosynthesizing machinery it has. When dehydration occurs, the most succulent parts of the tree die first. Hair roots and blooms, then fine roots and leaves, finally twigs and larger roots die. You're likely dealing with a plant that, if viable tissue remains, needs to be treated as a cutting. Be very careful not to over-water. You can't force water into the plant by keeping the soil soggy. Damp is ideal. Put the plant in bright shade and hope for the best. Temperate deciduous rees defoliated after the summer solstice have an uphill struggle because the natural tendency for the plant is to limit the formation of new foliage and stop branch extension from around the solstice until spring. What will happen is the plant (if living) will try to grow new foliage, using it's stored energy. The problem is that leaves are a net user of energy until they are about 75% mature. After that, they begin to pay back what they borrowed from the reserves. If frost takes the leaves before they are mature, the tree will have expended all it's energy to grow leaves with no pay-back. Where you live will have some impact on the likelihood of survival if the plant is still viable because of variable growing seasons. You should always include that info (where you live) in your user info when you're asking advice/opinions. Al
...See More
HELP! My Boxwood Bonsai tree is dying! :(
Q
Comments (5)
Are you sure of the parentage of your boxwood? I think there was at least 1 Carmona microphylla (tea tree) in the wood pile. ;-) If you're sure the drought response was from under-watering and not over-watering, just put the tree in the shade outdoors (if night temps are >55*) and keep the soil damp - NOT WET OR SOGGY. Your tree will use very little water with its foliage so compromised, so over-watering is more of a potential issue now. It wants a little water and lots of air in the rootzone, and lots of water means not enough air. Al
...See More
New store bought Large Adenium - dry / crispy leaves.
Q
Comments (43)
Paulie, I think you’ve definitely watered too much. You probably only needed to water maybe once a week with the size of your babies and the pot size. The new soil will hold moisture longer then your gritty mix and should only be watered when you notice the soil has almost dried out....this is important even with baby seedlings. The babies need time to grow more roots and get fatter before they will have a higher water need...also always better to water in the mornings rather then the evening. I think some of your babies have probably lost their little roots from being wet all the time, and you may lose some of them. They would have done better if they had been bigger (abit thicker then a pencil) before transplanting.....Unfortunately this is part of how we all learn what the needs of our adeniums babies are. This is what I would do now - let the soil dry out and then mist the top of the soil with a spray bottle, mist again when the top is almost dry.....feel the soil with your finger before misting again. Do not wet the soil all the way through. I would then place them in a mini greenhouse to keep them warm and humid, while they are trying to grow new roots....mist the top of soil as needed. Here’s a few photos I found on the internet for examples of diy mini greenhouses. The last photo is the type of mini greenhouse we have used. We just lift the lid once a day to refresh the air. Still give them a little bit of sun, but not too much. I hope this helps and I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you :)
...See More

dry, dying leaves on brand-new umbrella bonsai

Comments (2)

lucy

lishous79
Original Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

dry, dying leaves on brand-new umbrella bonsai

Comments (2)

lucy

lishous79Original Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

lishous79
Original Author