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Fukien Tea - wilting, dry green leaves? HELP!

8 years ago

I've cared for this little tree for 3 years; it has done beautifully with bi weekly waterings (using liquid houseplant fertilizer in the water) and occasional pruning. He lived in my office in a SW facing window until 4 weeks ago. He was blooming and healthy when. . . .

I moved to an office with West facing window. He gets different sun (2.5 hours, direct, late afternoon, rather than 3 hours, near direct, mid day) but not much different. The new office is also cooler and drier than the old one.

The tree has been going down hill ever since the move. Almost immediately he stopped blooming. Today I was mortified to come in and see that he his leaves are about 10% brown (but don't fall off easily) and the rest are still green - some wilted green, some dried out green, but none of the leaves fall off easily.

I'm now realizing that I should have done a soil change to prepare for the move, should probably be using better fertilizer, and he perhaps hasn't been getting enough water with the cooler, drier air. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

I've moved the tree back to the office where he was doing well, and watered him. What else can I do? I know its' not good to make changes when the tree is already ailing, but really want to save this one. Any advise? I can send a photo if needed. Please help! This tree was the model for my business logo, and I really want to save him if possible.

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Comments (5)

breathnez
8 years ago
They love full sun so that's not the problem unless too close to the window. Should be about a foot from the glass. In my experience they are finicky but also bounce back when stress removed. Also ime they don't tolerate getting dry soil like a ficus can. Do you evaluate the dryness of the soil before you water?
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I think most of your problem is humidity - FT's NEED lots of it and I'm actually quite surprised at how well it did in the orig. office (last place I'd ever recommend for one anytime). You can arrange a wide (quite a bit more so than the pot is) tray of some kind with at least 1" high sides. Fill that with pebbles and water - the pot will go on top, but make very sure the water does not reach the drain holes or you'll rot roots. Keep up the water and as much really strong light as you can for as much of the day as possible... and you should be ok in a few wks. Resist the temptation to overwater (to water too often). Better let some of the soil now dry out before doing it again - your old system has changed things and while more humidity is needed, less water may be (for now). Btw, do you know how cold (or not) it gets overnight in the office? Or what happens over the wknds?
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Ohhh... it looks pretty far gone to me. Have you scratched the trunk to see if it's still green underneath, because if not, I'd think it was gone. Overcompensating on the water bath by letting it 'dry out' was probably not the best idea - any roots not yet at the pot bottom would have dried out... unless I misunderstood what you did. But once the initial wetness had subsided (day or two?) I would have put some kind of clear bag over it to keep humidity up for the leaves while it recovered... maybe seems counterproductive, but the damage was already done anyhow, and the foliage still needed moisture.
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Forget misting at any time, it's useless. And get it OUT of the shade into the brightest light you can all day long (and longer). Don't use rooting hormone on existing roots, it's only meant to stimulate growth where there are none, and certainly not on an already stressed tree. Do set up a wide tray of stones and water under the pot for humidity, but never ever allow the water to reach the pot bottom (and rot roots). Do get it all under glass or at least a clear plastic bag (unfastened) for now, but keep a very close eye on it for too much condensation actually running down the bag (vs a few drops hanging on) or you'll run into other trouble.
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My fukiens live only (permanently) under glass - either in my 'indoor' green house or under a very glass bell, on top of wide humidity trays, and a few inches below T5 full spectrum fluorescents. They do NOT like being out of their 'rainforest' atmosphere at any time, though you need to walk a very fine line to not incur things like mealy bug, by having a little air always available. The glass usually has a little condensation on it, but never to the point of dripping. I don't have to water that often because of the set-up, but it's something you need to play with a bit. Potting soil is full of peat and therefore doesn't dry out well at any time, so if you can find a mix with less peat in it, you'd be better off. I don't know what your version of 'sand' means - if you mean something like beach sand vs larger 'grit', go for the grit (various options) and less soil. Or use an orchid mix which drains right away, though you'll end up watering every day or so. Not the easiest tree to grow!
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Hi, the white dots are normal to many F. teas, the powdery stuff is probably mildew. If you're spraying it a lot for humidity, that's a likely cause (unless it's close to other plants with the same problem, in which case it might have been 'caught' from another one). If the top of the soil has the powder too, it's probably staying wet and you need to allow it to dry between waterings. You can just scrape up what's on top of the soil and wipe off the leaves. Is it getting a lot of sun all day? Have you considered getting it 5-6" under T5 fluorescent lights for around 15 hrs a day? And for humidity, use a tray underneath with pebbles high enough to keep the pot from touching the water in the tray - more effective than spraying. If you have a bad case of it, a mild house plant fungicide might be needed, but wait and see because teas don't always react well to chemicals.
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kay21_utahzone5b
8 years ago
My Fukien is in front of an east window with a good sized overhang so direct sun is minimal. Humidity is virtually non-existent here and it's rare for me to remember to spritz it with water. When it gets a little droopy I sit it in a container with enough water to cover the bottom and leave it for a few hours. It perks and greens right up. I bet that's only every couple months.

Kay
User
8 years ago
Well, it would be nice if you started your own thread here, but you seem to not have any questions, so... while what you're doing seems all wrong (low light and humidity, plus a watering technique we strongly discourage), it must have adapted along the way, so if you're happy, I guess we'll be happy :). What about posting a picture - I'm curious!
kay21_utahzone5b
8 years ago
No question. I'm certainly no bonsai expert! As it does work for me I'm just suggesting a good soaking from the bottom up may be helpful if the OP hasn't done that. If that's a bad practice then my suggestion should be discounted and it's good you pointed that out!

I hope I didn't seem to imply that the lack of humidity for mine discounts your advice to ensure more humidity. I was happy to read some specific info for this as I rarely visit the bonsai forum. As for a pic? I have no frame of reference to know if I should be embarrassed - but it is green - lol!

Kay

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