Help with my new privet bonsai

16 years ago

We were given a privet Bonsai for Christmas. I don't know what kind; it just says "ligustrum" on the label. It's sold as an indoor plant and although I realise this designation is debatable, ours will be staying indoors as we have no outside space.

There were a lot of long strandy branches when we got it so we took them off to get it back to it's shape and try to encorage it to become thicker this spring. I now realise that it might have been better to wait a few months to do this, but there are a few new leaves budding here and there so I guess we haven't killed it (yet!)

However, a majority of it's leaves have dried up and shrivelled. Is this normal for the time of year on this type of tree or are we doing something wrong? A lot of them were doing this when we acquired it, but I suspected at the time it might have been underwatered (having been sat under my sister in laws christmas tree wrapped in cellophane for three weeks...)

Second question; It appears to be planted in quite well draining soil, but the pot has no draining holes at the bottom. Everything I know about plants tells me this is a very bad idea, but I'm nervous of repotting it right now as it's not in a very vigourous stage. What do more experienced Bonsai types think? For the mo we're just trying to go very very gently on the watering, just barely keeping it damp a couple of cenimetres under the surface (esp given the lack of leaves). Fortunately the pot is also much to large (I think? - it's wider than the branch span and about half the height of the tree) and the roots don't appear to come right out to the edge so you can stick your finger in the soil at the edge to test moisture without risk of damaging the roots.

Sorry about the length of this post, I hope I've managed to include all the info you need! All tips and advice are welcome, particularly on the subject of whether/when to repot.

Thank you

Comments (7)

lucy
16 years ago
Three weeks under the tree? Yikes! Privets shouldn't dry out, though of course shouldn't be soggy either, so scratch the trunk and see if it's still green underneath, then let it have some recovery time, but stop being stingy with water - do it til it comes out the bottom! Check carefully for spider mites as well. The leaf loss could be due to either of the above, or to normal dormancy loss, but it doesn't really matter now, what matters is getting it back to life.
lucy
16 years ago
Oh - MOST important - you MUST have it in a pot with good sized drain holes or you'll kill it very quickly.
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hannahbelle
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the input. To clarify, the tree is definately alive. Tiny new shoots are coming through on a few of the branches. I have searched it all over and there's no sign of pests, so do you think that means the defoliation is either due to the period of underwatering or the time of year then? If that's the case, I'm tempted to leave it where it is for a couple of months or at least until the new shoots have got going properly before repotitng into a better container - or do you think it needs to be moved right away?

I'm torn - lack of drainage holes is dangerous, but then so is repotting! What to do?
lucy
16 years ago
Repot and water properly. Just slide the whole thing in one piece into a new pot of the same/similar size and shape with drain holes.
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
16 years ago
I have a privet in the backyard that was ravaged by deer as recently as last month, and it has small, newish leaves on it right now. I'm in northern CA, 33 miles north-east of Sacramento (for reference).

Here's my idea on re-potting:
1) Find a pot that is *almost exactly* the same size/shape as the current pot (but with drainage holes, of course!).

2) Then, simply slip the whole soil-and-root-ball clump, undisturbed, into the new pot. Add a little soil-mixture to fill the pot to the edges, if need be, and you should be good.

Good luck!

Josh
hannahbelle
Original Author
16 years ago
Ok so I'll just stick it in an ordinary flower pot for now and then pot it into something mmore appropriate later in the year The current soil seems to be around 50% sand and the other half a mix of what's probably normal potting compost and something fibrous which I've not seen before. It seems pretty well draining which seems to be the key criteria so I guess I'll just stick with that in order to disturb the roots as little as possible?

Thank you so much for your advice,
H
puglvr1
16 years ago
Hi hannabelle,

I'm a bonsai newbie, but maybe if you have a ceramic drill bit, you can remove the plant from the pot and drill a hole or two and the put the plant right back in.I've done this with one of my gift bonsai(without drain holes). Just make sure you use the correct drill bit or you could break the pot or the bit. Good Luck!!