Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
broocewayne

fukien bonsai leaves falling off

broocewayne
10 years ago

I just received this bonsai a week ago, is in great shape!
However the leaves are falling off, I've done research but cannot be sure :/
-room temp is 74
-has humidity tray
-been watered 8oz every 3 days, with misting the soil every day
-tried to set it out in the sun this morning for 3 hours to see if that helps
-otherwise sits about 4 ft from window in my room in bright shade, not direct Sun.

Any recommendations?

Comments (21)

  • broocewayne
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Leaves look like this

  • moochinka
    10 years ago

    Hi - don't mist the soil or you'll get fungus/mold! It's the foliage you'd do if you did any at all. You don't say where you live, but putting it out in the sun out of nowhere is not smart - the dullest outdoor light is stronger than the brightest window and a few random hours, never mind temperature change, is not going to do anything good. Put it out in summer yes, now no. It's very tropical and never let the (wide) humidity tray dry out. Do give it consistent high light (window) all the time unless you're in a very hot, dry place, in which case I'd have it about a foot away from the window... amazing how much diff. to a tree that foot can make. If you don't get enough hours of light (one reason it may be dropping leaves) use a fluorescent 6-8" away (not more) for up to 16 hrs/day. And Don't water on schedule or a specific amount. You may even be overdoing it though Fukiens like lots of water in a general way. 8 ozs sounds like a lot for a small tree to cope with at one time unless the mix is almost pure pebbles, which is not good for Fukiens at all. Water when the tree needs water, not necessarily every 3 days, maybe more often, but not if it's sodden to begin with! Just enough to come out the drain holes if it's drying within an inch or so of the soil top. You'll get to recognize when it wants more. It could be losing leaves due to lower light levels from wherever you got it, but also just because it's often what plants do when having been moved to new places, and it should recover in a couple of weeks or so.

  • broocewayne
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Okay thank you so so much for the quick response! It gets roughly 12-13 hours of light a day. I have a moisture meter so that should help me as well with the watering! I'll keep you updated as the weeks progress. I live in Texas by the way, so very hot, dry, summers

  • broocewayne
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    And would like a work lamp work with a fluorescent bulb?

  • broocewayne
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Is this okay?

  • moochinka
    10 years ago

    1) no moisture meter... learn how to water properly by judging when it's just beGINning to droop a bit, or by sticking a popsicle stick in the soil midway to the pot side like a dipstick and seeing how moist things are (daily, til you get a feel for things), or even by weighing the pot immediately after watering and then again just before you think it needs it again... take note of the difference for future. And what wattage and lumens, etc. are in the bulb you're talking about?

  • broocewayne
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Okay I'll try that! And it's a basic 40 watt fluorescent bulb!

  • broocewayne
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    450 lumens. And here's a picture of exactly what shape I'm in, see how the leaves are curled in?

  • broocewayne
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Should I be concerned about these little white balls? They are under a few of my leaves.

  • moochinka
    10 years ago

    The little balls may be fungus from too much water, so keep a close eye out for more and back off the moisture a bit, but if they become fluffy, then mix up a couple of drops of dish detergent in a little water and aim-spray it on, then pat the top of the leaves dry. If you see evenly spaced white dots on leaves, they belong there, tho' not all Fukiens get them. Your lighting is totally inadequate... you need a much stronger fixture and bulb... by a lot.

  • moochinka
    10 years ago

    Won't Let Us Delete our own duplicated notes!!

    This post was edited by moochinka on Wed, Jan 22, 14 at 17:18

  • broocewayne
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    About how many lumens?

  • broocewayne
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Would you suggest like 2 florescent tubes, about 36 in or so? What exactly would be ideal lighting for this tree? I've read a lot about outdoor lighting but what about indoor?

    Thank you!

  • moochinka
    10 years ago

    Well, I have a 4' long fluorescent over my trees (but more of them than your one :-), with T5 (T8 will do tho') bulbs in it... I used to have lots of info on lighting, lumens, etc., but no longer do. I think you can get 'daylight' bulbs for a one tree fixture (not 'gro bulbs') and that would be adequate, or a relatively high wattage fluorescent bulb that your fixture indicates is OK to use in it (they generally have something right on/in the fixture to state that).

  • broocewayne
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Okay! Thank you so much! I've got 2 2ft t5 bulbs about 5 inches above it! Putting out roughly 2500 lumens!

  • moochinka
    10 years ago

    OK, I think the minimum is supposed to be around 3,500, but who's counting :-). Don't do anything else now - it's more about hours of light than exact #'s, so keep that in mind.

  • bonsaiNate
    9 years ago

    Mine is much worse. I live in Tennessee and it's winter here so I brought it in and put it under a great ufo led light. It's only been with me going on a month and lately it's been rough looking. My little juniper is also under light and doing well. Please help!!

  • moochinka
    9 years ago

    I suggest you read the rest of this thread because there's a lot of info in it, however I don't know if your light is at all appropriate, so again, look at what's been recommended here, along with humidity info, etc.

  • cooperdr_gw
    9 years ago

    It's hard to tell what order the pictures were taken in but clearly it was much healthier under the purple light. Is that one of those Chinese LEDs?

  • moochinka
    9 years ago

    PLEASE read what was said above in much earlier notes. I'm not at all sure those lights are good for the trees.

  • cooperdr_gw
    9 years ago

    No you're right. I'm just saying when that picture was taken the plant was doing better. Although that might be a different tree. I think it is. I'm not implying that it's because of the light.

    This post was edited by CooperDR on Mon, Nov 24, 14 at 7:40