Is my bonsai dead?

9 years ago

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie to bonsai growing and I was given a baby Jade bonsai last May. Throughout the summer it got plenty of light and water and was looking really good. Then two things happened:

1. I may have pruned way too much in October.
2. I may have left it in the corner of my apartment for a week when I went away where it didn't get any sunlight during that week in December.

I tried really hard to give it adequate light and water as soon as I got back (I even have a grow light that I keep about 12 inches away from the plant) but the leaves just kept dropping off. I have it on for about 12 hours a day but the thing just keeps shriveling. Now my bonsai looks like the photo (yikes) and I'm pretty sure it's dead but I really don't want to give up on it. To the people who know what the heck they are doing out there, can you tell me....is all hope lost for my poor bonsai??

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
i doubt lack of light for 7 days did that ...

you say you gave it plenty of water.... i water mine every 14 days or so ...

supplemental light should be about 2 inches from the plant for any useful effect ...

i think its dead...

ken
dbarron
9 years ago
I don't know what a Baby Jade is...unless it's the crassula commonly called a 'Jade Plant', but in any case, it looks quite dead to me. Not Positively, absolutely, Undeniably and reliably Dead...but still quite dead.

You might have? you don't know if you did these things ?

I don't think either of those were the nail in the coffin, I'd say watering issues were more likely. However, not even knowing what kind of plant it is for sure...I could be wrong.

This post was edited by dbarron on Mon, Jan 12, 15 at 19:46
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moochinka
9 years ago
It's a succulent, almost-a-cactus, and should only be watered once it's been completely dry for a while or leaves look shrivelly, tho' that can happen if watered too often also, so you have to get a feel for doing it. But I think yours is gone.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years ago
Portulacaria afra, aka mini jade/ dwarf jade/ elephant bush/ spekboom is easy to grow in the right light and appropriate soil. It shouldn't be allowed to dry completely, and if the leaves look shriveled and have lost their plump appearance, the plant has been experiencing severe drought stress for much too long.

Judging by the deeply wrinkled periderm, your tree is so dehydrated it's almost certainly dead. If it is still viable, you might hope it has the means (energy reserves) to push new growth from very close to the shoot to roots transition area (base of the trunk).

How close supplemental light should be from the plant depends on what the light source is. For instance, a halogen or HPS light can be very effective, but it isn't appropriate to have it near the plant. Fluorescent and LED lights SHOULD be very close to the plant because they run cool in comparison to some other bulb types. Your light should be rich in the blue end of the spectrum for this plant.

Al
vancewood
9 years ago
Dead as in door nail. Sorry.