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| I came across a 18-inch-tall Australian Brush Cherry "Teenie Genie" for sale at an independent garden center and couldn't resist the price: $30 marked down from $75. It looks healthy, but shows a little neglect: roots showing through partially dead moss and a lot of new leaves at branch tips looking like they may need a haircut. It also seems to be leaning forward and is out of balance with the 8-inch pot it's in.
I was told it was on sale because the only employee who was an expert on bonsai had retired more than a month ago. I have some bonsai books and have had some limied experience with bonsai, but I never kept one alive for more than six months, so I know I need to learn a lot more fast. I am aware that this is an indoor bonsai, but I'm thinking it would be happier living outside from spring through fall. Does anyone have suggestions for how to care for it? Are there good information sources on the web or in the library that could give me more than a beginner's overview? I've googled it and read most of what I found, but it's not very specific. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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The plant tag calls this Eugenia myrtifolia "Teenie Genie." Here's a photo of the tree:  The soil:  And a closeup of the foliage:  The plant was originally from New England Bonsai Gardens. |
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| http://www.nebonsai.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT Try this link. They have some of those exact plants for sale. They seem like the kind of people that would help if you called or e-mailed them. New England Bonsai gardens is their name. If you go to "Bonsai" there is one of those Australian Brush Cherry's for sale there. |
Here is a link that might be useful: New England Bonsai Gardens
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| Hey, Robin - It appears that the plant has only been 'sheared' for a while. You'll notice the tendency for the plant to react to a pruning cut by producing multiple branches from the immediate area of each cut. Euonymus alata (burning bush) is another plant that reacts in similar fashion. This will quickly spoil the appearance by producing large knots of growth and a pom pon appearance at branch ends if you don't work diligently to limit branching to only 2 or possibly 3 branches in some cases from emerging from nearly the same point. Fortunately, the plant back-buds profusely of you cut it back when it is growing well, so there's a cure for that look. I would hold off on doing any pruning for now, root prune/repot it very soon, into a free draining soil. I know you're familiar with the gritty mix, which is what I use and know to work very well. By late June the plant will have recovered enough that you can cut it back to force more branching closer to the trunks & main branches, which will afford you plenty of pruning opportunities so you can take the plant in any direction you'd like. Until you repot, be careful not to over-water, especially if the soil doesn't drain well, but DO water thoroughly when you water. If you''re worried about over-watering, use a wick & tip the pot steeply toward one end to help remove excess water. You'll be surprised to see how much more water exits the pot after it's stopped draining and you tip it steeply. I use Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 on all my plants, and it works very well. Al |
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| Thanks, Al. I really appreciate you taking the time to advise me when I know you are so busy caring for your own plants. This is exactly the kind of advice I was hoping I could get. As soon as I can find time in the busy spring planting schedule, I plan to root prune and repot this tree according to what I've been reading in your Trees in Containers threads. I've already got the Foliage Pro 9-3-6 and all my ingredients for the gritty mix ready to go. I'll be keeping the tree outside in bright light after it has had a little time to recover from repotting. I can already see what you mean about it developing the pompom effect at the branch tips, so I am eager to get it healthy enough to be pruned and shaped. I'll share my progress, or lack thereof. This is going to be fun! |
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 We'll be watching for your reports! Al |
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