Help Identifying Tree

10 years ago

Hello lovely people,

This is my first post but I hope to become an active member in the community as I had a couple of bonsai trees a good while back but had to give them away due to a turbulent few years of moving around a lot but am glad to be getting back in to it.

Anyway, my girlfriend decided to surprise me with a tree (as she knew I was thinking of getting back into it) she brought from Kew gardens on Monday. The problem is that it came with no indication as to the species of tree but it desperately needs repotting (there are roots growing out of the drainage holes and it seems to me to be better to do this so that I know it has been done). Unfortunately, going back to Kew Gardens to ask for their advice is out of the question as the garden centre there is behind the barrier and it costs ÃÂ£16 to enter.

obviously, I will need to buy the correct soil and fertiliser/feed not to mention I will need to make sure it is prepared for autumn/winter/spring.

At first I thought it was a Chinese elm but the leaves seem to be a lot longer and thinner, also the serration on the leaves is a lot less defined than the pictures I've seen.

I have attached a picture and here are a couple of links to two more my dropbox (I seem to be able to only attach one to this post):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/u8rbuhf7yh2vcgn/Daz%27s%20Phone_20130820_003%281%29.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ksqjv4ygwfv2bnv/Daz%27s%20Phone_20130820_006.jpg

I'm not sure if you can really make it out in the picture of the leaf but if you view the other pictures on a handheld device (smart phone etc) you can zoom quite far into the foliage of the other pictures and you will see that the leaves are around 1cm long (about half that thick), ever so slightly serrated and waxy on top.

The bark is smooth with a light greyish hue.

I have searched high and low but seem to be unable to get a definite answer and so ANY help would be very much appreciated.

If there is anything else you need to know, please let me know.

Thanks in advance

Daz

Comments (5)

ifraser25
10 years ago
It's a pity your girlfriend didn't ask them at Kew exactly what it was. That's the problem with gf's, they mean so well. Never mind. I don't think it's a Chinese elm. To me it looks more like a subtropical species, which means you should not let it get frosted. As it's come from Kew I would guess it has already been root-pruned, which is the biggest issue for would-be bonsai growers. My main observation would be that it has a lot of quite succulent leaf growth. I'll hazard a guess and say this will need plenty of water while the weather stays warm but as soon as it gets cold you will need to cut back on the water fairly substantially to avoid rotting. If you don't fancy another visit to the world's most famous garden, with the best garden advice you will get anywhere, you could try googling "london bonsai." I'd be surprised if there isn't a group there who could give you better advice. Good luck. Ian.
DanielBaldwin
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the reply,

If I manage to make it survive and ever visit there I will take a spare cutting in with me and see if I can get it identified. until then I guess I'll just have to be as generalised as possible with my care for it.

unfortunately, when it was last potted, they neglected any form of gauze over the drainage holes and so they are now currently blocked by roots, this doesn't seem like it'l promote health for the tree and so it does need to be repotted. I will however pay close attention to the mass of the rootball and hopefully will not need to perform any major root pruning until next year at the earliest.
DanielBaldwin
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the reply,

If I manage to make it survive and ever visit there I will take a spare cutting in with me and see if I can get it identified. until then I guess I'll just have to be as generalised as possible with my care for it.

unfortunately, when it was last potted, they neglected any form of gauze over the drainage holes and so they are now currently blocked by roots, this doesn't seem like it'l promote health for the tree and so it does need to be repotted. I will however pay close attention to the mass of the rootball and hopefully will not need to perform any major root pruning until next year at the earliest.
DanielBaldwin
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the reply,

If I manage to make it survive and ever visit there I will take a spare cutting in with me and see if I can get it identified. until then I guess I'll just have to be as generalised as possible with my care for it.

unfortunately, when it was last potted, they neglected any form of gauze over the drainage holes and so they are now currently blocked by roots, this doesn't seem like it'l promote health for the tree and so it does need to be repotted. I will however pay close attention to the mass of the rootball and hopefully will not need to perform any major root pruning until next year at the earliest.
DanielBaldwin
Original Author
10 years ago
OK so not sure why there are 3 of the same message by me but there doesn't seem to be a link for me to remove them so if an admin happens by please feel free to remove them.

I have been looking high and low for images of this tree (or rather the quite distinctive leaf) and I believe I may have found it!

Seems to be a japanese holly (Ilex crenata) as can be seen in the link

Here is a link that might be useful: japanese holly leaf