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clint_stevens

is my bonsai dying?

clint.stevens
15 years ago

so i had to bring my tree inside because of hurricane gustav, i evacuated for about a week and luckily the hurricane didnt hit my area that bad but when i got back yesterday i noticed that my bosai didnt look too happy, all the leaves had fallen off except for the bottom most branch still had all of its leaves. now did it go into dormancy because it was out of direct sunlight or is it diseased or dying from the instant change in environment?

all the leaves that fell off are still green, which means they fell off right before i got back. but how??

i hope its not dying i just got it to a point where it would start to grow into the perfect design...

can it be saved?

Comments (11)

  • lucy
    15 years ago

    What KIND of tree is it?

  • clint.stevens
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    i dont know, i posted a forum on here previously trying to find out what kind of tree it is, but you weren't able to identify it. i have seen it a couple times used as a landscaping bush. but other than that i havent ever seen it before. this again is a reason why i need to find out what kind of tree it is.

  • lucy
    15 years ago

    Can you post it again? Or find the old one?

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    15 years ago

    Or take new photos and post them here, in this Thread. Weren't the photos the problem last time?

    Josh

  • clint.stevens
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    here is a bunch of photos.

    {{gwi:16267}}

    {{gwi:17554}}

    this is it before i left and before i cut the top stems down really short.

    {{gwi:17555}}

    here it is now :( !!! its soo sad its lost more leaves since i posted this forum!! it only has like 4 left. a few i just barely touched and they fell right off.

    {{gwi:17556}}

    {{gwi:17557}}

    {{gwi:17559}}

    i am thinking it might be my fault, but i dont know, i put a small cut all the way around it above the branches i want to keep to maybe throw more growing power to them instead of those top branches. (i'm just experimenting) i also clipped the top ones because i thought they were getting too long. and peeled off some bark on the bottom left hand side to add a more aged look. maybe it was too soon? but it was fine until i came back yesterday. do you guys have an idea of what might have happened? oooooohh and i almost forgot to mention i had added a veeeerry weak dose of miracle grow to it about a week before i left and right before i left i watered it verry heavily because i didnt know how long i would be gone. maybe the roots cant breath? i dont know i really need your guy's help on this. if it dies i guess its okay i can always find another project.

  • lucy
    15 years ago

    You said you cut all around it and now all the leaves above the cut (it appears) have fallen. That should tell you something - you cut the lifelines for the upper part of the tree. Not a great idea obviously. The Miracle Gro should have been given regularly in regular doses, but there are better ways to care for trees when you're away than pre-drowning them :-). I'm still not sure what it is, maybe a privet, maybe a few other things, but in any case you may just have to wait a few weeks to see what recovers and what doesn't. If the whole top dies off, then get rid of it as it's not going to help anything, but at this point there isn't much I can tell you except to stop doing stuff to it... no cutting, no peeling, no drowning, nothing except to water when a good chunk of the top layer has dried, and in a few weeks you'll either have a live tree or you won't, but wait til spring (if it's alive) and then (NOT now) repot into a gritty mix that drains fast so watering too often for whatever it is won't kill it.

  • clint.stevens
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    ya i got ya!! i knew it would cut the life line on the top, thats why i did it. but i figured that because it was a small cut and not actually removing the bark completely it would only slow the top growth or put the tree in "shock" and in turn throw out new shoots lower on the tree to give me more options for my design. it just needs some alone time. hopefully it lives.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    15 years ago

    Well, in any event, it looked cool in pic #2!
    And, yes, those are the blurry images I remembered...too hard to tell what it is. What are the native bushes/trees in your area? Could it be a plum variety?

    I think the bottom part will live. Follow Lucy's directions. Keep us posted.

    Josh

  • clint.stevens
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    sorry about the blurry pics, its my camera. it doesnt do close ups well. i really wish i could tell ya what the native bushes and trees are in my area but i am a little bit under educated and i havent really studied. i went into the forest where i found the tree today and found a bunch more all over. dont know what they are, the grow both as trees and bushes, it does look a lot like a privet though but i dont think that is quite what it is. i also found a few future projects. but i will approach these a lot slower, and these ones are already interesting. so i wont be so impatient with them.

  • head_cutter
    15 years ago

    Looks like a common Privet to me, normally a pretty hardy sort of weed for Bonsai. Most people do little or nothing and kill a tree...seems like you made a splendid effort and did succeed!! Congrats!!

  • lucy
    15 years ago

    I think if you take a cutting either from your tree, or one in the ground somewhere, to a local nursery where there's a real hortic. person (as opposed to someone just minding the store) they might be able to tell you what it is. Put it in a small plastic envelope for transport though.

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