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Hi all

Brand new to the world of bonsai. I bought mine from a garden centre and I’m wondering if I should repot it (I’ve had it just over a month). I’m also not sure how to prune it.

Any help greatly appreciated!

Hi and welcome.
few questions, where was the tree, was it outside in the garden centre?
does it look healthy, green leaves, new growth and little red peppercorns?
what does the soil look like and does water drain through ok? does the soil smell damp?

best thing is to post a picture or 2 let us have a look.
re-potting is a fairly big job and stressful for the tree so you want to make sure its in top health first before you do it and its settled into its new home first.
I repotted a pepper tree last night actually, took me close to 2 hours...

Pruning, leave it alone for now get the hang of how to get it growing well and healthy. there will be plenty to prune in the summer

Thank you for replying!

The tree was inside the garden centre so I’ve got it inside by the window. I’m worried it may have got too cold due to recent snow.

It looks okay, the leaves are green but there isn’t any peppercorns or flowers. There’s a bit of new growth but also some leaves look a bit dead.

The soil is dry, it doesn’t smell damp and water runs through. I take it out of the pot to water and I’ve been watering it weekly. I’ve not fed it yet so I wonder if I need to do that soon.

I’ve also guessed it was a pepper tree as the garden centre didn’t have any info on the type of tree, just “bonsai”

Trying to attach a pic

Hey Bexx, what you've got is a Fukien Tea Tree (common name, I don't remember what the current scientific/Latin name is).

good job you posted a picture
here is a link for a care guide
www.bonsaiempire.com/tree-species/carmona
it can be repoted this time of year but as long as you water correctly a tree can grow in almost anything, just dont want it to be waterlogged.

have you done any reading on repotting? here is an overview but watch a few youtube videos etc
www.bonsaiempire.com/basics/bonsai-care/repotting

Carmona can be a bit fussy and some people struggle with them to care for them. they can be really prone to whitefly to watch out for this and any sticky residue on the pot.

its a nice looking little tree though with some new growth so its happy. keep it in a nice bright space and keep well away from open windows etc as this will kill it.

Thank you so much for the info! I had tried to discover what tree type it was myself and could only see pepper tree as a likely candidate!

Would you recommend a humidity tray for it? I’ve been trying to look it up online and I’m not entirely sure how it would work. Do I place pebbles in the tray then place my tree in its pot on top?

A humidity tray is not needed. I've had a Fukien growing and flowering nearly continuously for 4 years without a humidity tray, just watering at the appropriate time. Humidity trays do really serve any purpose in terms of providing additional humidity. In my opinion, they do more to protect the surface of the furniture trees are kept on that to increase the humidity.

A humidity tray raises the humidity around the tray slightly until the water dries out. Of you have forced air heating or air conditioning the air blows the slightly moist air away. Get a humidity meter (hygrometer?) and see what humidity levels are before you make any decisions.

My tropical trees right now are in the same room as three large aquariums. Humidity there is 5-20% higher year round than other rooms.

Yes, I know, aquaria would be correct if I were in Rome. I'm not.