名媛直播

Hello all!

I was gifted a 名媛直播 for Christmas last year and have been watering it when the soil is dry, snipping the dried out dead branches and taking care of this bonsai to the best of my ability... I'm just not sure I'm doing it right! He sits on a windowsill with sunlight beaming through and has grown many new branches! However, the leaves all fell off (they did this last year too, I think it's seasonal since I'm in NJ), I lost a branch today and it just looks very blah... IS IT OKAY? IS IT HEALTHY? AM I DOING THIS RIGHT?

Please help, I don't want to kill it as I've grown to like him!

Also- if anyone has any insight on what kind of 名媛直播 this is, that would be super helpful!

Thanks,
Nicole

See attached!

nwilliams21 wrote: I was gifted a 名媛直播 for Christmas last year

Ah yes. That dreaded time that soon will be here again, where people, who don't know what a bonsai is, buy them for people who don't know how to care for them.

Buying someone a bonsai is like buying an exotic animal for someone who has never had pets.

No, this plant is not in a good condition. They are not supposed to loose so many leaves. Reason can be overwatering - though from your description, it seems that may not be the case. Are you aware what species it is? This species is actually pretty easy to care for. It does not require lots of water, wait a while longer before watering it again. Remove the dead moss - it was placed there for decoration but doesn't do much good. I'd repot it too, in proper soil. Make sure it gets enough light.

Hey there. Sounds like you are doing things right. This is a portocularia Afra, or mini jade.
they love heat and sun. They hate dark wett coldness.

As I do not have them myself, I cannot tell you where exactly to go to fix your problems.

Thank you for the help!! I am going to invest in a heat/light lamp and change the location as it is near a smaller window.

lol Auk I wouldn't compare a plant/tree to an animal but okay, I get it. Thank you for the information, I have removed the moss and am going to relax on watering it. I am also going to repot and get new soil for it once it takes to the new light/heat source I am ordering.

You don't want to let the soil dry out completely. It should not be kept wet all the time but there is a point where there is still a bit of moisture in the soil but its getting towards dry, that's when you need to water. Give it a good drink then and make sure the water is draining through into a drip tray when you do. The drip tray will provide humidity but it does well to spray the leaves as if its raining too. They like that. As far as this particular tree goes, its hard to say. Try putting in a nice sunny south side window. If you can't, buy a grow light and give it 6 hours minimum light a day by it. Buy a timer at the hardware store to plug the grow light into if you need to, to keep it consistent. Don't move the tree around to different locations. Hopefully by spring you will see some good response from it. (It's worrisome if you have branches breaking off. it was too dry). If by spring you are getting new growth, use half strength fertilizer to help it along. You may need to replace a third of your soil as well at that time to make sure it has max nutrients but wait see how it goes.