名媛直播

Hi Everyone,

I recently got a Chinese Elm and some of these leaves go black about a little black every day, I mist it maybe 3 to 4 times a day. Is this too much?? I had red spider mites but hand squished them and then damped the tree and left it outside overnight and all the bugs seem to be gone. I have moved it into powerful light but my windows are triple glazed. I was wondering if I should get pesticide or try and find more light or to stop watering it as much

If you are in the northern hemisphere just move it outdoors and all problems will be gone.

Sorry fungicide not pesticide

put it outside and leave it there. misting is not watering,

The question is the tree is his "original" soil? If the answer is 'yes" it should be repotted. My experience with "mall - sai" is that you should remove the old "soil" as much as possible, wash the rootball if is deciduous tree and put it in akamadama, I'm using rhizotonic for couple of days after repotting but I'm not sure that really help or is placebo effect:)

Do not re pot now unless it is not draining well. It is the wrong time of year, leave it until spring.

m5eaygeoff wrote:

Do not re pot now unless it is not draining well. It is the wrong time of year, leave it until spring.

Agreed, re-potting now could be even more detrimental to the tree's health. That said, it could be beneficial to see how the roots are faring... if you can gently ease it from the pot without disturbing the root ball (often easier when the tree is a mass produced example with a plain, smooth interior-ed pot) have a look to check that it's not POTBOUND. If it is you can gently SLIP POT it for the rest of this year. If the root ball looks healthy but is bone dry put it back in the pot and immerse the whole pot in a bowl of room temperature water for about 15-20 minutes. 名媛直播 from general stores and even many garden centres lack care in the store due to unknowledgable staff - they "water" them but the soil gets so dry that it becomes practically impervious to water - some penetrates the top surface, but most of it slips between the soil and the pot and sneaks out the bottom! Occasional misting is good for the tree, but it is no substitute for actual watering. Also, it would be handy to know if it has been fed at all recently. If you want to try this route and use a liquid bonsai fert slightly reduce the strength of the dilution to avoid jolting the tree into a growth spurt that it is not healthy enough to survive.
OR - ring the store that it came from and ask how they've been caring for it!
If you're new to the hobby don't lose heart - there's a lot to learn, but nothing worth doing ever comes easy...

I dont get this idea that mallsais come in a substrate that are bad and urgently needs to be changed. The trees are commercially produced in the soil they come in. If it is good enough for making profit, it is good enough for a beginner hobbyist.

Yes, there are better soil mixes to use. And it will be beneficial for developing the tree to change substrate. That is in the long run and absolutelly not urgent. Recomending a beginner to repot his first tree and wash roots in the middle of the summer is just wrong and can not only kill the tree but also scare people away from the hobby.

For a beginner with first tree the main thing is to keep it alive with minimal intervention. No pruning, wiering, styling or repotting until one have an idea about how to keep it healthy and growing.

Now, in this case the issue is that the tree is indoors and moving it outdoors will solve the problem. There are no such thing as indoor trees and living room conditions is just not good enough for developing bonsai.

Tropfrog wrote:

I dont get this idea that mallsais come in a substrate that are bad and urgently needs to be changed. The trees are commercially produced in the soil they come in. If it is good enough for making profit, it is good enough for a beginner hobbyist.

Yes, there are better soil mixes to use. And it will be beneficial for developing the tree to change substrate. That is in the long run and absolutelly not urgent. Recomending a beginner to repot his first tree and wash roots in the middle of the summer is just wrong and can not only kill the tree but also scare people away from the hobby.

For a beginner with first tree the main thing is to keep it alive with minimal intervention. No pruning, wiering, styling or repotting until one have an idea about how to keep it healthy and growing.

Now, in this case the issue is that the tree is indoors and moving it outdoors will solve the problem. There are no such thing as indoor trees and living room conditions is just not good enough for developing bonsai.

If i may, this is probably the most useful advice i got on this site. I probably nearly killed my tree when i first got it due to over eager pruning and feeling the need to ‘do’ something. I then bought a second tree, and did the same thing. Because i need to learn patience apprently.

After receiving tropfrogs advice, I moved the trees outside and slowly over a period of weeks moved them into an area with full sun doing nothing but watering when needed and feeding once a week. The tree did nothing. For 3 months. But i stayed the course and in the last week both trees have absolutely EXPLODED with new growth. I am just going to let them do their thing this year and as the lorax says ‘let it grow’.

Tropfrog wrote:

I dont get this idea that mallsais come in a substrate that are bad and urgently needs to be changed. The trees are commercially produced in the soil they come in. If it is good enough for making profit, it is good enough for a beginner hobbyist.

Not to revive and old endless discussion, but...
Many times the plant is thrown in a small pot, with some pebbles (or moss) on the top, just to make a quick sell.
The substrate was appropriate for growing a young tree very fast in a big plastic pot, but totally inappropriate for a small bonsai pot.
Is it possible to keep it alive?
Certainly yes, but attention and care about when and how to water it makes the process a pain for beginners.
I suggest a repot at the right time (by the very beginning of the Spring) for all nursery plants.