名媛直播

Hello! Can you help me, please?
My zelkova bonsai tree acclimated fine and had new growth, but then got spider mites. I was treating it with bactericidal soap and neem oil as instructed every 7 days. At some point I thought I had them under control I stopped seeing them, but later the leaves started drying and falling. I sprayed it again with bactericidal soap and today I am desperate. It might have dried before for a day, but usually is well watered.

First of all. Those trees marked Zelkova "guaranteed real bonsai" is not zelkovas, but chinese elms, ulmus parviflora.

Your story sounds like most beginners growing elms indoors. Yes, it have been too dry at one point and that is the reason for drying leafs. Some roots died at the same time and recovery will take time. However, the spider mites is a result of leathal indoor climate.

The good news is that elms have an amazing posibility to recover. Bring it outdoors and get watering right and there are still posibility for survival. Full recovery will not happen tomorow. That may take a year.

Can Japanese elm bonsai be grown inside?

vilina wrote:

Can Japanese elm bonsai be grown inside?

Your tree is a chinese elm. Indoors is not a problem itself. I keep mine all winter indoors in a greenhouse. The issue is lethal livingroom conditions all year round for temperate trees.

Always investigate conditions in the trees natural environment and try to provide as similar conditions as possible. If you want to do the other way around and look for trees naturally adopted to conditions similar to livingroom conditions. Get a jade tree.

Chinese, sorry. I was gifted it, so will have to work around it

Bottom line: Take this plant. Put it in dappled shade outside -assuming winterfrosts are over now-. Make sure the rootball stays moist, but not overly wet. And do nothing. Just wait. No fertilizing, no poison, no nothing. If you spraying it was the cause, it will start budding soon.

I should probably cut off dried leaves, right?

I would do nothing, and just let the tree sort itself out. Remove dead sections after you have good regrowth.