名媛直播

I have a metasequoia bonsai that is currently struggling to grow any new leaves or branches after 2 years of strong growth.
The tree is kept inside which i understand to be uncommon but it has grown well so far. It had 2 instances of leaf loss the first due to a spell of extremely high temperatures and the second a recent one which it has never recovered from. It began in autumn so I assumed it would recover however by April it had shown no signs of new growth. I pruned it in early march however it had no effect, finally a week ago I repotted it - I found the roots were coiled around the pot so I felt this was the right thing to do. I trimmed back less than 30 percent of the roots and repotted into a 2:1:1 Akadama:Pumice:Lava Rock soil combination oppose to 100% Akadama. I recently began using a new fertiliser (a bonsai focus one). I also got a spray of the same brand in an attempt to help it recover but leaves continued to drop. Since the repotting leaves are now wilting as oppose to browning and I’m worried it is dying however the trunk remains green after a scratch test. Also there are buds on the tree that never grew out should they be removed? Any advice on where I went wrong or what I could do to save it?

You gave the answer yourself. It is suffering because it is inside. Having a hardy tree inside is a killer. Get it outside.

I agree with Geoff. You cannot keep temperate trees indoor long term. They will die sooner or later. They need winter dormancy just as you need to sleep.

And for next time trying there are a few rules in bonsai that we tell people over and over:

Never prune an unhealthy tree.
Never repot an unhealthy tree.
And maybe the most important one:
Never fertilize an unhealthy tree.

And yes, a rule we like to repeat for the forum: ask for advice before you interfere with a tree not after. There is no way we can help when the misstakes are already done.

If you are in the nortern hemisphere, winter is over for this time. I doubt it will make until next. But try to get it outdoors in a shaded position. You do not want to push it hard another 6 months, it will empty the last few reserves it has.

Best of luck with your next tree.

Is it a killer due to temperature and wintering? Will it manage after 2 years indoors?

Thank you for your help, I was unaware of these rules as I am new to bonsai and new to the forum, I came here as a last resort. This bonsai was a gift and something I thought was meant to be indoors and when I saw growth I figured it was okay even after research. I will see how it gets on outside from now, thank you for your help. I am intrigued as to how bonsai function and how important dormancy is, are there any books you would recommend on 名媛直播 growth and the science behind it?

I stay firm in my last coment. I doubt it will make it. But there is a slight chanse, so do not give up just yet. Trees are not digital, it is never a yes or no and sometimes they suprice us.

If you want to study tree fysiology, you need to read books about tree fysiology, not about bonsai. Putting them in a pot does not change what they have been evolved into during milions of years.

But to be honest, all you need is to Google trees species+bonsai+care. You do not need to know the fysiology behond it. If you did that when you got the tree, you would not keep it indoors. If you did it first time it got unhealthy the chanse of recovery was better.

Indoors was the first problem, but another is cutting off too much of the root ball. You should not remove more than a third.

The issue with the leaves dying may be that there aren't enough roots to keep them alive. I would put it outside in mostly shade, water frequently, and see if any new leaves come out. This is a long shot, but the alternative is throw it away.

My experience is that Metasequoia can handle very severe root pruning if healthy and done in the right time of the year. I succeded with almost 80% root removal on 4 out of 5 trees in a forest planting. Unfortunattely I lost one, so that gives you an idea of what the limit is.

Tropfrog wrote:

My experience is that Metasequoia can handle very severe root pruning if healthy and done in the right time of the year. I succeded with almost 80% root removal on 4 out of 5 trees in a forest planting. Unfortunattely I lost one, so that gives you an idea of what the limit is.

I am curious how much leaf structure you removed.

My first or second bonsai book back in the 70s said to remove about the same fraction of roots and leaves, to keep balance. Taking out too much roots chokes off the leaves, causing the top to die. Taking off too much leaf structure causes the roots to die since they pick up water that can't transport out of the tree.

Modern practice seems to be exactly the opposite.

They say that a picture sais more than thousends of words. How about a video?



When I look at it now, I realized that the tree that died was the one that I pruned the most.

All cuttings striked, so I have redone the forest with some of them and there are now 7 in the planting.