名媛直播

I bought this Fukien 名媛直播 Plant (Carmona) over a month ago. This is the first picture taken. It was in a little bit of bad shape and kept having leaves falling off the first few days until we realized that the plant needed to be in a warmer area:



Long story short, after moving the plant upstairs where it's warmer and easier access to the sun along with consistent watering and some plant food,it now looks like this:







I noticed it has gained more leaves since repotting, and the leaves at the very bottom increased a little and I read up that it can indicate that something is wrong. Also the fact that the leaves had grown a lot bigger--does this also indicate a lack of nutrients? I try to water when the soil goes dry or at least once every few days with consistent misting during the day. Could it be too much?

I get mixed results on Google, so I figured to create an account to ask on this forum since it's for bonsai trees.

(For those wondering, yes, this username is inspired by the name I had even given this bonsai--Joey.)

I'm not really familiar with this species.. but what are your summers like? are they long? do you have somewhere where the tree could go outside in the summer.. that would really help with growth.. it did with the tropical and sub-tropical trees I had..?

tubaboy wrote:

I'm not really familiar with this species.. but what are your summers like? are they long? do you have somewhere where the tree could go outside in the summer.. that would really help with growth.. it did with the tropical and sub-tropical trees I had..?

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Thank you for your reply.

I had it uprooted again to check for any possible pests, which thankfully there doesn't seem to be any.

I am however wondering if there is root rot. From these photos, can it be seen on whether if that's the case?

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The first photo has the trunk looking a bit paler than the rest of the tree...

I'm worried if maybe I am over watering, and consequently as you stated, it may need more direct sunlight from outside. To answer the question, it isn't summer yet but it is early spring. I plan to get a net for it to be protected from outside pests and wildlife and hopefully the warmer weather comes around in a month or so.

I think the tree bloomed along with white flowers the way it had due to the warmer temperature our central heat provided and consistent misting. But now I don't see as many flowers blooming, which led me to inspect it and seeing if whether if I am harming the tree without realizing it.

Stop taking it out of the pot!!! Leave it alone, it is very difficult to overwater, so it is unlikely. There does not look anything wrong with the roots. Water when the soil is almost dry, then water thoroughly.

Most animals are pretty resilient and can stand a lot of disruption in day to day life. Plants mostly are not. They have learned over the millenia to go with the flow of yearly temperature cycles but they have evolved the expectation that their roots are kept in this the ground and the little bitty hair roots aren't bothered. No matter what happens above ground the roots can find their place in the soil and soil conditions don't change.

You can take the roots out of the soil and replace the soil once a year but they need time for the hair roots to find their places again. If it is experiencing root rot you can smell it without disrupting the roots. What you may be seeing is shock from removing the soil. The only fix for that is leave it alone.

Honest feedback it was. So here it comes: After you have killed this one, do not give up. Carmonas is notoriously hard to keep alive in temperate regions and most people, even experienced bonsai keepers fails.

Next time, do not buy a bonsai. Buy a few cheap locally hardy garden center materials and make them bonsai. After all bonsai is an art and you are the artist.

In short: you started the journey in the totally wrong way. The same way most people start, but still wrong.

Oh, yes. Get a good book and start to study the art.?

I'll leave it for a few days and see what happens.

What book(s) would be best recommended for beginners?

I will modify Topfrog's advice slightly.? Don't buy a bonsai from a store that has lots of other things and only has a sign saying bonsais.

But, do buy from the local bonsai society that is having a show. They will usually have lots of prebonsais for cheap prices and older for relatively low prices.

If there is a bonsai specialist store around that would also be a good buy, but there aren't a lot of those.