名媛直播

Hi all,

I just got a beautiful 5 year-old Serissa bonsai today, with the naive hope to rescue it from that nightmare of a place.
It really looked to me like it wasn't being taken care of, not watered and it was stuck under a table in the shade. So I bought it and quickly asked the lady how I could make it better. She appeared to be absolutely ignorant and when I looked online, I found so much contradictory information.

Here's the poor thing (note that it looks OK on camera, but in reality it looks sad and like it's perishing):






First, I'm sure it will lose all its leaves because I'm keeping it in my room and it was in a colder place before.
What I'd like to know is what is the ideal temperature to keep it in winter, my room is well above 15°C of course (generally 20-21°C). Is that really too hot? Should I leave in out in the veranda? Where I live, temperatures right now average 10 to 15°C during the day and about 6-7°C in the lows. Would that be OK?

I read that it will shed all its leaves either way because of the environmental changes...
Any help to save this baby is welcome!

thanks,
BS0D

I've kept several serissas over the years & used to give cuttings to friends as starters. We've found they work really well indoors - more like a tropical than an outdoor tree. I'd keep it indoors for the winter.

My tips for now:
- Check to see if it's root bound by carefully lifting out of the pot. If you've never done before: First: look under the pot for retaining wires first. Cut them if there are - wires hold the plant in the pot. Second: gently lift tree out of pot. If it doesn't give, Third: give the side of the pot a few gentle bumps with your palm to loosen it up, or carefully run a thin butter or putty knife around the edge. Gently lift out. Lastly, check for lots & lots of roots running around the root ball. Yes? It's pot bound.
- This will require future pruning, but it needs to get healthy first. I recommend putting it in a larger pot with good free-draining soil until it's vigor returns. This will take some time, but the tree will thank you. If you are new to bonsai, look up information on proper soil mixtures.
- It can be hard to water indoor trees during winter, so I'd recommend immersing the pot in water until fully soaked. Keep an eye on the tree. Too much water & the tips of leaves go brown. Too little & they wilt. These trees can take some abuse and bounce back, but it's up to you to pay attention.
- A misting spritz of water once a day on the foliage can help with dry indoor conditions.
- Keep it out of direct sun for the first few weeks. I always kept mine in a window, morning sun or afternoon didn't matter.
- When it acclimates & starts growing, you'll have buds & shoots all over the place. They make nice trees, the cuttings root easily, the tiny flowers always made me smile (sometimes called 1000 Star). Outdoor care was always fine late spring to early fall.

Root pruning, repotting, & other bonsai needs can come later when the tree recovers. Hope this helps.

Forgot to add: make sure your larger pot has drainage holes. That's very important. Use window screen or fine mesh against holes to prevent your soil from running out, but you've gotta have good drainage.
- In your watering schedule, soak that soil well when you immerse it. It won't hurt the tree to leave it in the water for an hour or so (it could go a day, but that's ridiculous). The point is to make sure water gets to where it needs to be. The soil is probably very compacted right now, and it will take time to get moisture in some areas.
- No pruning the branches either until healthy.

Hi brkirkland22,

Thanks for the precious advice. So I'll put it in a bigger pot tomorrow and let it shed its leaves. I already know the procedure to change the pot and I'll make sure it has holes for draining.

Tomorrow I'm also going to buy a growing lamp for plants to make sure my bonsais get enough light -- my room is a bit too dark because the window is tiny, and the low winter light definitely doesn't help.

So the process is:

- keep it inside even if it's warmer than the tree is used to (it's considered more of an outside bonsai)
- get a bigger pot to relieve it from its "auto-asphyxiation"
- wait til it grows shoots and buds
- prune roots + growths to shape it (spring?)

Is that correct?

Thanks again

Yup! Spring is always a great time to do your pruning. If may start producing shoots well before, but I'd let it for now. If you're unsure about the root pruning, find someone in your area who can help & show you how.
Best of luck & have fun