名媛直播

Dear Member of the Forum,
Greetings from sunny Budapest! We are Giulia and Darek, the owners of a very unfortunate carmona.
This is our first bonsai, we bought it last October. At the shop they told us if was 45 years old, and this is what it looked like: plenty of leaves, moss... beautiful!



During the winter most of the leaves fell, and it had some aphids under the leaves that we treated with a spray and by showering it. It took a while, but finally they disappeared, however the leaves did not grow back the way they were before.
In the meantime, the moss died and was replaced on and off by a whitish thing.

For some months, we watered it every two days by immersing it in a tub of water: we learned later that it is not a good practice, so now we water it when the soil is slightly dry. Also, we kept it in a bright room at approximately 20 C, with no direct light; I understand now that instead the carmona needs more direct light.
About a month ago, when the temperatures started to rise (30-33 day, 20 night indoors), the tree started to lose more leaves. I read that it happens when it's too hot, as the tree goes in a half-dormant state, but now they are almost all gone...
In order to dry out the whitish moss, we placed it on the balcony for a while, we hoped that the sun and some rain would help, but instead even more leaves turned yellow and fell.
We are quite worried that a combination of bad practices is hurting our Carmona. Can you please help us?
A few ideas that may or may not be good:
- Should we repot it now? but I read that it's better to wait until the end of winter (no idea when it was last repotted)
- Should we trim it considerably, in order to "concentrate" the growth on the healthy branches?
- How do I recognize the healthy branches?

Thank you very much for your time and attention!

hi, and welcome.

Were this my tree, I would take it out of the current pot and place it in a larger pot, without disturbing th roots. use a regular potting soil and -take carefull care of it. Not a lot of hope that you canswin it around though

You are correct that a series of bad practices has nearly killed this tree. Seems it died from the top down, the last branch living off the last reserves of the tree.
I agree with LB that it is quite unlikely that this tree will survive. Seems everything above the first branch is dead already, so even if it lives, it will take years - and skills - to redesign it.

I doubt this tree is 45 years old. 7-9 years seems more likely.

This is quite a good looking tree for your first. I have to say I'm slightly jealous.
In my experience with carmona, that is what dead branches look like, so the tree will need a lot of care. I would stop moving the tree around and just leave it somewhere warm without a draft. It's good to know that you're watering at the right time, but some people advise against submerging the pot to water plants. I can't remember why, though, so if someone else could explain, that would be great.

I would also advise slip-potting as Leatherback suggested, but only if the tree needs it. lift it gently out of its pot and see if the roots are starting to swirl around the pot. If not, leave it alone.

Also, I do not agree with the vendor that your tree is 45 years old.

Ed

名媛直播Learner wrote: I would also advise slip-potting as Leatherback suggested, but only if the tree needs it. lift it gently out of its pot and see if the roots are starting to swirl around the pot. If not, leave it alone.

I think this plant needs some fresh, clean, soil, so I would repot it anyway, as LB suggested.

Do you have a bonsaiclub somewhere in your area? You might be able to find someone who is able and willing to nurse the plant back to health. It does require someone with a green thumb to make this live; Exact steps are hard to give, because you really have to 'listen' to the tree.

Dear All, Thank you so much for all your answers! It's great to see such a helpful community.
We will try to repot on Saturday, in a bigger vase, with fresh soil.
Do you recommend any special fertilizer in this delicate moment?
Does it make sense to prune dead branches?
Wow, we got quite a scam from that shop Thank you for suggesting the bonsai club, I will look it up!

Giulia wrote: We will try to repot on Saturday, in a bigger vase, with fresh soil.

Good. Just remember to not touch the roots so that the tree will recover easier.

Giulia wrote: Do you recommend any special fertilizer in this delicate moment?

Do NOT fertilize a sick tree.

Giulia wrote: Does it make sense to prune dead branches?

Just leave it alone. It may look ugly, but you don't want to accidentally damage the living part of the tree while it isn't healthy enough to recover.

Giulia wrote: Does it make sense to prune dead branches?
Wow, we got quite a scam from that shop Thank you for suggesting the bonsai club, I will look it up!

Don't prune untill you know for sure what is dead and what not. Just leave it alone.
I am not sure blaming the store is fair. Or do you feel that the comment that the tree was probably 40+ years is a scam? Would you not have liked the plant if they told you it is between 10 and 20 years old?

Before you repot, make sure you cut any retaining wires under the pot. You might rip the roots if you're unaware they're wired in.

名媛直播Learner wrote: It's good to know that you're watering at the right time, but some people advise against submerging the pot to water plants. I can't remember why, though, so if someone else could explain, that would be great.