i received my first and only bonsai two years ago, a healthy azalea in a ceramic pot (approx. 9x15cm pot). tons of beautiful flowers that year, bloomed twice. cleaned out all dead flowers that fell. supplemented soil with
this soil on top and around as the root ball became compacted slowly over time with watering. i water diligently and
fertilizer or use
vitamins maybe once a month or less, alternating. i do not feel that i overwater, but then again i'm a newbie.
bonsai repotted into 13x19 plastic pot about a year ago. placed on sunny kitchen windowill (shady during most of the day, a few hours of sunlight in the afternoon). read a beginner's book that said pruning was necessary. pruned several branches around sides. no paste.
ever since then, the bonsai looks sick. leaves less dark (not evergreen, but light green). many brown dead, crackly leaves, always falling off. constantly, leaves turn brown and fall off. some leaves are half green, half brown. many of the pruned branch tips NEVER grew back! bark looks dry?
about 8 months ago, noticed tiny white insects in soil. purchased bonsai pesticide spray from
this store ('not harmful to plants'). seems to work, but not 100% certain all bugs are gone. went to a bonsai store to ask; store owner said they looked like 'tree mites'. (they look like tiny white rice)
the root ball (base of plant) is very compact. during repotting tried to comb out roots a bit to aerate, but really really hard, not sure if that would harm roots if i forced the ball to separate. worried that root ball is not getting enough oxygen?
repotted again 6 months ago. bonsai revived, with some very dark green leaves for a few weeks. now it has again taken a turn for the worse!
this is a
healthy photo of when my bonsai was much much healthier in appearance.
click the links below to see photos of my poor azalea bonsai...help! *cry
leaves1
leaves2
trunk
leaves3