Serissa Foetida questions....

eric

Hello
I recieved a bonsai what I believe is a Serissa (?).
I have it inside in a room of approx. 18 degrees celcius. Water every third day and every second week I dunk the whole pot in the water. It seems to do okay....

Question1: I want to repot, can I do this even now in the winter time? or do I have to wait until spring..?
Question2: Can I devide the plant into two or three new smaller bonsai's?
Question3: How would I go about disquising the heavier tree stumps/trunks..? I don't like the way it looks now...

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated...
Thank you,
Regards,
Eric L. Criens - Nunspeet, Holland

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hack

Hey [i:c672f972b6]eric[/i:c672f972b6],
full newbie here also, so wait 'til the vets post before you make your cuts
re: Q#3: I would imagine, you won't end up wanting to hide the heavier trunk stumps, probably end up highlighting & enhancing them.
Q#2: I would imagine this would divide into several just fine, if you wished.

Again, this is no advise, just me practicing/experimenting/training in me bonsai postings.

lates, good luck,
[i:c672f972b6]hack[/i:c672f972b6] [img:c672f972b6]http://www.theunholytrinity.org/cracks_smileys/contrib/ruinkai/shinner.gif[/img:c672f972b6]

TreeBay

Hi Eric,

It might be a good idea for you and your tree to become accustomed to each other before you take on any drastuc restyling activities.

Serissa is most often grown for its flowers. That may give you a new appreciation for its form once you have seen it in flower. It apperas that your tree might be potted a little high for best appearance, but there is some potential in its multiple trunks for developing a clump style bonsai over time. I don't have any true clumps handy, but this picture of a Schefflera from the TreeBay gallery is similar. This would require thinning some of the growth at the base to develop some more pronounced "trunks" from among the thicket of growth.

Also, please look in the bonsaiTALK Faq on this board with particular attention to the section on watering. Many folks find it hard to grow bonsai indoors, and improper watering is one of the main causes of tree loss. Of course I can't tell for certain, but the tree looks a little dry.

Welcome to the bonsaiTALK forum,

Matt

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eric

Thank you gentlemen,
The picture of the Schefflera is indeed a beautiful solution for this bonsai... Thank you for pointing this design out to me.
Yes it does look a litle dry but it is very hard to water because of its high position in the pot, hence my thought of repotting...
So I guess the tree is indeed a Serissa (I wasn't sure).
I have it now for a month and a half in this colder storage room (18 degrees C.), I did cut back on new growth and the tree only reacted positively to it. Maybe luck. I would like to repot now. What do you think. And do as you suggest, thin out the growth.
Regards,
Eric

eric

I had a boring X-mas so I just repotted my Serissa.
As you can no see on the front and back that it is much lower in the pot.
There were some heavy trunk/roots just sticking down, so I cut those away. The soil was old and with old roots (not from the Serissa) so I think it was a badly 'bonsai'd' tree just for quick sell.
I hope it will withstand the change and cuts. I will let it rest now and wonder if it will flower, as Treebay said.
Then I think in fall I will shape some more on the heavy trunks above.
Like it?

Regards,
Eric L. Criens