dying fukien tea

rico

After repotting both of my Fukien tea trees they tried to die. The one didn't make it and the other one is just holding on. I removed them from the old pot, cleaned the roots very gently, trimmed the roots and placed them in the new pot,wired them in and as I layered in the dirt I would spray water on each layer until there was enough dirt to finish adding. Everything went well for about 3 days and then they tried to die. Did I do something wrong?

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B0N5A1

I dont know if you done anything wrong, but a similar thing is happening to my Fukien Tea at the moment. I repotted mine to get it into better quality soil than the clay it came in. Took it out, used a hose with a bit of pressure to blast out "Most" of the old soil, cleaned the pot, then repoted into akadama.

Reason I said most of the old soil, is because it was recomended to me that you leave some of the old soil in the rootball when repotting so it doesn't get too disturbed. Probably a form of safety net.

A couple of days after repotting, about half of the leaves turned yellow and began falling off, and the rest had a thin, papery texture to them. I was getting really worried about it, but kept a close eye and pulled off any yellowing leaves that emerged over the next couple of days.

I'm hoping its over the worst now, i've kept it out of intense direct sun for long periods of time and its starting to regain some life in its leaves again. I have heard that they can be fussy tree's so maybe you just need to pay extra attention to them?

If anyone else can shed more light, I would like to hear about it too.

rico

Thanks, What you described, yellow leaves, etc. is exactly what mine did. However, It seems that it's going to make it. I hope yours does too.


Rico

babyluv_us

Mine went through the same thing, except the leaves didn't turn yellow- they just started falling off at an alarming rate.

I'm moving it outside tomorrow in hopes of reviving it.

B0N5A1

Make sure it gets light but not too much sun. If anything, it would only need a couple of hours sun a day or they tend to look dried out and wilt. I made the mistake of leaving it on the windowsill all day today, hottest day of the month so far and its looking a bit shrivelled in the leaves but I know the soil is still moist because I watered it yesterday.

Rico, glad to hear yours is on the up, hopefully mine will return to its former glory soon.

tree bender

I had a Fukien Tea tree once. Once.

__________________
Holding pasts in ash black earth
Bound by roots
Roots into sand
Grow towards the giver

babyluv_us

So are you implying that even if I kill my Fukien, I'm not doomed as far as bonsai is concerned?

rico

Thanks to all of you for responding.


Rico

B0N5A1

Yes. I now have a few different tree's and the Fukien is by far one of the most complicated trees. The Serrisa is a close second as it drops it's leaves when it gets a little too cold at night, but picks up again pretty quickly.

From all the tree's I have at the moment, both the Jade and Chinese Elm are the easiest to care for. The elm can bounce back quickly from a lot of things, but the jade requires minimal care. Leave it on a windowsill and water every week to 2 weeks depending how dry and hot it is.

Rico, just thought I would mention. I submerged my Fukien last night (first time since repotting) and you could really hear it drinking the water. Perhaps you can try it with yours too and see if that helps any?