Dying Hawaiian Umbrella Tree

hilarysm1

I know these are sopposed to be the easy trees for beginners and it was going very well up to a few days ago. I bought the tree about a year ago at a small bonsai store in my hometown. Well a few days ago i noticed that the end of the bracnches where the leaves grow are all black and the leaves are turning brown and it just does not look good. the tree had been right in the window and i thought it might be to cold (Jan in Michigan) it is getting the same amount of light it always did and watering has not changed.

I don't want my tree to dye it was doing so well do you have any idea what might be wrong and what i can do to help it??

Thanks
Hilary

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Bonsai-gecko

First off, the species you have is from Hawaii. While I usually laugh at people who move there subtropical trees away from windows (and essentially starve their trees) because they are concerend it might be too cold for them, in your case you may want to double check that there isn't a draft coming from the window. Don't move it far, just check for a draft and if there is one move it back a tad. Your tree is a true tropical, and the average low temperature in Hawaii stays above 60 degrees.



Actually Hilary those two statements could be wrong. The intensity of the light coming in from the window may appear the same, but in winter in the northern hemisphere it isn't. More importantly... the amount of light it recieves overall HAS changed as the days are shorter this time of year. Which brings me to the main point of this post.

Sounds like your overwatering. Its the most common way to kill a bonsai, especially for beginners. With the colder temperatures and lower light levels your trees demand for water has dropped dramatically. If you are still watering it the same as you have been all year, then you are definitly overwatering. Umbrella trees actually do prefer the soil slightly on the dry side even though they are tropcal trees. Any bonsai should only be watered when the soil or tree appears to need it, and never on a set schedule.

I don't know if its too late to save your tree or not. This species roots very easily, so you may want to consider an emergency repot. Remove the tree and all the soil from the roots. Cut off any roots that appear black/rotten/smell/dead and repot in fresh soil. Then put it in a warm spot with good light and water only when the tree needs it and it will hopefully quickly recover. After repotting I'd also remove any dead leaves and dying branch tips too. They will just block light from hitting the good areas of the plant, and can be a source of plant infections.


What ever you do... DO NOT FERTILIZE this plant until it fully recovers.

Hope I could be of some help.

hilarysm1

thank you so much i will get right on fixing those things

Hilary