Fukien tea in trouble

mwaldron

I have had a Fukien tea since January. It has been doing ok indoors with some new growth here and there. The leaves are all green but seem hard and brittle, is this the characteristic of the tree? I had to be out of town for almost two weeks and left the tree in care of my roommate. I repotted the tree about a week before I left and added a grow light to the room because this room does not get much light. I did this to a ficus tree that is right beside it to save it and it worked wonders for this tree. I returned from my trip and the dirt was bone dry and now leaves are dropping off the tree quite rapidly. Are any or all of these things enough to kill the tree? Did I change too much at once by repotting and adding the light? Is the light too much for the Fukien tea? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I love this tree! Thanks in advance.

Matthew

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Joanie

If the dirt was bone dry right after repotting, your roommate probably killed the tree. Don't overwater now, just keep the soil moist. The damaged roots will rot if you keep the soil too wet. Otherwise, leave the tree alone. That's your only hope.

Joanie

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RedPine

Take a small sample of your tree or scrape away some bark area and look for green colour in the cambium layer. Chances are it's not dead yet, if the cambium is still green then give the tree a big drink of water and get it into some better light, wouldnt bother with full sun right away but bright filtered light will really help.Give it a couple of weeks keeping the soil watered just as it it starts to go dry and watch for new leafs to break. And last but not least do not go on vacation with out providing safe arrangments for your trees to live while your away.

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mwaldron

I have been watering as normal and the scratch test revealed green under the bark. Some of the smaller outer branches are not so lucky and have already turned brown. Should I go ahead and trim them off? Should I fertilize the plant as normal? It is time on the normal 2 week schedule. Thanks for all the info!

P.S. I would trust my roommate with my life, he is a dear friend, that's why I entrusted my plants with him. Obviously, I'll have to make different arrangements next time!

Matthew

Sohei

You might entrust your life to your roommate, but I wouldn't trust my trees with this individual anymore. Fukien Tea are temperamental and my guess is it is a goner.

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Progress might have been all right once, but it's gone on too long.

mwaldron

Learned my lesson the hard way huh. Keep your fingers crossed..........