HELP!!!! (ref a chinese plum/sageritia(?)

kattinatree

my mum bought me a chinese plum bonsai, but forgot to give it to me!!!!

she knows absolutely nothing about them, and i found it tonight and it looks dead.

apparently it has been there since summer 07, and she left in in direct sunlight and didn't water it!

the earth is bone dry, and all the leaves are yellow, what can i do (if anything) to save it?

i bought another bonsai yesterday, and the instuctions that came with it say that if the soil is dry, you shuld submerge it for a few minutes (which i have just done to the plum)

please help, i really don't want it to die, if it hasnt already

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ElGringo

Use your fingernail to gently scratch away the surface of the bark, on a small area of the trunk. If you see green (these are the cells that carry water and nutrients), then the tree may still be alive. If its dry and brown, then its mostly likely a gonner.

Its always best to water from the top, not submerge. There is a ton of information (use the search function next to 'new posts') about soils and watering, what conditions your tree needs etc. This new tree you bought, do you know what species it is? If not, try and post a picture, someone is sure to know. Good to see another Brit, good luck

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Richard

Wales= RBS 6 nations champions 2008!!!!!

PatArizona

G'day Katt...

Four, five months with no care? Not a chance it's alive. Unless it's rained like every third day.

Pat

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BONSAI isn't about surviving in a storm, rather, how to dance in the rain.
THE ONLY WAY: Always remember, and don't ever forget, that whatever you read here is not cast in concrete... the intent of any advice is to help. In no way should you feel that I’m saying that my way is the only way…heaven forbid! I've seen far too much of the "my way or the highway" attitude in bonsai as well as in other areas of life.

PatArizona

G'day Katt...

"...shuld submerge it..."

ElGringo is right...submerging is mostly a bad thing...don't do it with your new bonsai...

As to watering your new bonsai...

I posted, a few minutes ago, to the thread Need help with my first bonsai, in the Beginner Q&A Forum,a write up on watering.

Check it out...it may help you.

Pat

__________________
BONSAI isn't about surviving in a storm, rather, how to dance in the rain.
THE ONLY WAY: Always remember, and don't ever forget, that whatever you read here is not cast in concrete... the intent of any advice is to help. In no way should you feel that I’m saying that my way is the only way…heaven forbid! I've seen far too much of the "my way or the highway" attitude in bonsai as well as in other areas of life.