My Bonsais don't like me or my house (If U have dial-up, expect a wait...)

BuckyO

Hi there,

I bought two very nice bonsais in a flower shop here nearby (Netherlands), they seemed to know a bit about it, but apparently they didn't know jack about it. One of the plants had an aphid in it and when I returned it and asked more questions about the fact that one of em is throwing off ALL it's leaves, they didn't seem to know anything more about the bonsai trees then me. I'm really a beginner in growing plants, certainly in growing bonsais. Now, they look like they're dying... Not good
I've bought these two plants :


With a lot of looking through the net, I think i have a Carmona microphylla, Fukien Tea that is and a Common Boxwood, don't know the latin name, is this correct?
Next to that they're on a large table right now where it should get the most light in this time of year. It's pretty dark these days now but soon it'll have some sun shiny days (I hope).
I have the plants a bit more then a month now. When I bought them they were full of leaves. The soil doesn't smell bad, if I would have to choose between too moist or dry i'd go for dry , so it can't be from too much water I think.
I've been watering the plants 2 times a week and been spraying them 2 times a week, should I change this to whenever the soil feels dry? And should I emerge the pot fully in water once a week, once a month?
I know I need to go read up some more on Bonsai and maybe even join a Bonsai for beginners class, but I really don't have the time right now and I don't want my Bonsais to die
Plz tell me if I'm doing the right things and if I can have any hope of them not dying completely...
Thx in advance

Bucky

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anttal63

hey pal how you doin, if you have had your trees indoors for a month there's 1 reason. 2nd you should water when ever dry (all most dry). im not sure about you weather zones, i would guess the fukien could be finicky outside its tropical zone. the common box would do better outside, again you need to check your weather zones and create some protections if snow wind and ice. we have some people from your neck of the woods on this forum that could help you out

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BuckyO

Yo, thx for the reply. So i'm right I have the common box and the fukien tea? Could you acknowledge that judging by the photos?

I'm afraid outside wouldn't be a great plan I think, it's pretty cold outside now. Wasn't the minimum temperature of the trees around 15 degrees?

Thx

MelloBonsai

The first one looks like it might be a fukien tea. If the picture was less fuzzy I could say for sure. They second photo kind of like a ficus more than a japanese boxwood.

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BuckyO

Yeah, th eproblem with the fuziness is that I had to make the pic with my camera of my phone. The software for my ixus doesn't work on 64 bit and i still need to install 32 bit next to 64 bit... (nerdtalk)

Anyhow,
I think your right on both of them. Fukien tea and the other a ficus. Both don't have flowers or berries on em right?

So, what could be the problem of them dying a bit?
The fact they're indoor? Or not enough watering?

lehket

I don't have any experience with the fukien tea, and I'm currently working with my first ficus (which actually isn't mine, but I've been charged with it for awhile). Two things to keep in mind:

1. Indoors is always much darker than you think it is, so indoor trees generally need to be given more light than you think they will. Some species of ficus do well in darker conditions, from what I understand, but nearly all of them do better with a lot of light. If you can set up an area with a grow light, the trees will undoubtedly benefit from it.

2. Indoors is generally less humid than outdoors, so attention needs to be given to watering/misting to make sure the trees don't dry out completely. The general rule of thumb is to water when the top inch of soil feels dry. One trick I picked up that can help is to stick a bamboo skewer into the soil and leave it there. You can then check it daily (using it as a dipstick) to see how the soil lower in the pot is doing.

Another consideration is the soil. Often bonsai bought from vendors that don't specialize in bonsai will be planted in inappropriate soil with decorative rocks glued on the top. I can't tell from the photos if that's the case with yours, but if rocks are glued on the top, it's important to remove them as soon as possible. They tend to prevent water from getting down into the soil. At the appropriate time for the species, repotting in good bonsai soil may improve the tree's chances. I had to do this with the ficus I'm caring for. After repotting it dropped all the leaves from some lower inside branches, but overall it's seemed to do well even though I don't have ideal light conditions for it.

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MelloBonsai

Fukien tea can produce berries and flowers. They need to be in a very bright room if you keep them indoors. Being by an east or west exposure window will help with that, but getting a nice fluorescent grow light would also help. What kind of soil is it in?

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Ronny73

Hello BuckyO,

I´m not shure if the tree on Your 1st pic is a CARMONA MICROPHYLLA (aka Fukien Tea, aka ehretia buxifolia).
Please make some more detailled photos of leaves, branches and buds.

I have a superb CARMONA and some helpul care instructions.

BuckyO

here are some more pics, can you define what species of bonsai I have now?
Next to that, they told me to clean the leaves with a bit of milk, is that a good plan?