Pink Flowering Serissa needs help

Fred-4-U

Thats my question too,


How long does it take before the tree recaptures ?


Fred

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BonsaiGreenhorn

it took about 1 - 2 weeks, once you have everything right its great to see new leaves forming and flowers blooming. These are really great bonsai even though theyre picky, just gotta have the conditions right.

-Evan

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dannecgf

In emergency situations, put it in a clear plastic bag and put it near a window. The humidity will help it recover. They love humity and it will really help it.

jguyett

You live in Florida, the serrisa should be outside all year around, they cannot take AC. Yes they were developed as an indoor bonsai, but that was in England and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, both of which are just a tad colder than Florida.

Now then. It the leaves are turning brown your probably have a fungal infection. Unpot the tree and check the root growth, it should be white with plenty of if fine hair like new shoots. If it is brown and slimy, you need to use a good quality anti fungal, i.e. Benomyl, or eq. since it has been withdrawn from the market. They like to be moist, but not wet, a fine balance point.

You don't say whether or not it is a variegated leaf. Serrisa's can withstand a frost, even a freeze, as long as their roots do not freeze. This is a sub tropical, not a fully tropical. Some times they will drop all their leaves because you have done something to upset them. This leaf drop will cause the leaves to turn yellow, continue to care for the tree and it will come back.

For the best color on your blossoms try just morning sunlight, they tend to bleach out if exposed to afternoon sun.

jg

BonsaiGreenhorn

Thanks for the info jg. Since december this serissa has been going pretty good. Ive fugred it out i believe.

thanks
-Evan

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jguyett

I have five cultivars of Serrisa's in my collection, in various stages of growth. They are the base specie, the white single, the white double (my personal favorite, a white variegated, violet variegated and a violet single blossom. The latter being the most finicky of the crew.

Root rot seems to be the most prevalent problem. This I cause myself by planting in a less than free draining mixture. Experimented with a ProMix, uncut with sand or clay and it was just too heavy. A premptive annual drench with an anti fungal such as benomyl (if you can find it) or Thiomyl does the trick nicely.

The serrisa is pretty much immune to bugs, they take one bite and leave, and lord knows we do have the bugs here in East Tennessee.

I am sure this will be cause for arguing, but I consider the serrisa to be far superior to the Fukien Tea as a bonsai that will survive inside. It is not as delicate as the Tea, you can with proper back pruning keep it blossoming from March to December, leaves are smaller and proportional. I have a very nice fukien tea purchased on eBay from a gentlman in Florida. It is almost speciman grade, but the short blossoming period cannot compare with the serrisa's profusion of blooms.

Good luck and save those cuttings.

jg

BonsaiGreenhorn

Heres a pic of the leaves/flowers earlier in the year around january I believe.

-Evan

Attached Images

SerissaBlooms1-27-05.JPG (60.9 KB, 20 views)

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