Please Help!!

bonsaigrl

I got my bonsai about a month ago and it has been steadily declining in health. I water it about once a day, with a mister for the past two weeks and out of a glass before then. It sits on my windowsill facing west inside for sunlight from dawn to dusk usually. The leaves are wilting and are hard to the touch and fall off when you touch them. I have seen a few really small gnat type insects around my plant, but none of my leaves appear to be chewed on. I don't know what to do since I am a beginner and don't even know what type of bonsai it is. I got it as a gift. PLEASE help me to save it! Does it need less water? more water? pruning? more sunlight? less sunlight? Any suggestions will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you!

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Nerfgunn

It looks like an azalea. You need to keep it outside first. Azalea dont grow indoors. Second, your probably overwatering it. And third, dont spray the leaves, if that is what you are doing. Water it at the base.

-Justin

redhawkbonsai

BonsaiGrl

Fill in your personal info as much as you can, or @ the very least tell us what area you’re from.
It’s kind of difficult to give advice if we don’t know the area/continent/hemisphere you live in.
It wouldn’t be a good idea to put it outdoors if you live in an area that’s still getting ARTIC weather.
Going from one extreme to another (indoors/outdoors), this would shock it even more.

It does look like you have been over watering it. Don’t feel bad we have ALL over watered before.
The gnats are living in the soggy soil.

IMHO The best and immediate advice that I recommend to do would be to,

1) Without disturbing the roots, tap off as much of the soil as you can.

2) Put in a slightly larger pot and surround it with fresh soil to recover.

3) Water it only when it needs to be watered (search this site on H2O techniques)

4) Treat for your problem in the rest of the soil/roots (see below).

I recommend Orthenex Insecticide (insecticide, mite-icide and fungicide all in 1)
it should control your insect and soil problems. Read, Use and follow the label!

Make sure you use this in and area you are not going to stay in.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...G=Google+Search


Indoor bonsai is difficult the do and even harder to master.
I would recommend getting an indoor bonsai book by Paul Lesniewicz

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...G=Google+Search


Good luck, redhawk

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lagunamadre

BonsaiGrl. You're going to get some conflicting advice from people trying to help. In our defense, it's hard to diagnose over the internet. From everything I've read, the leading cause of bonsai death is underwatering, and #2 is overwatering. The problem is that the end result is the same. You may very well have overwatered it, but you said the leaves were dry and brittle? You mentioned watering with a mister? Misters are not for watering. At best, they allow the open pores in the leaves to close, supposedly to conserve or add moisture. What misting is good for is washing these pores clean so they can do their job. Watering NEEDS to be done thru the roots. At this point in time you need to diagnose it yourself. You could carefully remove the plant from the pot to see if the soil is wet or dry, or you could insert the sharp end of a pencil to the bottom of the soil, wait a few minutes and remove to see if it's damp. If it's damp, you may have overwatered to the point of killing the roots. If so , it's probably not going to live. If the soil is dry, I would submerge the whole pot in water until bubbles stop comming up. NOT a good way to water but in an emergency case, you need to act now. The wilted leaves are history. Perhaps new leaves will sprout in a few weeks. Hope this helps. Larry

redhawkbonsai

BonsaiGrl:

The fungus gnats live in damp soil. Treat the insect infestation accordingly, get rid of the bad soil and act quickly as we are advising, that is if you want the best possibility to have your tree survive.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...G=Google+Search

I agree with Larry that it is very possible that you went from over watering to under watering, by watering with a “glass then with a mister”. Only you can determine this.

Good luck

red Gnat’ hawk

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redhawkbonsai

Larry:

WS me casa, 30th okiedokie w/ya?
Say 3ish to dark:30, u can come earlier if'n ya wanna.
y'all, SA or Capital people ok2...

redhawk

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mor

you are over watering it. once aday!

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Aguide to bonsai and tomato gardening.
http://www.gardening-tips-idea.com
http://www.babyscrapbooking-ideas.com

redhawkbonsai

BonsaiGrl has not been on since she posted this thread... I guess we scared her away ;(

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bonsaigrl

Thank you so much for your helpful comments!! Sorry I have not replied until now but I was on vacation and only just got back tonight. I will test the soil in the morning to see if it is damp to determine if it is over or underwatered and will head out to get something for the little gnats living in the soil first thing tomorrow. I live in the Denver, CO area and don't know if it would be a good idea to put it outside right now since there is still always the chance of snow this early in the year. Once it is warmer and summertime could it live outside? An open window and some sunshine will have to do for now I guess!