Poorly Serissa

sammy_graves

Hi, I bought a Serissa from work around October and I read a whole book on bonsai and hope I picked a good one. It was doing great until November when I went on holiday for just less then a week. I was very silly and gave it extra water as I knew I couldnt get anyone else to look after it properly. I get back off holiday and its looking a bit poorly. So I read up on watering it and always check the soil to make sure im watering it when it needs it. But my poor bonsai tree seems to be getting worse. I live in england and I think its too cold to place it outside so it lives near my windowsill until its a bit wamer. Please help me, I have bonsai food i feed it every 3 - 4 weeks and I tried pruning off the bare branches back to fresh growth to get rid of the dead twiggy parts but it seems to be getting worse! I've attached a picture.

One other thing ive noticed, it hasnt flowered since november but Ive noticed this little furry white things, are they flowers? Mold? Some sort of weird life form?

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Joanie

The little furry white things ARE some sort of creature, they are either wooly aphids or something else nasty. Wipe them off as best you can. Serissas are one of the most difficult trees to keep alive, and we rave here all the time about selling serissas to beginners because they cause heartache and make people give up on bonsai. It's like giving up driving because you can't handle a race car your first time out.

First, serissas need lots of light when grown indoors. You may have to rig a fluorescent light above the tree to give it enough light to grow. It's too cold in England for the tree to go outside right now, that's probably true.

It's also usually too dry inside of a house. Trees need humidity. Especially if it is near a heat source. You can help this a little bit by filling that tray you have it in, with a coarse sand, and then sitting the serissa on top. Don't let the serissa sit in the water, but keep the sand wet. You could even raise the tree slightly above the sand with little pebbles or something. The idea is to keep moisture IN THE AIR right around the tree.

Finally, don't water too much, and stop feeding it. If the roots are unhealthy they will get harmed further by the fertilizers. Wait until you see new growth for a while, before feeding it again.

Make sure that the drain holes on the bottom of the pot are not covered by something. Water should run out freely when you do water. Which will only be when it needs it.

Good luck, and let us know if you need further information (like about rigging the lighting if you decide to do that) and next time we'll be glad to help you choose a tree that will live better for you! There are also good bonsai nurseries in England, as well as clubs to join. Clubs are great for beginners (and anyone) because they help you with local growing information..

Oh, and I'm a beginner too, so all of this information is garnered from reading and paying attention. So if anyone has better advice, and more experience, perhaps you will get another perspective.

Joanie

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"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,
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soonami

I have a couple serissa and when they get finicky like this, I try to let to go as long as possible without water, like until the leaves just start to droop, and then when I water again, they seem to do loads better.

Also, serissa need a lot of light to stay healthy and they like the soil warm. Just some things to keep in mind

sammy_graves

Thanks so much for the advice This is a really helpful site. Ill make sure to get rid of the furry things straight away. And Ill try the sand technique though the light thing would be nearly impossible for me to do atm.

As soon as I can find a new pot to plant it in I plan on repotting with better soil as I heard bonsai's bought from shops are planted in soil that becomes compacted and means the water either sits at the roots causing rot or its even too tight to let the water in. But I have another question how big a pot do i need? There arnt roots coming out the bottom of the pot but I dont want to buy a pot and have to buy a bigger one quite quickly.

Keep the advice coming, I was told these plants were easy to take care of and I fell in love with it the day it came into the shop so I want it to survive!

Joanie

When you repot, you could use the same pot and trim the roots, or you could go a little bit bigger all around. You can also trim the tree more when you know that it will live. (Not now, however tempting it is. Let it get healthy) We can help you with soil. Take a little time to search online for bonsai nurseries and clubs in your area. They will be a great resource for you, because local materials and local needs vary.

Joanie

__________________
"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,
'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" ~ Dave Barry

Mcspeed

I have a bunch of Serissa trees in various stages of developement, usually if you over water you start to see the leaves start to get bigger in size as compared to the "norm", but you don't see this immediately. I would say aphids are probably your main issue here. My opine though is that Serissa is one of the easiest to work with. One Thing to point out is to leave a stub when you prune, they can die back a good amount when cut, and you might loose some branches if not careful. They do come back wonderfully though if you can stop the problems. These propagate very easily too, stick your trimmings into sand and they will root and grow well.

While they are inside, I agree you need a lot of light to keep it from getting leggy, i use a florescent fixture over the top, with the table in front of a window. Good Luck!


Bill

sammy_graves

Hi again, from reading up about bugs and diseases it sounds like I have:

Cuckoo spit is evident by globules of white froth on the surface of leaves and stems. Inside the froth are larvae known as froghoppers, these feed on the sap of plants in the same way as aphids do, causing dieback and distortion of growth. Cuckoo spit can be removed by hand and by insecticide.

But is this the only possibility? It would make sense since there now seems to be patches of bonsai with no leaves and the leaves are all brown tipped and curled I love this bonsai and I dont want it to die!

Is there any other possibilities it could be and is there any other method i should look into to get rid of these horrid creatures!

3069James

someone on another sight got these and all they did was knock off the spit every time they appear and after awhile they'll be gone i would'nt use insecticide on a sick tree another thing pull out the rootball and see what it smells like if it smells bad you have root rot if it smells like dirt they're o.k.

rockm

Has the tree been kept outdoors? Cuckoo spit is unlikely to develop on a tree kept inside.

The more likely answer is root rot.