[IBC] sudden increase of leaf loss of our fukien tree

David Soukal

Hello,

I just wanted to ask somebody with experience in growing Fukien trees
for an advice. We noticed sudden increase in the rate with which the
tree loses its leaves. We were surprised by that because - to our best
knowledge - nothing has changed in the way we care for the tree...

We water the plant as required (never letting it to dry out completely
nor leaving to stand in water) as we always did. We feed it regularly.
We fought and killed (with help of this community) the mealy bugs that
attacked it.

But recently, the number of leaves on the floor has increased. If I
blow a little bit of air from my mouth on the tree, there will be
several leaves - seemingly healthy - that fall off. It seems as if the
leaves were not hanging tight onto the branch... they will fall off
easily on touch. (Not all of them though.) There were always leaves
that would fall off but these seemed dead and dry. The new ones and
young and green.

I also think that all the leaves are little bit lighter that they used
to be. Though they are still green not yellowish.

But then again, the tree still has many dark, lush leaves. It still
grows buds and has fruit as it always did. Overall, it seems to be
doing fine.

We didn't notice anything odd otherwise. No parasites, no physical
damage. We haven't moved or repotted the tree. We did prune it a
little bit.

The only thing I can think of as a culprit is that the weather hasn't
been that good lately. We had a lot of cloudy days with colder
temperature (but still about 70).

We were just being curious whether this is reaction to the weather
change only or a symptom of something else/worse (under/overfeeding,
too little/much watering...).

Thank you for any comments!

David & (Eva)

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Isom, Jeff , EM, PTL

What did you use to "cure" the mealy bug problem?

Jeff Isom
Cleveland, OH / Sunset Zone 39

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Dad

Fukien tea does tend to drop leaves occasionally. I wouldn't worry about
it, unless two other possibilities occur:
1. It has not been transplated in the past two years.
2. It is kept indoors.
Although it is tropical, it should be kept outdoors all summer.
Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Soukal" <david.soukal@GMAIL.COM>
To: <BONSAI@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 12:55 PM
Subject: [IBC] sudden increase of leaf loss of our fukien tree


> Hello,
>
> I just wanted to ask somebody with experience in growing Fukien trees
> for an advice. We noticed sudden increase in the rate with which the
> tree loses its leaves. We were surprised by that because - to our best
> knowledge - nothing has changed in the way we care for the tree...
>
> We water the plant as required (never letting it to dry out completely
> nor leaving to stand in water) as we always did. We feed it regularly.
> We fought and killed (with help of this community) the mealy bugs that
> attacked it.
>
> But recently, the number of leaves on the floor has increased. If I
> blow a little bit of air from my mouth on the tree, there will be
> several leaves - seemingly healthy - that fall off. It seems as if the
> leaves were not hanging tight onto the branch... they will fall off
> easily on touch. (Not all of them though.) There were always leaves
> that would fall off but these seemed dead and dry. The new ones and
> young and green.
>
> I also think that all the leaves are little bit lighter that they used
> to be. Though they are still green not yellowish.
>
> But then again, the tree still has many dark, lush leaves. It still
> grows buds and has fruit as it always did. Overall, it seems to be
> doing fine.
>
> We didn't notice anything odd otherwise. No parasites, no physical
> damage. We haven't moved or repotted the tree. We did prune it a
> little bit.
>
> The only thing I can think of as a culprit is that the weather hasn't
> been that good lately. We had a lot of cloudy days with colder
> temperature (but still about 70).
>
> We were just being curious whether this is reaction to the weather
> change only or a symptom of something else/worse (under/overfeeding,
> too little/much watering...).
>
> Thank you for any comments!
>
> David & (Eva)
>
>
************************************************** **************************
****
> ++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
>
************************************************** **************************
****
> >>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
> +++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
************************************************** ******************************
>>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++

David Soukal

Hello,

we haven't repotted the tree yet. But we do keep it indoors. This is
our first bonsai and the book we bought said that it should be kept
inside, since it is, supposedly, sensitive to draft. Also, we don't
have garden, since we live in an appartment...

We could buy some extra light and / or open the windows more.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that we removed about a half inch
of the soil from the top and replaced it with another one. The reason
why we did that was that the soil was full of rotting leaves and
flowers... Only later, we found out that the soil we purchased doesn't
probably have the right composition. It was about 70% of fired clay
and only about 25% of pine soil. I noticed that this layer probably
prevents the rest of the soil from breathing so it's possible the we
kept that plant overwatered for a several hours.. Could that be the
reason?

For now, the plant seems to be doing OK. Its berries are even bigger
and tend to ripe to light red color. The berries we used to see drier
very fast...

I noticed several black spots on a few bigger leaves. It can only be
seen from under, so I hope it's not the spiders or other parasites

Thanks for your help!

David







haberm@OPTONLINE.NET (Dad) wrote in message news:<000701c47010$1ff5b300$fcc12f18@computer>...
> Fukien tea does tend to drop leaves occasionally. I wouldn't worry about
> it, unless two other possibilities occur:
> 1. It has not been transplated in the past two years.
> 2. It is kept indoors.
> Although it is tropical, it should be kept outdoors all summer.
> Marty
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Soukal" <david.soukal@GMAIL.COM>
> To: <BONSAI@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
> Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 12:55 PM
> Subject: [IBC] sudden increase of leaf loss of our fukien tree
>
>
> > Hello,
> >
> > I just wanted to ask somebody with experience in growing Fukien trees
> > for an advice. We noticed sudden increase in the rate with which the
> > tree loses its leaves. We were surprised by that because - to our best
> > knowledge - nothing has changed in the way we care for the tree...
> >
> > We water the plant as required (never letting it to dry out completely
> > nor leaving to stand in water) as we always did. We feed it regularly.
> > We fought and killed (with help of this community) the mealy bugs that
> > attacked it.
> >
> > But recently, the number of leaves on the floor has increased. If I
> > blow a little bit of air from my mouth on the tree, there will be
> > several leaves - seemingly healthy - that fall off. It seems as if the
> > leaves were not hanging tight onto the branch... they will fall off
> > easily on touch. (Not all of them though.) There were always leaves
> > that would fall off but these seemed dead and dry. The new ones and
> > young and green.
> >
> > I also think that all the leaves are little bit lighter that they used
> > to be. Though they are still green not yellowish.
> >
> > But then again, the tree still has many dark, lush leaves. It still
> > grows buds and has fruit as it always did. Overall, it seems to be
> > doing fine.
> >
> > We didn't notice anything odd otherwise. No parasites, no physical
> > damage. We haven't moved or repotted the tree. We did prune it a
> > little bit.
> >
> > The only thing I can think of as a culprit is that the weather hasn't
> > been that good lately. We had a lot of cloudy days with colder
> > temperature (but still about 70).
> >
> > We were just being curious whether this is reaction to the weather
> > change only or a symptom of something else/worse (under/overfeeding,
> > too little/much watering...).
> >
> > Thank you for any comments!
> >
> > David & (Eva)
> >
> >
> ************************************************** **************************
> ****
> > ++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
> >
> ************************************************** **************************
> ****
> > >>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
> > +++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++
>
> ************************************************** ******************************
> ++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
> ************************************************** ******************************
> >>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
> +++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++

David Soukal

Hello,

we didn't use any chemicals bought it store. Somebody from this group
has recommened us to use a solution consisting of distilled water, a
spoon of cooking oil and soap withouth frangance. Finally before
spraying, we were recommended to add a spoon of alcohol, which we did.

We tried this "potion" on a few leaves first and since it didn't seem
to do any harm, after a few day, we covered the soil and spray the
whole foliage. We repeated that two times in week intervals.

The tree seemed to prosper and we haven't seen any bugs since.

Also, please, see me reply to the other answer above. We might have
kept the plant overwatered for several hours by wrong choice of the
soil

Thanks for any advice. I love the tree, I hope that it will survive...

David




jeff.isom@PENSKE.COM (Isom, Jeff , EM, PTL) wrote in message news:<40F6934F9170964AAAD62F1E48579EB8C754EC@RDGMLVEM01. e2k.ad.ge.com>...
> What did you use to "cure" the mealy bug problem?
>
> Jeff Isom
> Cleveland, OH / Sunset Zone 39
>
> ************************************************** ******************************
> ++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
> ************************************************** ******************************
> >>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
> +++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++

Jim Lewis

> Hello,
>
> we haven't repotted the tree yet. But we do keep it indoors.
This is
> our first bonsai and the book we bought said that it should be
kept
> inside, since it is, supposedly, sensitive to draft. Also, we
don't
> have garden, since we live in an appartment...
>
> We could buy some extra light and / or open the windows more.

At least give it as MUCH light as you can. A fluorescent light
right overhead for a LONG day is about right, according to the
indoor growers on the list. Beyond that, I don't know diddly
about growing inside the house.


>
> Another thing I forgot to mention is that we removed about a
half inch
> of the soil from the top and replaced it with another one. The
reason
> why we did that was that the soil was full of rotting leaves
and
> flowers... Only later, we found out that the soil we purchased
doesn't
> probably have the right composition. It was about 70% of fired
clay
> and only about 25% of pine soil.

That sounds almost EXACTLY the right mix for bonsai. What kind
of soil was underneath? Bonsai soil wants to be large particles
and relatively small amount of organic material.

This is a good time to repot most tropicals (but let a fukien tea
expert advise you on whether it is right for one of these,
please. I'm NOT the one whose advice you want to take for
trpicals.).


>I noticed that this layer probably
> prevents the rest of the soil from breathing so it's possible
the we
> kept that plant overwatered for a several hours.. Could that be
the
> reason?

Nah. It would take more than "several hours" of wet feet to
cause a problem. Some trees just complain when fiddled with.

Jim Lewis - jklewis@nettally.com - Tallahassee, FL - Bonsaiests
are like genealogists: We know our roots!

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++

Alan Walker

David: To which book are you referring? Who is the author?
Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org


-----Original Message-----
From: David Soukal
Hello, we haven't repotted the tree yet. But we do keep it
indoors. This is
our first bonsai and the book we bought said that it should be
kept
inside, since it is, supposedly, sensitive to draft. Also, we
don't
have garden, since we live in an appartment...

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
************************************************** ******************************
>>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++

Billy M. Rhodes

In a message dated 7/25/2004 1:28:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
jklewis@NETTALLY.COM writes:

> A fluorescent light
> right overhead for a LONG day is about right, according to the
> indoor growers on the list

But, the light bulb needs to be new and at six inches or less from the
plant.

Billy on the Florida Space Coast
BSF Annual Convention July 1 - 4, 2005 Radisson Hotel, Cape Canaveral,
Florida
Workshops with Jerry Meislik of Whitefish, Montana, Chase Rosade of New Hope,
PA, and Ben Oki of California.

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
************************************************** ******************************
>>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++

Carl Rosner

David:
When I have my Fukien Tea indoors, I place them on a propagation mat which gives the roots a little heat...
It is very important to have a fan blowing on your tree, which will keep the pest popuilation down.
I have my fluorecents on for 18 hours.
Also, try to prune the leaves, when you see them over lapping each other. That will keep the fungus from developing.
I would certainly use a wooden skewer in the soil to know when to water. Email me, and I will send you the details on the Persiano Pick.

Best of luck,

Carl L. Rosner - near Atlantic City zone 6/7

Arteacher3725@yahoo.com

http://rosner.becanz.net
http://www.jamesbaird.com/cgi-bin/J...stid=0000006848


David Soukal <david.soukal@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
Hello,

we haven't repotted the tree yet. But we do keep it indoors. This is
our first bonsai and the book we bought said that it should be kept
inside, since it is, supposedly, sensitive to draft. Also, we don't
have garden, since we live in an appartment...

We could buy some extra light and / or open the windows more.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that we removed about a half inch
of the soil from the top and replaced it with another one. The reason
why we did that was that the soil was full of rotting leaves and
flowers... Only later, we found out that the soil we purchased doesn't
probably have the right composition. It was about 70% of fired clay
and only about 25% of pine soil. I noticed that this layer probably
prevents the rest of the soil from breathing so it's possible the we
kept that plant overwatered for a several hours.. Could that be the
reason?

For now, the plant seems to be doing OK. Its berries are even bigger
and tend to ripe to light red color. The berries we used to see drier
very fast...

I noticed several black spots on a few bigger leaves. It can only be
seen from under, so I hope it's not the spiders or other parasites

Thanks for your help!

David




************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
************************************************** ******************************
>>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++