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

David Soukal

Hello,

we were consulting several sources on the internet. Also the book
Simon & Schuster's Guide to Bonsain, recommends the tree for indoors.
They don't explicitely mention the draft, only temperature changes.

Do you think, we should keep the tree outside?

David

awbonsai@BELLSOUTH.NET (Alan Walker) wrote in message news:<000c01c47270$2894a3b0$6101a8c0@Alan>...
> David: To which book are you referring? Who is the author?
> Alan Walker
> http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org
>
>

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David Soukal

Hello,

thank you for your help. We will try the extra lighting. Do you
recommend some particular model or brand? So far, we are using my
wife's magnifying glass which has light bulb on it and can be bend to
almost any position

Regarding the soil. We bought it in nearby garden shop as bonsai soil.
The truth is it does not look like the rest of the soil in the pot. It
does resemble (on touch, look) the layer that was there before, that
is the clay pieces... As I wrote elsewhere in this thread, we draw our
information on the book "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Bonsai". Their
ideal mixture for *repotting* is 60% humus-rich soil, 10% peat and 30%
of coarse sand. Since we removed about an inch of the top layer, we
thought we'd replace it by the mixture above but its composition is
quite different. I'm getting a bit confused here...

Unfortunatelly, there's no bonsai club or dedicated garden shop where
we could bring the tree and discuss it. Anyway, we'll do our best to
keep the beautiful tree alive and prospering!

Thank you for your help

David (& Eva)

ps. Our university has shut our news server down, so I'm using
http://groups.google.com. It's tedious since my new messages and your
replies are not listed together. Could you, please, recommend me some
free usenet server? THANK YOU!




jklewis@NETTALLY.COM (Jim Lewis) wrote in message news:<004e01c47268$0dd5d7e0$bb102cc7@pavilion>...
> > 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++++
> ************************************************** ******************************
> >>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
> +++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++

David Soukal

Thank you! We'll do that. Could you, please, recommend some of the
fixtures you use or know of? The best place we can shop here (except
for the Internet, of course) is local Wal-Mart

David


GOPHERHILL@AOL.COM (Billy M. Rhodes) wrote in message news:<1da.2731b731.2e3551f2@aol.com>...
> 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 +++++

David Soukal

Thank you! Since you all recommend taking the plant outside, I'll do
it The thing is that we live in a small appartment building so the
only spot I can put the tree on is the outside stairs that lead to our
appartment (we live in the second floor of an older wooden house).

I thought the plant must have liked being outside since it's very dark
inside. (Our Discover PhD Plat Doctor ;] displays an error reading
which is a symptom of too little light.) It must be true especially
now when we haven't seen sun but for a few hours a day for almost two
weeks.

Thanks to the help of all of you guys, the plant seems to be doing
very well now. We take extra care of making sure it is not overwatered
and we use the extra light for most of the day.

Thanks again,

David (& Eva)


jeff.isom@PENSKE.COM (Isom, Jeff , EM, PTL) wrote in message news:<40F6934F9170964AAAD62F1E48579EB8B1F370@RDGMLVEM01. e2k.ad.ge.com>...
> Fukien Tea's LOVE being outside - just not in direct sunlight. Mine
are currently located where they have slightly filtered morning to
just after noon sun and are absolutely thriving after barely making it
through the extra long winter. Inside, they are especially prone to
scale - see if the "black spots" will scrape off with your finger
nail. I have twice now experienced a significant loss of leaves a
couple of weeks after using the soap - oil - alcohol solution, so that
MAY be it. I'm pretty sure Craig uses the solution on nearly
everything and hasn't noticed any detrimental effects - so it may be
just me. The addition of light(s) will help - but if at all possible,
try to get it outside during the summer.
>
> ************************************************** ******************************
> ++++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

Thanks for the tip. We did find this place on the Internet but,
unfortunatelly, they are out of bonsai now. We could only order a
plant for the next year.

It would be nice trip though! I'll definitelly go there.

Thanks!

David


awbonsai@BELLSOUTH.NET (Alan Walker) wrote in message news:<000201c472b3$c09ddc60$6101a8c0@Alan>...
> If you live in upstate NY, then I recommend that you try to visit
> Bill Valavanis' International Bonsai Arboretum in Rochester
> suburb, West Henrietta. You can get directions and other
> information at his web site:
> http://www.internationalbonsai.com/index.html
> Alan Walker
> http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Soukal
>
> ps. I have another question, if I may. I'd like to buy a bonsai
> for my
> wife as a birthday present. As I mentioned, there's no bonsai
> nursery
> in the neighborhood (New York upstate). Do you have any
> experience
> with on-line shopping? I was told, in the garden shopmy wife
> bought
> the Fukien tree, that on-line shopping won't hurt the plant. But
> you
> don't have much control over the plant selection of course. I
> would
> appreciete any suggestion as to what shops are good and what
> aren't.
> For example, I've read somewhere that BonsaiBoys.com isn't the
> right
> place. But what is?
> Thank you!
>
> ************************************************** ******************************
> ++++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 +++++