Bonsai tree

 A friend has gone off to china for six weeks leaving us to look after one his most prized possessions - his s0dding bonsai tree!

 The only instructions we were given were that (a) it didn't matter too much where it was stood and (b) it should be watered every day - the equivalent of a small wine glass.

Halfway through his trip and the thing is moulting leaves like effing confetti!

If it carries on like this there will hardly be a leaf left on it.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Comments

  • Oh blimey.  I'm surprised he didn't give you more detailed instructions because in my (limited and not too clever) experience, they can be quite delicate little things.  Maybe the conditions he keeps it in happen to be ideal without him realising?  

    I had a Chinese Elm years ago and IIRC there were two things it particularly liked apart from regular watering: (a) a fair amount of natural light, and (b) a regular room temperature.  Unfortunately the house I was living in at the time didn't have central heating and I'm prety sure this is what killed it off.  image  Oh yes and apart from water I'm pretty sure there was some proper bonsai plant food to feed it.  I would've thought this might be relevant over a 6 week period.

    Anyway, that's the extent of my troubleshooting.  I suggest you find yourself a bonsai tree forum!

  • Thanks PB - it's not standing in a particularly well lit place so we'll move it towards the window

    Hadn't  thought about a bonsai tree forum but then I guess there are some pretty strange forums about 

  • I would go with Phil find a bonsai tree forum!!  I was given one for my birthday two years ago once I wasnt sure whether I under or over watered the thing but it shed all its leaves and died within a very very short time... good luckimage
  • Replace it with a cactus and see if he notices.  They're much more resilient!
  • Agree with PP, to a degree - my Mum bought be a bonsai tree about ten years ago. It died. The replacement died. The third stand in died. Fortunately, they all seem to be sold in the same blue ceramic tub so not too tricky to substiture a live, fresh one for the small, leaf-less twig your friend's bonsai tree is soon to become.

    They're like pandas, bonsai trees, destined to die.

  • I'm going to invest in some superglue

  • I also had a Bonsai tree, it shed all it's leaves and then died abruptly image I'd kept it alive for 18 months, did nothing different and it just died.

    I'd look for a bonsai tree forum, think I checked one of these the first time the tree had problems (red spider mites)

  • PhilPub wrote (see)
    Replace it with a cactus and see if he notices.  They're much more resilient!
    Keyboard mop over here please!
  • PhilPub wrote (see)
    Replace it with a cactus and see if he notices.  They're much more resilient!


    Yeah! it took at least 10 years to kill mine!! I forgot to water it for about 10 years. Kind of put it in a windowsill that got full sunlight and it was upstairs so never really thought about it much. 8 years without water is ok. i managed to revive that one but 10 years is not good especially if you only ever wateredit about 3 times a year for the previous 10 years you had it.

    I like bonsai trees but I have never even been tempted to buy one. I know the leaves will fall off within a week. Same goes for other house plants. I have one that has grass like leaves. I've had it for a few years now and the leaves stopped being green about 3 months after I bought it. Should throw it away but I'm trying to con myself that it still lives. I'm onto my third cast iron plant (aspidistra), so called because you are not supposed to be able to kill them. I can categorically say that is not true, twice over and could be a third time over now too. I have it outside in the rain to try to get it to grow back. I once watered the pot when the leaves all went brown last time in the vain hope it would recover. It did and I got a few small green leaves come out. I cut out the dead brown ones to allow the green ones to grow unhindered. It came round and grew to a nice plant again. Then I forgot to water it for a while. I am back to the vain attempt to revive it.

    If you want me to look after it for your friend give me a shout. PM me!image

  • Hell and I though I was bad with plants
  •  Mick Mick ✭✭✭

    http://www.bonsaigardener.org/bonsai-tree-types.html

    http://forums.bonsaigarden.net/

    Good luck ... glass of wine a day sounds a bit much? or is it a giant bonsai?

    Take a photo now, so you can a very similar one 1 day before they return ?

  • Never Give Up Girl wrote (see)
    I would go with Phil find a bonsai tree forum!!  I was given one for my birthday two years ago once I wasnt sure whether I under or over watered the thing but it shed all its leaves and died within a very very short time... good luckimage
    So did mine.  £70 i paid for it too image
  • There are now more dead b'st@rd leaves scatterd on the b@st@rd floor than there are leaves left on the b@st'd branches!

  • Isn't a giant bonsai tree just a tree???
  • Double post deleted.

    BTW you could have said no and he could have goto someone else. You are doing a favour and trying your best. Hopefully he will understand when he comes back to the bonsai tree in winter. That's a good excuse actually, might work. just say its winter so the tree shed its leaves. I take it the tree is a deciduous one.

  • Bonsai or not it's soon to become an ex-tree

  • Bonsai trees are planted in very small containers with very little soil, so they can dry out and die very quickly. My neighbour has some very old and valuable ones that he keeps on his patio and when he goes away I have to water them daily, and sometime even morning and evening in summer, else they can dry out completely, even in half a day. Your friend's comment about it not mattering where it stood however I think was wrong. If you've moved it somewhere with significantly less light, or somewhere warmer/colder, or even into a draught then that can really affect them very quickly. It's better that a carer goes to a bonsai rather than a bonsai coming to a carer.
  • I kept my Chinese Elm for a while after it died, and told myself it was a "winter landscape".  It may have even sprouted some tinsel over Christmas.  That's it - stick some mini fairy lights on it.  That'll look pucka.
  • Best thread of the day!
  • PhilPub wrote (see)
    I kept my Chinese Elm for a while after it died, and told myself it was a "winter landscape".  It may have even sprouted some tinsel over Christmas.  That's it - stick some mini fairy lights on it.  That'll look pucka.
    Perfect - wear something pink  then he'll think you're the fairy, which will give him the perfect excuse to shove his prize possession where the sun don't shine. image
  • It's now more of a bonsai twig than a bonsai tree
  • PhilPub wrote (see)
    I kept my Chinese Elm for a while after it died, and told myself it was a "winter landscape". 
    It's two years since mine died and it's still sitting on a shelf in the kitchen image
    The cactus that I've had about the same length of time is still looking good, despite being watered about twice in 2 1/2 years. 
    I also like spider plants, as they're pretty hard to kill.
  • Graham "legs in threads" wrote (see)
    It's now more of a bonsai twig than a bonsai tree
    OK, plan B.........   tell him you were burgled and dump your laptop and flat screen tv to make it look convincing.......image
  • I also have a 'winter landscape' bonsai guiltily lurking in the shad so am very glad to find I am not the only heartless Bonsai killer out there.

    Mind you, the four ex-cacti and the ex-Aloe Vera plant that preceeded it should have told me I was not any good at this plant stuff....image

  • If it makes you feel any better i was left in charge of a neighbours plants a few years ago.  I kept them all well watered and they all looked really healthy the day before they were due to return.  It was just a shame i  failed to notice some of them were silk.  When they came back there was a puddle of water  on top of their piano..................  image
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