Serissa Bonsai

Carol 83 said:

Maybe @Mellow Mullet could help you out. He has a way with Serissa, azalea, etc. etc.

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Vin said:

Those leaves look huge! I'm not familiar with that variety of serissa but I repotted my Kyoto 2 weeks ago and it seems to be just fine. I bare rooted it and used a heavy organic soil mix. It's still in full shade and I'm keeping it fairly wet for the time being. I wish I could help with yours.

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Carol 83 said:

Not trying to hijack your thread @Paul F. !

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Cadillactaste said:

You need to post your location in your profile.

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Carol 83 said:

Not trying to hijack your thread @Paul F. ! But would you have any pictures of yours? Always been a big fan of Serissa, but have killed a few. John sent me one from his garden last summer, and it is growing like a weed, so have gained some confidence with them.

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Vin said:

I changed the pot this year and I don't have a picture of it yet. This one is from a couple years ago. Like you said, not wanting to hijack this thread so when I get some photos I'll start a new one. However, @Paul F. may enjoy these.


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Mellow Mullet said:

Nice job, Vin, that is one of the fattest trunks I have ever seen on a Kyoto.

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Paul F. said:

I bought a Serissa Bonsai (along with 2 scheffleras that are awesome, and one bougainvillea) at our local Seafood Festival and of course it was in some horrible potting soil but looked really good. When I got it home I re-potted it with bonsai soil (my mix of flourite, turface, perlite and pine fines. I put it in bright shade for a few days and it looked good. This morning it was real droopy and some leaves are turning black and yellow. It doesn't look good. I have no experience with Serissa but I've done a lot of reading about its kind and everyone says they can be temperamental. I was going to gradually introduce to full sun over the next week after re-potting but I'm not sure if that's actually the problem. Maybe its been in the shade too long? I've only watered it once in 2 days but I just watered it now before taking these pictures. Anyone have an experience with this type of tree and re-potting that can give me some advice? This really is my favorite (of course it is). I've always wanted one. I really want it to survive.

Thanks in advance!
Paul F.
(Florida Keys 11b)

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Vin said:

It wasn't always looking like it does now. In the beginning it was kind of blah as you can see. Can you see the cascade branch?

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Vin said:

It wasn't always looking like it does now. In the beginning it was kind of blah as you can see. Can you see the cascade branch?

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Mellow Mullet said:

Is it the far right one?

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Mellow Mullet said:

Paul, your tree appears to be the Chinese variety, it has larger leaves than the rest. How much of the root mass did you remove? I have had them droop sometimes after reporting, especially if I leave the long spring growth, but I usually prune mine back before a repot. They occasionally loose a few leaves too. I think you will be ok, but I would not put it in full sun until it gets over the wilting.

John

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Paul F. said:

Thanks for replying! The root ball was really small so I didn't trim or remove any roots. I just cleaned them up, got all the soil out of them - re-potted in bonsai mix. I was afraid to prune anything. I was going to wait until way after it had settled. I was almost anticipating it having problems after the re-pot. Ill definitely heed your advice and leave it in the shade for now. Hopefully it will survive. What are your suggestions on watering it? Should I water it everyday? Thanks so much for your help...

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Vin said:

Your soil mix looks very open. You may want to put a layer of sphagnum moss on the top until it rebounds.

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