A bonsai to save!! Help, please!

Tsveta

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Hello everyone,

I was given this bonsai to save for free by a lovely owner a flower shop who was afraid it will die. The tree was fine till recently, I saw it two weeks ago in the shop and it was green, it looked good but very misshapen as it hasn't been pruned for too long. We discussed it'll be probably good idea to cut it back a bit. She did a major styling job but apparently the bonsai didn't like it and some of the leaves started drying out and others went yellow... What is to be done now...?!

Also, can you confirm what type is this bonsai. Is it a Chinese Elm?

Thanks a million!
 

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Poink88

Imperial Masterpiece
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Don't know what it is but definitely NOT Chinese Elm. Could be a mini leaf ligustrum of sort. Was it kept indoors? If it was, your fix may be simply moving it outdoors and let it recover. If it is a ligustrum, it will bounce back super fast. Check for any insects/pest especially around the weak dead parts.

Check if soil is taking water (too dry) or if it is too wet. If it is full of roots, you may need to repot. Totally new thread for soil mix and repotting. Just do a search for those here.

Nice trunk and base...try this virt for starters on your pruning. The lowest branches may ultimately go depending on your final design choice but the initial cut is done to improve it in case you want to keep it. Too long straight branches are not ideal so look for those and shorten.

View attachment 35681

Good luck!
 
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Second the Chinese Ligustrum ...
They will drop all their leaves when their
soil is to dry, as a defense mechanism to
try and keep it's self alive. Leaves will
wilt or sag when it needs water.
 

lackhand

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I'll second what Dario and sawgrass said, definitely not a Chinese elm. I was thinking ligustrum too.

With the yellowing leaves I would suspect either too much or too little water. With most that don't have bonsai experience too much water is the case, especially if its not in a free draining mix. If the soil is compacted and the tree has been watered from the top, you could have too much water on the outside of the rootball, and dry in the middle. A good dunk will help if that's the case.

Good luck, it looks like it should be a nice little tree.
 
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Tsveta

Seedling
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Nice trunk and base...try this virt for starters on your pruning. The lowest branches may ultimately go depending on your final design choice but the initial cut is done to improve it in case you want to keep it. Too long straight branches are not ideal so look for those and shorten.

View attachment 35681

Good luck!

Oh, wow! Dario, thanks so much for the effort and useful tips! I will soon have a go at pruning myself, waiting for my courage to visit me on the matter :)))
 

Tsveta

Seedling
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I'll second what Dario and sawgrass said, definitely not a Chinese elm. I was thinking ligustrum too.

With the yellowing leaves I would suspect either too much or too little water. With most that don't have bonsai experience too much water is the case, especially if its not in a free draining mix. If the soil is compacted and the tree has been watered from the top, you could have too much water on the outside of the rootball, and dry in the middle. A good dunk will help if that's the case.

Good luck, it looks like it should be a nice little tree.

Thank you for the useful info!! :)))
 

JudyB

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You will need to let the tree recover before doing much to it, you should make sure that you learn to water it properly for the soil that it's in. Put a wooden skewer into the soil, check it daily. When it's almost dry water until it comes out the bottom, wait 5 minutes and then water it again. If it seems to be just running thru the pot, then it's become too dry to absorb the water. That's when you have to resort to the dunk or soaking method. Fill a basin with enough water to go over the pot rim, and submerge it in the water. Leave it in there until all the bubbles stop coming up. If you water it properly, then you won't have to dunk it to water it.
Sorry if this is information you already know, but it seems like water is part of the problem with your tree. I also think it's ligustrum.
 
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