Beginner trying Wisteria

S-SpIendid

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Hi all

I just joined this community and looking forward to being a happy bonsai owner.
That being said, i think i might have done something wrong with my first attempt to grow a bonsai from a seed.
The attached picture shows the state of my little bonsai. It was doing pretty well until i repotted it into a bigger pot.
I am suspecting overwatering, but i have no clue what caused this. It started to get wrinkly and and two small branches started to hang and eventually fall off.

Is there any way of rescuing this one?

Thanks in advance
 

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Bonsai Nut

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Welcome to the site!

It is tough to comment upon your post, because a number of things could be wrong, and your tree may already be dead. I say "may" because I can't really tell from the photo.

Wisteria is a difficult plant to grow for bonsai, and growing from seed adds more challenges. Where do you live, and where were you keeping your wisteria?
 
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S-SpIendid

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Thank you very much!

Ah, sorry for the lack of info. I will provide whatever info i can.
I actually work on a boat and we therefore travel quite alot. But i can reduce the are down to Mediterranean seas (Greece, Italy, South of France and Spain). Which is also why i am trying to grow it indoors. I am aware that indoor bonsai is not really a thing and that just adds up to the challenges.

It was sprouting quite good though. I took some pictures along the way from the first sightings of a seedling to pictures of it being green and have developed leaves. I dont know if you can tell, but the upper part of the seedling seems a little dried out. And just before it lost the leaves i tried to put it out in the sun to give it some better light, but that pretty much just accelerated the wrinkly leaves.
 

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Colorado

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Welcome! If you are restricted to indoors, I would recommend the species ficus microcarpa, or Tiger Bark Ficus, if the wisteria doesn’t work out.

Good luck!
 

S-SpIendid

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Welcome! If you are restricted to indoors, I would recommend the species ficus microcarpa, or Tiger Bark Ficus, if the wisteria doesn’t work out.

Good luck!
Thank you

Yeah, if this doesn't work out, i will try and find another one. I read that tropical ones are more suited to indoors.
 

SgtPilko

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Are you allowed to put stuff up on deck? Like a nice gnarly old olive tree from your travels? :) Even if you could get enough light in there I guess a wisteria is gonna want to climb all over your cabin!
 

Shibui

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Wrinkled stem usually indicates dehydration but dehydration of plants can be caused by a number of factors.
1. Lack of water - pretty obvious. Some new growers are so nervous about root rot that they chronically under water and the trees die.
2. Too much water - sounds counter intuitive but the result is rotting roots then the tree cannot take in water even though there is plenty. Stem still dehydrates because there are not enough roots to supply it.
3. Salinity - High salt levels interfere with the roots taking in water. I mention this one because you are on a boat at sea so there could be possible contamination of the soil or water by sea water? Some species are more sensitive than others but I am not sure where wisteria fits.

It is also possible that it just gave up because of being indoors. Most plants need a lot of light - way more than most of us imagine. I can't imagine a ship's cabin having big windows and loads of light for healthy plant growth. Successful indoor growers usually have special plant lighting to boost the indoor ambient light levels and wavelength to suit plants.

My guess is the wisteria is dead. They don't usually give up easily but they do die. For indoor bonsai I would consider a ficus of some sort. They tolerate lower light than many others and are far more hardy and forgiving than wisteria. More hardy, in fact, than most species so some of the best choices for beginners and for indoors.
 

sorce

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You should talk to our friend @Woocash and keep trees ON the boat!

Welcome to Crazily dedicated!

Sorce
 

S-SpIendid

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Are you allowed to put stuff up on deck? Like a nice gnarly old olive tree from your travels? :) Even if you could get enough light in there I guess a wisteria is gonna want to climb all over your cabin!
Sadly no. The vessel i am on is a private one, so anything on deck is for the guests :p
I am hoping that i can groom it to be a little tree instead of those big ones :)
 

S-SpIendid

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Wrinkled stem usually indicates dehydration but dehydration of plants can be caused by a number of factors.
1. Lack of water - pretty obvious. Some new growers are so nervous about root rot that they chronically under water and the trees die.
2. Too much water - sounds counter intuitive but the result is rotting roots then the tree cannot take in water even though there is plenty. Stem still dehydrates because there are not enough roots to supply it.
3. Salinity - High salt levels interfere with the roots taking in water. I mention this one because you are on a boat at sea so there could be possible contamination of the soil or water by sea water? Some species are more sensitive than others but I am not sure where wisteria fits.

It is also possible that it just gave up because of being indoors. Most plants need a lot of light - way more than most of us imagine. I can't imagine a ship's cabin having big windows and loads of light for healthy plant growth. Successful indoor growers usually have special plant lighting to boost the indoor ambient light levels and wavelength to suit plants.

My guess is the wisteria is dead. They don't usually give up easily but they do die. For indoor bonsai I would consider a ficus of some sort. They tolerate lower light than many others and are far more hardy and forgiving than wisteria. More hardy, in fact, than most species so some of the best choices for beginners and for indoors.
Thanks for the insight, it is well noted.

I think you are right. Even though i repotted it, kept an eye on the soil it still does not show any signs of progress. I will give it a bit more time to see if i am lucky, but might have to go for the ficus.
 

S-SpIendid

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You should talk to our friend @Woocash and keep trees ON the boat!

Welcome to Crazily dedicated!

Sorce
Thanks a bunch!

We do have some olie trees onboard, but my personal ones are not really allowed outside. At least not with guests onboard.
But any advice is more than welcome :)
 

rockm

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Wisteria will not grow indoors, period. End of story. Sorry to be so blunt, but that is your primary problem. Wisteria needs extremely high light levels to grow. In the wild, they overtop big trees to take advantage of maximum sun exposure. Without that sunlight, well, you're seeing the results. I've collected wisteria for years, digging up older trunks. For recovery, I put the trunk in direct sun for five or six hours a day and shade the container. this mimics what the plant does in the wild, with it's growing top exposed to sun, with it's roots in cooler forest earth. Your plant is unlikely to recover without being outside. Ficus is a much better choice for your conditions and even then, it's not going to be easy.
 

S-SpIendid

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Wisteria will not grow indoors, period. End of story. Sorry to be so blunt, but that is your primary problem. Wisteria needs extremely high light levels to grow. In the wild, they overtop big trees to take advantage of maximum sun exposure. Without that sunlight, well, you're seeing the results. I've collected wisteria for years, digging up older trunks. For recovery, I put the trunk in direct sun for five or six hours a day and shade the container. this mimics what the plant does in the wild, with it's growing top exposed to sun, with it's roots in cooler forest earth. Your plant is unlikely to recover without being outside. Ficus is a much better choice for your conditions and even then, it's not going to be easy.
Thanks for your reply. I don't mind people being blunt at all. It has definitely been an experience i learned from.
I will see if i can get a hold of a ficus for my future bonsai project onboard.
 
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