Bonsai Dawn Redwood in distress

[trolondor]

I'm new to bonsai and having problems with my bonsai dawn redwood.

I received it about last summer and it has been kept inside thru the winter, I live in zone 7a (Shrewsbury, PA). There was minimal leaf growth. After doing some reading it was recommended to move the plant outside for seasonal changes. I moved it out in the early summer, into a shaded area to help it acclimatize. I was watering it daily. The leaves almost immediate turned brown and fell off. I brought it back inside and have seen no growth. I keep watering it, but there is still no new growth, just bare branches (it's about 18" tall).

Any recommendations?

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations for having your location information on your profile for your first post!
I just started with DR seedlings this year. I'm in the desert, so my care regimen will be different than yours. I have mine growing in floor dry from NAPA, bark and gypsum pellets, so it drains well but also doesn't dry out so fast. I water before the soil is dry.
How often were you watering before you moved it outside? What substrate is it growing in? When you say early summer, can you be a little more specific?
If you post some of your own photos, it might help you get the answers you're looking for.

 

[Dav4]

“Any recommendations?”

Get another DR. They’re cold hardy in most of the continental US so shouldn’t be kept inside. Yours is probably dead… lack of winter dormancy weakened it beyond where it could grow this spring and recover.

 

[leatherback]

Just to add, get another BUT, keep this one in dappled shade. Do not keep it inside, but outside!

How long has it been since it dropped foliage?

 

[rockm]

Keep this one but don’t hold out hope. Get another. As said they’re fully winter hardy in Zone 7. Mulch in a garden bed in the backyard will do it for the winter. Bringing a temperate zone tree inside for the winter is mostly a death sentence Live and learn

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Welcome Aboard Bonsai Nut!

Yep, sadly a common situation. Putting the tree back inside will only cause evenmore damage.

When one brings av plant outside that was stored inside suddenly, the plant can’t adapt fast enough to adapt its foliage. Normally one would use a period of hardening to get a plant acclimated. Lots of our northern folks do this in spring without even thinking about it. To suddenly do this in early summer is really tough on a tree.

Put the tree outside in a semi shaded area, dig the pot into the ground and mist frequently, water only when dry. Dawns can be pretty darn tough. However as noted, this is a Hail Mary,

In the interim, get another Dawn as suggested above and keep it out side

Best
DSD sends

 

[Russ1]

As said they’re fully winter hardy in Zone 7

They are also winter hardy up here as well, I have one in a 2 gal pot just sitting on the ground, been there for a few years in full sun. I just soak it with the hose every day during growing season.