New Fukien Tea

[Dominu Caulis]

Hi all. I'm new to bonsai and have recently bought myself a Fukien Tea. I have read basically everything online about caring for one. But still any and all advice would be helpful. I live in the tropics so I seem to have picked a good one as far as location goes.

I have one specific question, the soil around the roots seems to be almost entirely clay (see picture), is this a problem, and if so what can be done to remidy it?

Thanks!

 

[Dominu Caulis]

Haha well it seems as if my question was entirely boring, so I guess I will play it by ear and if things go bad ill change the soil

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I would change the soil, personally. Clay is not a great substrate for ANY plant. Potted plants do best with free drainage and not too much organic material in the soil mix. Sometimes when you get a tree like this, the portion above the ground looks "ok" but the roots can be very weak. You don't need to bare root it the first time - just remove all the extra soil being careful not to damage the roots that are present. Pot it up with new free-draining soil, and let it gain strength for a year. Next year go back in to repot and you should see much stronger root growth. At this point the tree is probably strong enough for you to remove ALL the old soil and replace it with a better mix.

 

[Dominu Caulis]

I would change the soil, personally. Clay is not a great substrate for ANY plant. Potted plants do best with free drainage and not too much organic material in the soil mix. Sometimes when you get a tree like this, the portion above the ground looks "ok" but the roots can be very weak. You don't need to bare root it the first time - just remove all the extra soil being careful not to damage the roots that are present. Pot it up with new free-draining soil, and let it gain strength for a year. Next year go back in to repot and you should see much stronger root growth. At this point the tree is probably strong enough for you to remove ALL the old soil and replace it with a better mix.

Okay thank you so much!! I couldnt find anything on the net about growing them in clay so I figured it was no good. I will get on replacing the soil tomorrow... Again thank you for the reply.

 

[GrimLore]

Okay thank you so much!! I couldnt find anything on the net about growing them in clay so I figured it was no good. I will get on replacing the soil tomorrow... Again thank you for the reply.

Slowly rinsing the clay off will give you the best results. Just be certain not to let them dry out and after repotting give it a good drench of water. I suspect you can get a small bag of Bonsai Substrate there and have a happy specimen.

Grimmy

 

[Dominu Caulis]

Slowly rinsing the clay off will give you the best results. Just be certain not to let them dry out and after repotting give it a good drench of water. I suspect you can get a small bag of Bonsai Substrate there and have a happy specimen.

Grimmy

I'm not entirely sure if I can buy proper bonsai soil here. But I found a good recipe online and I have all the stuff for that lying about so I will go to the plant store and see what they have, and if it comes down too it I will just make my own.

 

[Dominu Caulis]

I did as you all said and changed the soil and washed the clay off all the roots, I also noticed that some were really long so I trimmed them down a little. So far everything is good no leaf loss or discolouration, its been about 12 hours so I dont suppose that means I'm in the clear. I also found the purpose of that strange clay mound, the tree seems to have two stems that enter the soil quite a ways away from the main stem so that there is nothing under the body of the tree (thats not a very good discripion so just look at the photo). I dont know it this matters at all but I found it a little strange.

 

[edprocoat]

Dominu those are actually roots that you have now exposed. They could be fine or they may die off killing the tree as they are large roots. 12 hours is not long enough to know anything, it would take a few days to a week to see any damage.

ed

 

[Dominu Caulis]

Dominu those are actually roots that you have now exposed. They could be fine or they may die off killing the tree as they are large roots. 12 hours is not long enough to know anything, it would take a few days to a week to see any damage.

ed

Oh wow so ive really stuffed that up... The pot iesnt feet enough to cover them so I guess I'll have to run with it, is there anything I can do it make it more likely for it to live?

 

[Dominu Caulis]

progress report

Well so far so good, not only has it not died but it is just about to bloom and has one small cherry growing.