Please help me keep my new Bonsai alive and happy!/Identification

Tsveta

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Hello everyone,
A complete beginner here. I was given a bonsai as a present and since I haven’t had any luck with them so far, I would really like this one to survive so I would much appreciate your help and advice. I’ve read the basics… again… but I still feel unprepared and intimidated. I can’t seem to identify the species of my bonsai so as to do a more specific research into the care requirements for my type. I have attached photos. Could any of you kindly help me with that? And if you can recognise what kind is my bonsai is, would you give me any species-related recommendation, especially to do with watering. This seems to be the hardest. Is it the case that it needs to be sprayed every day and if so, do I spray the leaves? I’ve also been told that I need to water with boiled water cooled to room temperature as tab water is too hard.
The tree looks healthy and has plenty of new buds, which makes me think that I shouldn’t trim the few dry tips just yet? What concerns me most is the thin layer of mold on the soil top. What should I do about that?
Thank you in advance for your help and sorry for the long post.
 

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Redwood Ryan

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Welcome!


Your tree looks like a Chinese Elm. Watch your watering in that kind of soil, as it will hold a lot of water and cause you to overwater.

Where do you live? Please fill out your profile so we know. Chinese Elms are typically outdoor trees and will do best outdoors, so if I were you, once your last frost has occurred, I'd put it out there (but once again, location is important).
 

Tsveta

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Welcome!


Your tree looks like a Chinese Elm. Watch your watering in that kind of soil, as it will hold a lot of water and cause you to overwater.

Where do you live? Please fill out your profile so we know. Chinese Elms are typically outdoor trees and will do best outdoors, so if I were you, once your last frost has occurred, I'd put it out there (but once again, location is important).

Hello Ryan! Thank you so very much for the prompt reply. I live in Europe, Bulgaria (will update my profile, thank you!). It is really hot here this time of year and the sun is really strong. It gets up to 40C (100F). The label on the bonsai says indoor, 15C - 25C (60F - 80F), no direct sunlight, keep soil evenly moist. And that's all it says unfortunately... I've positioned it on my window which is East-facing and it does get some sunlight in the morning coming through the window when the sun is not too hot and burning still... Do you think that is a mistake?
 

Poink88

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It is one of the most commonly asked question. Search for "Chinese Elm" with the quotes and you should get all the info you need here (on about 320 threads). ;)

Good luck!
 

coppice

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Run a search here for "Chinese elm", your reading will season your dreams... :)

Welcome to our world.
 

Tsveta

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It is one of the most commonly asked question. Search for "Chinese Elm" with the quotes and you should get all the info you need here (on about 320 threads). ;)

Good luck!

Thank you, Dario! Will read up as much as I can. Do you think the mold on the soil top you can see on the pictures is anything I should be concerned about. It was given to me this way, that's how it was in the shop...
 

Tsveta

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In need of further advice

Hello everyone,
I followed your advise and I put the tree outdoors on the outer side of my windowsill, which is very wide and stable, so I'm not worried about the tree falling off. I don't have a garden, so this is the best I can do in terms of outside placing. Since I took it out it's been growing many new leaves and looks generally quite happy though I have probably made a mistake of moving it around in and out, which I just read shouldn't be done. I did that out of fear of strong winds as there have been few windy storms here recently. It doesn't rain on the bonsai as there is a window top that protects from that, although natural morning sun for about 4-5 hours a day and wind access the bonsai. It is the wind that concerns me or may be I am overly protective?? What do you say?
The other small (hopefully) thing is that I may have been a day or day and a half late with the watering as I wasn't around but it doesn't seem like there are any repercussions, the soil surface was dry but it still had a bit of moisture inside and the leaves looked quite well and unaffected. I watered as soon as I was able to. At least the thin layer of mold on the top was completely gone. There is something else though, I might have made a mistake spraying the leaves during the day (when the tree is not under direct sun anymore) as advised by the seller I got it from. I followed the advise as I was told that that's what they do and the bonsai looked quite healthy when I got it so I thought I can trust them. But the some of the leaves got little, tiny barely noticeable white dots like a discolouration on them and I figure that's from the spraying? Am I right? And if so, is there anything else I need to do apart from stop spraying it, obviously, or at least stop doing so during the day?
Thank you so much in advance for your help again! Looking forward to see what if've got to say.
 

october

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Ok,, many questions..lol.. First, if you are worried about wind, tie the pot to another bigger pot or something heavy. This way it will not blow off the ledge. Second, you said you sprayed, sprayed with what? The white dots could be water residue or an insect known as scale. Scale can become a problem if not taken care of.

You will need to post pics for us to make an accurate assessment.

Rob
 

lordy

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It appears to me that the soil is a garden-type which is slow to dry out. You should not water that type of soil until it is dry to a depth of perhaps 1/2 inch or more. Ideally, the tree should be repotted into a very granular, well-draining bonsai soil. Dont drown it. The roots need to breathe.
 

Tsveta

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You will need to post pics for us to make an accurate assessment.

Rob

Thanks a lot for the tips everyone! Here are some pics, my camera is good though I'm not great with it. Still, I hope you can see what I'm talking about. If you look closely you will notice some of the leaves, not all, have some very tiny white or may be pale green spots, hardly noticeable. They weren't there before, they appeared when I started misting. Don't know if coincidence, or misting is the reason. I hope you can tell. Thank you very much!!
 

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october

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I see them. Could be the starting of a fungal disease...leaf spot etc.. You will probably need to spray a fungicide of some kind. I would wait for others to give an opinon. If you do have to spray, some fungicides are pretty toxic. You will need to spray out side and wear ppe. Always read the label for precautions before you do anything. Also, it might be a good idea to spay a small section of the tree to see how the tree reacts to the sprays. Some trees do not like certain sprays.

Rob
 

Tsveta

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I see them. Could be the starting of a fungal disease...leaf spot etc.. You will probably need to spray a fungicide of some kind. I would wait for others to give an opinon. If you do have to spray, some fungicides are pretty toxic. You will need to spray out side and wear ppe. Always read the label for precautions before you do anything. Also, it might be a good idea to spay a small section of the tree to see how the tree reacts to the sprays. Some trees do not like certain sprays.

Rob

Thank you, Rob! I've started new thread as not many people replied here. Thank you very much for your help!
 
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Thanks a lot for the tips everyone! Here are some pics, my camera is good though I'm not great with it. Still, I hope you can see what I'm talking about. If you look closely you will notice some of the leaves, not all, have some very tiny white or may be pale green spots, hardly noticeable. They weren't there before, they appeared when I started misting. Don't know if coincidence, or misting is the reason. I hope you can tell. Thank you very much!!

Looks like calcium deposits from your water to me...
don't need to mist this tree, as long as it get's properly
watered when it needs to be watered.
:)
By the way... Bonsai is all about observation.
When one sees changes, don't panic... Just
observe and see what happens.
:)
 

Tsveta

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By the way... Bonsai is all about observation.
When one sees changes, don't panic... Just
observe and see what happens.
:)

Wow, thank you for the useful information and especially that part that bonsai is all about observation. I love the way you put it, I should really relax a bit and leave my trees develop and be trees as opposed to perfectly shaped fragile things :))))
 

coppice

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Hello everyone,
I followed your advise and I put the tree outdoors on the outer side of my windowsill, which is very wide and stable, so I'm not worried about the tree falling off.


Its OK to glue a loop to the windowsill, to tie your tree onto your building.

Visiting birds and squirles are not your friend.
 
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