Hi guys, I’m about 2.5 years into this hobby, and fell in face first and haven’t looked back. I’m in 9b, SWFL. I like to think I’ve learned a lot in that small time, but I still consider myself a newbie. I have repotted several trees and of course lost a few when I had no idea what I was doing. However, I’ve learned a lot and learned to be patient especially over the last year and had a lot of successful reports. I recently lost a Chinese elm, a buttonwood, I have another buttonwood that is not not doing well, and two Bucida Spinosa that have not begun to leaf out yet, 3 and 4 weeks later. They are still green under the bark.
I know it’s hard to tell me what I may or may not have done wrong without having been there, but I feel like I wasn’t overly aggressive with any of them, as they’re both similar in that their roots don’t like to be pruned too much at once. I put all four of them into Wigert‘s course mix (lava, stalite/expanded slate and pine bark, 2:2:1 respectively. I’ve had good success with it on pretty much everything I’ve put in it. Everything went into the shade and was getting misted at least twice a day and watered slightly less. The buttonwoods both did great in the beginning and started to push new growth, then just wilted almost overnight. One is a goner and the other may be salvageable, but lost a large branch.
I mixed a little bio-tone in with the aggregate before repotting, as I’ve done with almost everything else in the past. I read this somewhere a while back and then the president of my club (who has over 30 years in bonsai) told me he does the same, without me even bringing it up.
Everything went into the shade, the buttonwoods went into filtered light after it was pushing new growth and the Bucida are still in the shade and have done nothing.
Please, will somebody give me some insight into what you think may be the problem? I’m really bummed about having lost and potentially losing some of my favorites…….
I know it’s hard to tell me what I may or may not have done wrong without having been there, but I feel like I wasn’t overly aggressive with any of them, as they’re both similar in that their roots don’t like to be pruned too much at once. I put all four of them into Wigert‘s course mix (lava, stalite/expanded slate and pine bark, 2:2:1 respectively. I’ve had good success with it on pretty much everything I’ve put in it. Everything went into the shade and was getting misted at least twice a day and watered slightly less. The buttonwoods both did great in the beginning and started to push new growth, then just wilted almost overnight. One is a goner and the other may be salvageable, but lost a large branch.
I mixed a little bio-tone in with the aggregate before repotting, as I’ve done with almost everything else in the past. I read this somewhere a while back and then the president of my club (who has over 30 years in bonsai) told me he does the same, without me even bringing it up.
Everything went into the shade, the buttonwoods went into filtered light after it was pushing new growth and the Bucida are still in the shade and have done nothing.
Please, will somebody give me some insight into what you think may be the problem? I’m really bummed about having lost and potentially losing some of my favorites…….