Should I defoliate? BRT

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I’ve recently moved my brt inside because nights were getting colder and was afraid it was affecting it. The new tips were drying up and dying so I moved it by a south facing window and sprayed it with raid so I wouldn’t bring any bugs inside to harm other plants. It’s been losing more and more leaves off the upper branches but the lower branches are all ok and have new growth. Not sure if I should defoliate or if the indoor move paired with raid would be stressful enough

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Carol 83

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I don't defoliate mine when I bring them in, but some here do. They always lose some leaves when first brought in, but recover pretty quickly.
 

Paradox

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I am all against defoliating BRTs, and frankly I don't think this is a good idea once it's indoors.
But that's me, my BRTs never ever go inside.


You are in Brazil. You CAN leave your BRT outside all year, they are after all native to Brazil.
If I left my BRT outside here in NY, they would be dead in January because the temperatures drop to freezing.

It is wise to keep in mind the difference in climate between where you are and where the poster is when you respond to threads, because what you can do where you live does not necessarily match with what can be done where the poster lives.

@BrazilianMoistWood. I dont defoliate when I bring them inside but sometimes will in late spring/early summer when I prune and wire them.
Losing some leaves is normal. They do shed leaves and mine do all the time but seem to do a bit more during the winter. I have had them almost completely defoliate themselves in winter and started growing new leaves in about 3 weeks. It is probably a reaction to the lower light levels its getting from being moved inside. I wouldnt worry about it.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Raid is not the "worst thing" you could do to your plants. It is not labelled for use on house plants, or on plants outdoors, but it is basically a synthetic pyrethrum compound and a synergist to help compensate for the fact that lots of insects are already resistant to pyrethrum family compounds. The issue with using Raid on plants is the synergist, and the propellant are not designed to be safe for plant leaves. Tough plants like Hibiscus, as your mother had found out, are fine with the the Raid product, but delicate houseplants like ferns would likely be seriously burned by the Raid spray. Its quite possible much of the leaf drop is burning. With BRT leaf drop once or twice a year is no big deal.

It would be good to look for sprays labelled for use on plants. All the big box stores have spray pesticides that are specific for houseplants. You could also look into sprays that are labeled for the pests you most frequently encounter. Plant sprays will list any species of plants they should not be used on, and they will list what pests they will kill. If the pest is not listed as something the spray will kill, it is quite likely the spray will not kill that pest. So it is important to read labels.

But if what you have been doing works, who am I to say you must change.
 

Clicio

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You are in Brazil. You CAN leave your BRT outside all year, they are after all native to Brazil.

That's exactly what I said.
"But that's me..."

I don't defoliate BRTs and I see no reason whatsoever to do that, indoors or outdoors.
As for being aware of where I live, it's in my profile. I don't think a tropical like brt should be outside in your winter , and I have never wrote that.
 

LittleDingus

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I don't defoliate BRTs and I see no reason whatsoever to do that, indoors or outdoors.
As for being aware of where I live, it's in my profile. I don't think a tropical like brt should be outside in your winter , and I have never wrote that.

Clicio, I've heard of people defoliating them before bringing them indoors because, if they are going to drop their leaves anyway, it's easier to clean up if you defoliate outdoors than have a mess of tiny yellow leaflets that dropped all over you house! I was actually considering doing that myself in a few weeks when I bring mine inside for the winter because last winter they did make a mess! Do you see a problem with this practice?
 

Clicio

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Clicio, I've heard of people defoliating them before bringing them indoors because, if they are going to drop their leaves anyway,

Yes, I see.
Makes sense.
In fact, as you may know, they are definitely not deciduous. So if the leaves fall when brought to inside, most probably it's due to stress.
BRTs are tough, so usually they can handle it, but I really don't know in the long run if they get weak or if they slow down their growth. Probably yes.
Here in Brazil no one defoliates them, because their leaves are naturally small and already good for bonsai, and they never stop growing, be it summer or winter.
Our winter, bien entendu.
My guess: they will grow less if being cared as a deciduous tree, they should grow less if kept indoors during the winter, far from ideal growing patterns such as high humidity and warm weather, both conditions they love.
 

Paradox

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That's exactly what I said.
"But that's me..."

I don't defoliate BRTs and I see no reason whatsoever to do that, indoors or outdoors.
As for being aware of where I live, it's in my profile. I don't think a tropical like brt should be outside in your winter , and I have never wrote that.


I have defoliated mine partially in the spring when Ive had to wire and prune them. It makes it easier to see the branch stucture and easier to wire.

You stated "My BRT never go inside". You didnt qualify that YOU can do that because of where you live.
The statment "But thats me" could be interpreted in several differnt ways.
For example, is that just your opinion? What you were taught? What works for you? Or is it because of where you live?
Someone that is less experienced might misconstrue it and possibly lose a tree.

Just saying we shouldnt speak in absolutes. There are very few absolutes in bonsai and what works for someone in one location might not work for someone else.
There are lots and lots of examples of this on the forum with less extremes than Brazil to MIchigan weather.
 

Clicio

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If they are going to drop their leaves anyway, it's easier to clean up if you defoliate outdoors than have a mess..

The reasons I see around are not technical.
Some say they defoliate to wire them.
Others don't want to make a mess.
Most people train them by clip&grow, others, like me, wire them but snipping off the thorns beforehand.
I am very curious to see how well they take the colder climates, and if you care to see @LittleDingus , @leatherback started a thread comparing seedlings having approximately the same age on northern Germany to a brother in Brazil, you can find it clicking below.
Nice discussion, and some surprising results so far!
 

Clicio

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Ah, @LittleDingus , I had a similar doubt last year, about defoliating in our winter, but maples.
As a side note, I didn't defoliate them and they are doing great!

 

WNC Bonsai

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When I brought mine in last fall it had a full canopy. I tlost a few leaflets each week but by sprnig it still had over half of its original leaves and had not put out an new shoots over the winter. It sat in front of a patio door facing west all winter with no extra light and did fine. once I moved it bsck outside it did replace most if the remaining leadlets over a couoke weeks a d grew new shoots lkke crazy and it is still out there growing. In two summers it has one from the thickness of a no. 2 pencil to at least an inch thickand is now starting to develop the exaggerated thickening at each lower branch.

As for Raid, my dad knew how to use it. When he saw a bug in the house he would get out the can and spray the bug until it drowned in the stuff! Never have heard of anyone using it on plants though and I’ve never seen any pests on my BRT inside or out.
 
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