your thoughts on my new addition!

[elena999]

I just received my new Willow leaf..My first one. Perfectly packed..looks great..Some leaves seems so large and some are almost yellow. Can the yellow be from shipping shock..or maybe older leaves..they seem to be the ones that are so much bigger. ..nothing fell off. Also seems like it needs a trim..which scares me..I never get it right.What do you think of the overall tree?? Any suggestion?

 

[GrimLore]

Overall looks fine but EXPECT it to possibly defoliate as they often do when disturbed a bit. We have one that drops all leaves when we bring it in in Fall and take it out in Spring(19 years now). They sprout right back out in two weeks or so. It is normal although disturbing if you do not expect it. Make sure none of that gravel is glued in and if so simply remove it. For now I would just give it 16 hours of light and water weekly until it is able to be outside. We put ours out when nights are steady 50ish. No trimming at this point - let it get used to its new home If I missed something others will chime in.

Grimmy

 

[elena999]

Overall looks fine but EXPECT it to possibly defoliate as they often do when disturbed a bit. We have one that drops all leaves when we bring it in in Fall and take it out in Spring(19 years now). They sprout right back out in two weeks or so. It is normal although disturbing if you do not expect it. Make sure none of that gravel is glued in and if so simply remove it. For now I would just give it 16 hours of light and water weekly until it is able to be outside. We put ours out when nights are steady 50ish. No trimming at this point - let it get used to its new home If I missed something others will chime in.

Grimmy

Oh ..glad I asked.Hate to see all leaves drop..but at least I wont be shocked..Gravel is not glued..its actually the planting medium..which is great. Feeling positive purchased from wonderful vendor..Thanks

 

[GrimLore]

You will be even more pleased when you see the new thicker foliage come in - ours get a lot "fuller" every time

Grimmy

 

[Cypress187]

Why you wired the top? (it's still very straigh) Maybe you also want to bend it in some direction.

 

[elena999]

Why you wired the top? (it's still very straigh) Maybe you also want to bend it in some direction.

I did not wire it..it came that way..

 

[GrimLore]

Why you wired the top? (it's still very straigh) Maybe you also want to bend it in some direction.

I missed that! Honest Elena I would remove the wire. That species can be wired but it must be checked very often to avoid it biting into the bark. When my Wife does wire hers she first wraps the branch with a thick amount of raffia ribbon. It is only done when she has it outside so my watering system keeps it like a damp cushion for the wire to wrap on. Even then she checks weekly and often removes and rewires(soft bark and fast grower).

Grimmy

 

[elena999]

I missed that! Honest Elena I would remove the wire. That species can be wired but it must be checked very often to avoid it biting into the bark. When my Wife does wire hers she first wraps the branch with a thick amount of raffia ribbon. It is only done when she has it outside so my watering system keeps it like a damp cushion for the wire to wrap on. Even then she checks weekly and often removes and rewires(soft bark and fast grower).

Grimmy

Oh great, I see..so far hasnt done any damage to branches but i will remove the wire. Its shape is pretty well set i would say. thanks..Elena

 

[Paradox]

No offense Grimmy, but I wanted to clarify you mean 16 hours of light per day not per week. Id say water when necessary, mine need water 2x week under their lights.

 

[lordy]

You probably should cut the wire off with special bonsai wire cutters, rather than unwind it which could break branches or leaves off.
Also if there are occasional extra-large leaves you can simply remove those without fear.

 

[GrimLore]

No offense Grimmy, but I wanted to clarify you mean 16 hours of light per day not per week. Id say water when necessary, mine need water 2x week under their lights.

We treat my Wives Tropical plants to 16 hours a day with timers with inexpensive plant lights that take Very little power but yet are full spectrum. I advised once a week because it is that species and will need to understand/get used to its new house. To much water first off would invite problems a person with a new plant and newer to Bonsai and will not hurt the plant - They BOTH win and grow together along the journey
Anyone here can agree or disagree but I am giving advice on experience not book knowledge or I do not participate...

Grimmy

 

[elena999]

We treat my Wives Tropical plants to 16 hours a day with timers with inexpensive plant lights that take Very little power but yet are full spectrum. I advised once a week because it is that species and will need to understand/get used to its new house. To much water first off would invite problems a person with a new plant and newer to Bonsai and will not hurt the plant - They BOTH win and grow together along the journey
Anyone here can agree or disagree but I am giving advice on experience not book knowledge or I do not participate...

Grimmy

Grimmy,

Sounds good..I have several full spectrum fixtures for my Fukien tea, podocarpus ,serissa andgreen island ficus..they are all doing well this winter..No sunlight just the lamps on 14 hr timer. I will go easy on the water for a while..You have been very helpful
Elena

 

[JudyB]

If you can keep serissa and fukien tea happy, you should have no trouble at all with your new willow leaf. I have one, and it's a super easy plant.

 

[rsw]

I have one several years old now that is already 2-3 inches at the base. With lots of light and keeping it well watered you should see rapid growth. You might want to search for some images of trees with root exposure. They can be quite interesting. I pinch mine back a few times throughout the growing season and then cut it back hard every two years.

 

[rsw]

Not cleaned up for showing but it's coming along. Last cut back reshaped the position of the crown so it needs to grow out some more .

 

[Paradox]

Anyone here can agree or disagree but I am giving advice on experience not book knowledge or I do not participate...

Grimmy

I was mainly pointing out that, the way you wrote it, sounded like 16 hours of light a week. Also, watering once a week might not be enough depending on the circumstances. As you are aware, watering too little as well as too much might cause a ficus to start turning yellow and dropping leaves just because of that. That is why I suggested watering when necessary, not too much or too little.

I am also speaking from experience. I have kept ficus alive through the winter under lights. I am a bit offended that you insinuate I am stating "book knowledge"

 

[GrimLore]

I was mainly pointing out that, the way you wrote it, sounded like 16 hours of light a week. Also, watering once a week might not be enough depending on the circumstances. As you are aware, watering too little as well as too much might cause a ficus to start turning yellow and dropping leaves just because of that. That is why I suggested watering when necessary, not too much or too little.

I am also speaking from experience. I have kept ficus alive through the winter under lights. I am a bit offended that you insinuate I am stating "book knowledge"

First and foremost I did not insinuate anything bad, I was just sharing Her experience having kept Tropicals, Succulents, and Cacti indoors for MANY years(over 18 now) during our Winters. They do get 16 hours of light every 24 hours. Also we use LED setups that were originally packaged like low wattage grow sticks instead of fighting with heat radiation from other light types. The plants do well for us with a weekly watering and I suspect it is because the room is kept at 68-70f and 50 percent humidity.

I should have been more detailed in my explanation, sorry

Grimmy