Dying Leptosermum

[Cacka]

All this trees leaves wilted and fell off after a repot, I thought it was dead but has continued to send out new buds for months, as soon as they get a few mm long then wilt and die too, Anyone have any ideas on the issue or how to save it.

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[DaveZ]

What time of year did you repot and how much of the root system did you take off? I've found most Leptospermum to be fairly forgiving if they are in good health when you repot. If they aren't super healthy then it's a bit of a roll of the dice in my experience. If it's still shooting back just make sure it has some fertiliser and don't let it dry out too much, probably not much more you can do for it at this point.

[BonsaJas]

Not sure if you are in hot or cold parts of the country. It’s sending out this buds cause it’s under stress and trying to live. Think of it as being in emergency care. Too much of anything right now will cause more stress. So, jus enough water- trying misting a couple of times a day. BUT too much water will cause stress so poke your finger I tot he pot and see how much water is down there. Too much sun is bad and so it too little. If you are in a hot part of the country vs cold.
It’s winter so it’s trying to conserve energy if you are in a cold part. But if you are in qld, this doesn’t apply. Id keep it someplace warm and a bit humid. Try and convince the plant that it’s spring til the real spring comes.
Too much fertiliser will kill it too, this one depends on how much reserves the plant has and how much it can soak up via its roots. If you cut a ton off, it can’t ‘eat’ the fertiliser, cause it doesn’t have much to eat with. So, small bits and pieces - or none at all.

Last comment, whether this one lives or doesn’t, go get yourself another one of these. You now know more about leptos than before, so don’t waste what you’ve learnt!

Hope that helps

[Raniformis]

Just a quick observation... you've got a stack of feeder roots exposed, like half the rootball is above the soil line. Maybe get some moss/mulch over there and hope for the best. Next time you do an angle change protect the feeders and expose as the tree makes new roots.

[treeman]

Double post.

[treeman]

Looks hopeless. Two reasons for this. 1/ Pot too big so not drying out quickly enough (too much water and not enough air) Too fine a mix will also do this. 2/ Allowing it to dry and thereby killing of the roots leading to secondary infection. Either way the result is the same. Get another one and watch for these problems. There are other, more subtle things to be aware of as well. The main one is planting a root ball imbedded in a fine textured mix into a mix which is substantially more open. This means the original root ball will stay much wetter than it should, sometimes without you noticing.
If it's a laevigatum, it needs more oxygen at the roots than if it's a scoparium.
Killing plants is the only way to learn how not to. Don't beat yourself up about it. Everyone does it.

[Rory]

Looking at your mix, that looks badly over watered and staying wet too long

Going forward…. don’t water them everyday, only water a bonsai when the soil is dry and it needs water.