[ DEAD ] Thyme bonsai

[xtolord]

Hi all,
This is some pictures of a trial at a thyme bonsai.
It died early this year









Cheers,
Xavier

[Craig]

[Andrew F]

What killed it?!?!

[xtolord]

What killed it?!?!

So far as I can tell,
I performed way too extensive root pruning on it.
I should have pruned the "branches" and left the roots as such.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xtolord/52 ... 4606853970
The roots when unpotted

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xtolord/52 ... 4606853970
The roots after pruning.


I may also have placed it back in a too bright area too soon.


At that time I did not managed to find any info on keeping thyme bonsai. I had seen several pictures of thyme bonsai though, so I knew it was possible.
I've managed to find some documentation since.
The doc I found is in french, the approximative translation [of parts] would be :

The wild thyme usually appears to live in arid areas [ Dunno if its true, there's not wild thyme in Mauritius to my knowledge ]
They can give off long roots to reach the water beneath the arid soil surface.

FORMS AND STYLES
+ Cascade and semi-cascade can be used.
+ Styles most appropriate: Moyogi. Kabudachi. Hokidachi.

MAINTENANCE
+ Can be kept inside, near a sunny window.
+ Should be placed in a well lit placed in both winder and summer. [ The more sun, the more growth ]
+ Can be grown outside, but should be protected from frost.
+ Does not need excessive watering and an excess of humidity in the soil might damage the roots.
+ Soil should be moist [ not excessive water ]
+ Feed [ no excess ] in spring and autumn, restrain from feeding in summer as this might cause excessive growth in leaves. Do not feed when repotting.

REPOTTING
+ Every 2 ~ 3 years, always in sping [ not sure why ].
+ Soil mix should have low water retention.
+ Composted pine bark mixed with akadama and fine gravel or river sand. He likes calcareous soils.
+ A pot deeper than the usual aesthetic criteria may be helpful.
+ When pruning the roots, do not cut excessively, you should leave enough [That's where I think I blundered ].

LIFESPAN
+ Rather short lifespan, roughly 5~7 years max.

[Craig]

At that time I did not managed to find any info on keeping thyme bonsai.

Learn to simply grow them as "pot plants" first, and then when you have learnt about them through your experiences and watching them grow over a couple of years, use that knowledge to grow them as possible bonsai trees, good luck in the future

[xtolord]

Thanks Craig!