Serissa Foetida???

[golgotha]

I bought this from a chain Home and garden centre that i won't name, lets just say that it rhymes with Funnings
It had no markings or ID tags and the friendly yet mostly unhelpful staff where none the wiser when i quizzed them as to what it was.
I searched around trying to ID it and stumbled across this great community, I have my suspicions that it is a Serissa Foetida, am I correct?
And also any ideas as to styling would be greatly appreciated as this is my first go at bonsai.
Thanks in advance, lets move on to the pics.

11b12ya.jpg

Front view

35asl5g.jpg

Rear view

I suspect it hasn't been moved in a while from where it was up against a wall, would this be the reason all of the foliage seems to be "facing" the front?

P.s. Sorry for cropped pics but when i link the tinypic urls here it seems to crop them

[Mojo Moyogi]

Yes, Serissa foetida 'Snowleaves' I think is the cultivar.

As for styling, there is a Serissa fanatic on the forum somewhere, I can't remember their username, but odds are they or someone else who has grown this species more than I have will reply.

Cheers,
Mojo

[coocarch]

I hope you're not referring to me. But I am a big fan of Serissa's. The good thing about them is that they're hardy, and wont die back if you forget to water them one day. They have really attractive star-shaped flowers that range from pink-white and the roots smell awful when you trim them. I would suggest planting it into a bigger, plastic pot and fertilize-grow it until there is some root flare and fair branch structure. I tried my first (successful) bonsai as one of these, it looks OK at the moment. Here's a link to what it looked like last time I photographed it http://coocarch.deviantart.com/#/d4exdox . I took this picture just before I planted it into a large plastic pot, so that come spring it thickens at the trunk and in 1 or 2 years time will be a treasure in my collection. Good luck with your tree, and remember to use Osmocote fertilizer, you'll find soon that it's your best friend.

[alpineart]

Hi golgotha , if its from a chain store check that the top layer of pebbles hasn't been bond-creted on , certainly looks like it . This is the case with most of their so call bonsai .The bond-crete penetrates the roots and eventually kills the plant .

There seems to be quite a few different cultivar's around as Mojo suggested .I have a few trainers that love being fertilized and watered the same as all my plants , and an out of control noxious weed in the garden that thrives on neglect .They are slow to thicken in bonsai pots as with most plants , a grow box for root run will do it wonders and the roots and root cuttings sprout easily as suckers for raft style or sinuous root groups even root over rock .They become easily congested if not thinned out regularly , pinching out or trimming the new growth is a continual task .

Cheers Alpineart

[golgotha]

thank for the replies guys, I don't think the rock has been bond creted as i poked my finger in under it to check the soil moisture and the individual rocks all moved freely, I will however take your advice and repot to get some better roots going, this will also give me the chance to check out what is going on under there at the moment.

Thanks again, Golgotha

[Hackimoto]

With the variegation on the edge of the leaf it looks like Serissa foetida "Snowrose". If it has flowered and the flowers are any shade of pink then that would confirm that it is Snowrose.