I am an idiot... Now what?

[jezz_39]

When was the tree last repotted? It looks to be a pretty heavy mix, also what looks like fine 'propogation' sand?
What is the drainage like - does water pool on top then slowly seep through?

The top doesnt look healthy but the root growth out the drainage holes is at least a positive.

[Raymond]

The soil is pre-mixed by The Bonsai Emporium in West Swan. I go and see Peter a couple of time a year with 2 65L bins. Water goes straight through it, always!

[DavidWilloughby]

Hi Raymond,

The fact those roots are coming through the bottom of the pot to me would suggest that it is in dire need of a repot, as Jezz asked, when was it last repotted ? I would be inclined to repot it if it has been a couple of years since it was last done.

Is your tree located in an area where it gets full sun all day and is exposed to any wind ? The reason I ask is that those leaves suggest to me that it is a combination of water burn and wind burn, you guys over on the West Coast have had some crazy temps. over there and if this leaf issue has only just came about, I would put it down to the recent conditions experienced. On 40+ days the leaves can cook infront of you.

I wouldn't be worried about styling the tree so much now, if you need to repot it, do so and along with removing the leaves that are burnt, once its settled after repotting I would feed it heavily and sit on it until next year, then with the extra growth it should have put on, you can then start to address the design aspect.

Keep us posted.

Cheers

David

[MoGanic]

Hi mate,

Doesn't look like sunburn to me as the edges would brown off first. I'd suggest some seasol every four days (depending how often you water it), at a weak solution as it's more indicative of a lack of nutrients. I may be wrong but this is my observation based on the pics provided.

Second, you have two main issues with this tree - first has been mentioned already (no taper) and the second is major bar branching which will cause reverse taper.

Your options are to chop and use one bar as a leader and the other as a first branch, or layer the top following the same process. Of course layering means you'll get to keep the hard work you've done on the top half of the tree.

Layering however will mean the top half will still not have any taper.

A drastic angle change is difficult due to the heavy root system, so this limits other options you could take.

If this were my tree, I would chop and use the right hand bar branch as a continuation of the trunk turning the tree into a raft style. In other words, angle change to the far right, causing the right hand bar branch to touch the ground and perhaps even bury it a few cm under the soil. The left hand bar would become the main trunk, and subsequent shoots along the raft would become secondary trunks.

Cheers,
Mo

First time I've heard the term "bar branching". What does that mean in newbie language?
Thanks

Bar branching is when two branches grow out of the same point on a trunk, hence looking like bicycle bars. If left on the trunk, they cause swelling at their point of origin and as such, thicken the trunk at the same point.

As has been stated, health first then design .

Regards,
Mo

[Raymond]

Hi Raymond,

The fact those roots are coming through the bottom of the pot to me would suggest that it is in dire need of a repot, as Jezz asked, when was it last repotted ? I would be inclined to repot it if it has been a couple of years since it was last done.

Is your tree located in an area where it gets full sun all day and is exposed to any wind ? The reason I ask is that those leaves suggest to me that it is a combination of water burn and wind burn, you guys over on the West Coast have had some crazy temps. over there and if this leaf issue has only just came about, I would put it down to the recent conditions experienced. On 40+ days the leaves can cook infront of you.

I wouldn't be worried about styling the tree so much now, if you need to repot it, do so and along with removing the leaves that are burnt, once its settled after repotting I would feed it heavily and sit on it until next year, then with the extra growth it should have put on, you can then start to address the design aspect.

Keep us posted.

Cheers

David

It was re-potted about late March 0f 2013...

[jezz_39]

I think David is right in that it is wind/water burn. Build up of salinity can also have similar effects, not necessarily a result of too much fertiliser as it can also come down to the soil mix and how much salts it holds onto.

The fact that its only affected one side makes me think the former. Do you water by hand or irrigation system? On extreme hot days its said foliage should not be watered, only the soil. Unless you water early, or there is some shade protection.

Do you know exactly what the soil mix comprises of? I'm not saying theres anything wrong with it, soil mixes are a huge debate these days and it ultimately comes down to the user and what works best for them in their conditions. Just from looking at the surface I cant seem to see any inorganic particles to aid in air porosity.
Also, does the pot have legs or do the drainage holes sit flat?

I know these seem like general questions, but without knowing all the nitty gritty and only looking at photos, correct advice can be hard to offer.

[Raymond]

I think David is right in that it is wind/water burn. Build up of salinity can also have similar effects, not necessarily a result of too much fertiliser as it can also come down to the soil mix and how much salts it holds onto.

The fact that its only affected one side makes me think the former. Do you water by hand or irrigation system? On extreme hot days its said foliage should not be watered, only the soil. Unless you water early, or there is some shade protection.

Do you know exactly what the soil mix comprises of? I'm not saying theres anything wrong with it, soil mixes are a huge debate these days and it ultimately comes down to the user and what works best for them in their conditions. Just from looking at the surface I cant seem to see any inorganic particles to aid in air porosity.
Also, does the pot have legs or do the drainage holes sit flat?

I know these seem like general questions, but without knowing all the nitty gritty and only looking at photos, correct advice can be hard to offer.

Fist up, THANKS to all that are trying to help me out!!!
Dave, I water by hand, early mornings before work (6:30am) I cant tell you the make up of the soil, I just buy it. Peter at The Bonsai Emporium use the same mix. The pot sits flat but there is gaps between the boards and when I water it always drains well. I sometimes on really hot days go out of an evening and spray the foliage of my trees to give them respite from the heat.
I have lots of figs, but this is the only one struggling...

[jezz_39]

It was re-potted about late March 0f 2013...

While I wouldnt say this is a long enough time period to become severely root bound to the point of ill health, its possible.

IF the tree were mine, I would do a complete defoliation and/or cut back, and repot. If there is not much gritty material in the potting mix it will certainly help to add some 2-7mm (diatomite, pumice, gravel etc etc) Water well with seasol and then once a week with seasol until buds are pushing. Once the first few leaves have hardened I would introduce fertiliser weekly. I generally sprinkle some Osmocote slow release on the surface at repotting, Figs are heavy feeders and every bit helps.
This is only what I would do, its true that health and vigour should always been maintained before any major work is carried out, however, Figs just have a resilience to live and will generally look past the added 'stress' you've put on them and thank you with with a good flush of growth.

You may want to get further opinions from one of the veterans before going ahead with my advice, though.

[MoGanic]

I think David is right in that it is wind/water burn. Build up of salinity can also have similar effects, not necessarily a result of too much fertiliser as it can also come down to the soil mix and how much salts it holds onto.

The fact that its only affected one side makes me think the former. Do you water by hand or irrigation system? On extreme hot days its said foliage should not be watered, only the soil. Unless you water early, or there is some shade protection.

Do you know exactly what the soil mix comprises of? I'm not saying theres anything wrong with it, soil mixes are a huge debate these days and it ultimately comes down to the user and what works best for them in their conditions. Just from looking at the surface I cant seem to see any inorganic particles to aid in air porosity.
Also, does the pot have legs or do the drainage holes sit flat?

I know these seem like general questions, but without knowing all the nitty gritty and only looking at photos, correct advice can be hard to offer.

Fist up, THANKS to all that are trying to help me out!!!
Dave, I water by hand, early mornings before work (6:30am) I cant tell you the make up of the soil, I just buy it. Peter at The Bonsai Emporium use the same mix. The pot sits flat but there is gaps between the boards and when I water it always drains well. I sometimes on really hot days go out of an evening and spray the foliage of my trees to give them respite from the heat.
I have lots of figs, but this is the only one struggling...

Are you using any fertiliser at the moment?

[Raymond]

I use a mix of 15ml Seasol/15ml powerfeed in 9 litres of water every second weekend...

[Bonsaitrees (Craig)]

So my question is, what now

1-Defoliate the whole tree,
2-Cut off all very weak thin branches which do not look promising, cut the growing tips from all but the weakest remaining shoots,
3- Wait until new buds form and are swelled to about the half way point of opening,
4- Repot the tree into a deeper pot to grow on.Remove any dead roots but don't go overboard with rootpruning,
5- Keep in a sunny location until new leaves arrive and DO NOT feed/fertilise AT ALL for at least 2 months or untill the new growth has put out extension shoots and is Growing strongly.

Do it now but keep your tree in an area where it will not be bitten by the Rising temps this weekend. Take the tree inside if need be.

good luck

[Boics]

I'm curious about the advise to defoliate what is clearly a sick tree?

In my opinion sure, get rid of the damaged growth/leaves but I would have thought defoliate may just add to the stress and further weaken this tree?

I'm interested for my own reasons too.
I repotted a fig today with poor roots and below average growth. Id like to defoliate and promote some fresh growth but fear that this would further hamper the trees health?

Is it cool to repot and defoliate at the same time?

[Bonsaitrees (Craig)]

The tree itself is quite healthy it just has some leaves which are not in great health.
The roots seem plentiful because they are through the bottom of the pot so the tree should be strong enough.
A defoliation in this warm weather is perfect.
If the repot is held off until the new shoots are formed then Yes it is quite safe to do in that order.
A defoliation will not only allow a brief rest but will enable some necessary backbudding on the tree.

[Ray M]

Hi Raymond,
I think there are a number of steps to take. For the moment, cut off all the burnt leaves, water each day, and after watering give it a drink of Seasol every second day. Use the 25ml per 9 litre mix. When you cut off the leave make sure you give the area where you cut the leaves a watering. This will wash off the sap and prevent staining the tree. The reason for not taking off all the leaves is to use them as a gauge. Looking at your photo of the leaves in your post January 16th 2014, the tree looks very hungry. As the tree recovers you should see an improvement in the leaves. Once you get the tree back to health it will need a good fertilizing. Are you able to get Seamungus? As mentioned, when the tree is showing a lot better health sprinkle a good dose of Seamungus on the soil.

Repotting: I wouldn’t do a repot at the moment. I think it is more important to get the tree back to health. Eventually, when you do a repot of the tree remember that figs love a very open soil. I mix Scotts Orchid mix 50/50 with my bonsai mix. This gives a very open mix.

Defoliating: After the tree is back to good health would be a good time to defoliate. You need to check with some of the fellows in your part of the country, how late can you defoliate. If the tree is looking good and you are still in the right time schedule, then defoliate.

Regards Ray

[Raymond]

Many thanks to those who have have offered advice on this particular tree. I have defoliated in late Feb in past seasons so hopefuly the tree is back in good health by then. Tomorrow afternoon I will remove the burnt leaves. I'll post pics when I'm done. After racking my brains over the last couple of days I remembered that this pot was filled with general potting mix, not my Bonsai mix.