Help: Drying leaves on Acacia Howitii ' Green Wave'

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aaronwithana
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Help: Drying leaves on Acacia Howitii ' Green Wave'

Post by aaronwithana »

I've got an Acacia Howitii 'Green Wave' which I potted 4x weeks ago.
I purchased this from the Sydney Wildflower Nursery, and it looked like a very healthy young plant.
The problem is that I've noticed the leaves have gradually started to appear wilted and drying out with a more pale green colour.

I'm suspecting this may be because I'm not wetting the leaves at all, and I'll be going out this weekend to get a little hair spray bottle which I believe may help.
Has anyone got any tips?

A little background info:
I'm treating the much the same as all other trees I have, by ensuring to keep the soil moist with regular watering when required (Lately 1-3 times a week).
I live in Sydney (Marrickville) and my Bonsai's are positioned on a balcony facing South-East, which gets direct sun for a few hours in the morning, and indirect sun for the rest of the day.
I'm also using a humidity tray which I've heard helps their growth.
Since this photo, I've removed the pegs which was a tip I read somewhere to help create a dramatic weeping style.

I love this little tree, and I want to do my best to keep it alive and healthy.
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Rory
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Re: Help: Drying leaves on Acacia Howitii ' Green Wave'

Post by Rory »

You don't keep the soil moist all the time. You only water it when the soil is almost dry. Balcony plants/trees are susceptible to over watering more so, because there is a greater chance they will get less sun to dry out the soil, and for some reason most people feel they need to water them regardless of the amount of moisture in the soil.
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I style Bonsai naturally, just as they would appear in the wild.
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Growing Australian natives as Bonsai: viewtopic.php?p=289480#p289480

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Growing tips for Casuarina as Bonsai: viewtopic.php?p=244995#p244995

How to reduce moss from the trunk without damaging the bark: viewtopic.php?p=295227#p295227
aaronwithana
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Re: Help: Drying leaves on Acacia Howitii ' Green Wave'

Post by aaronwithana »

Thanks for the advice, I might need to scale back the watering a bit.
Hoping it's not too late for this one
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Re: Help: Drying leaves on Acacia Howitii ' Green Wave'

Post by Watto »

Aaron - I'm no expert, but I find with mine that they "shed" old leaves and those leaves are replaced by new/young leaves very soon after that. Mine are going through this process at the moment so this may very well be "normal" in the life cycle of this species.
I find it preferable to re-pot just after flowering (so probably October for you) as they put on a lot of growth after the flowering process. I think give it time and only water when it needs it.
Check out my blog at http://www.ausbonsai.com.au/blog/Watto" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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