AusBonsai

Hi everyone,
About a month ago I bought my first bonsai - a Serissa (little did I know how difficult this species is to look after). It's been growing relatively well, but has been on a very slow decline since purchase. There has been no obvious leaf growth or new stems within this month, and the tree has gone through periods of browning leaves etc before bouncing back, until recently.
I keep my tree indoors (as my uni room doesn't have a balcony) underneath a window. It never receives direct sunlight in that spot, except weekends when I move it to the sunny patch on the floor. I have a chopstick inserted into the soil to check moistness and I have been watering and misting it accordingly. I have had training wire on the tree since the beginning, but recently I decided to take it off as it began looking sick. Taking off the wire completely moved the entire plant in the soil, so I repotted it into the same soil in a better position (the soil is from a Bonsai Potting Mix from Bunnings) about a week ago... but since then the leaves have started wilting and turning brown! It's only a matter of days now before the tree completely dies, so I'm desperate for help! I keep it in a small tray and water NEVER touches the roots, so root rot shouldn't be an issue and I can't see any bugs or pests on the tree.
This is my poor tree:
http://oi61.tinypic.com/9qw6zo.jpg
and here's a closer look at the leaves:
http://oi60.tinypic.com/iqjvh1.jpg

Someone please help!!

EDIT: Two weeks ago I moved the tree five hours up the Queensland coast but it seemed to survive the journey well enough, I don't think it's related to that at all!

Hello Sarahmay, I am sorry to have to tell you this but your serrisa is beyond help. Bonsai are not indoor plants and require the sun and wind and rain etc,. As for watering, they need a good soak and then be left to drain, misting is not the best watering option. Don't let this deter you from getting Bonsai in the future, we all lose bonsai, especially early on. Know why it has died and what to do to stop the next one from going the same way. So sorry I could not give you better news, good luck in the future. Michael.

dark1 wrote:Hello Sarahmay, I am sorry to have to tell you this but your serrisa is beyond help. Bonsai are not indoor plants and require the sun and wind and rain etc,. As for watering, they need a good soak and then be left to drain, misting is not the best watering option. Don't let this deter you from getting Bonsai in the future, we all lose bonsai, especially early on. Know why it has died and what to do to stop the next one from going the same way. So sorry I could not give you better news, good luck in the future. Michael.

Is there any way to save it now? Where I am, it won't rain again until about November and it receives enough wind through my window - if I try and fix the sunlight issue should it recover?
I started out by soaking it but the leaves turned yellow as if I was overwatering it which is why I changed to misting, I can't win

unfortunately may be too late, but have a look at this wiki page for some tips on keeping bonsai

https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... ai_healthy

Ken

It might shoot a root sucker if it's not dead but those branches look dead. Serissa are not easy plants to bonsai. They drop their leaves and sulk whenever there are minor changes to climate, sunlight, watering etc. I've tried 2 and they're both dead now.

It's too far gone in my opinion sorry mate.
If you want to keep ya plant inside I'd be looking at a ficus as they are a very Hardy plant and great for a beginner.
Good luck in your quest.

Serissa = pain and unhappiness for the beginner.

Get yourself a ficus or elm. Something not quite so fiddly!

I have a serissa which I've kept inside through winter here in Melbourne and its very healthy - spends most of it time in an east facing window so mainly gets morning sun. Was worried it wouldnt last long after reading about how moody they are but this ones been growing and flowering like a trooper.

Good news - new bright green leaves are growing at the ends of nearly every branch! A few hours of direct sunlight in the morning, putting a shallow layer of water in its tray to increase humidity (even though it's already living in tropical QLD) and soaking the soil through when it starts getting dry has been working wonders and hopefully it doesn't start going downhill again!
Is it normal for my soil to remain very damp for three days plus after mild soaking?

sarahmay wrote: Is it normal for my soil to remain very damp for three days plus after mild soaking?

Not usually. in winter i would expect a day or so and summer ideally shodu need rewatering daily or more if hot.

Ken

My mother(who has no interest in bonsai) has a serissa indoors which seems to do fine except in all the time we've had it (4-5 years) it's not flowered once. Beginning to think its indoors lifestyle could be the issue.