AusBonsai

Here my Litle boug in training its been going great guns since I bought it as a stick from a nursery 2 and half years ago. Im starting to become fond of it and hope its around for some time to come so although this might seem trivial I must ask, Why the fading spots on leaves and the yellowing of leaves? Overwatering? Its been in full sun and we've had some really hot weather here in Perth over the past couple of weeks with high humidity… or is it a deficiency? More leaves are turning so I feel I need to change something. What do you think all you wise bonsai enthusiasts???

I've been researching this same problem for a Ficus Benji and have learnt that it could be:
Over watering
Under watering
Fertilising
Change of conditions

For mine, all of the above could be a problem as I bought it 850km south at Christmas time, we've had wet and dry and I just read from Treeman that they don't like chook poo. What I have decided to do is create consistency. Same fertiliser, same place kept and consistent watering. By consistent I mean watering at the same amount of dryness using the chopstick technique. By doing this I can make changes to eliminate possible issues.

Bougies are pretty tough, we had one in a 20litre pot by the pool at a Motel I used to run. It got watered by rain only and no ferts, and has been there for 20 odd years. I'm only saying this so you don't feel under pressure to remedy this situation quickly.

I know they're tough when left to they're own devises.. Wait, have I just answered my own question? The trouble is I can't leave it alone because I will lose control of the branch development. These things thicken up quick. Your right I just need to chill out abit.

NAHamilton wrote:I've been researching this same problem for a Ficus Benji and have learnt that it could be:
Over watering
Under watering
Fertilising
Change of conditions

For mine, all of the above could be a problem as I bought it 850km south at Christmas time, we've had wet and dry and I just read from Treeman that they don't like chook poo.

Thats an interesting observation. I keep mine covered with a 2 cm layer of DL and it grows like a weed on steroids.

Mt. Nasura, I would probably take some of your own advice ad try not to kill it with love. Consistent watering, allowing the soil to dry a little (not completely) between waterings in a free draining soil. If the problem persists you may want to inspect the roots, check for grubs, rot etc.

Good luck with it.

Ces.

Ces, it's not an observation as such, just another members opinion. I haven't put any Dl on it as yet, I read Treeeman's advice in the last couple of days. How long have you been using DL on yours? I'd imagine that it would take a while to turn the soil alkaline

Looks healthy enough to me. Leaves do die and fall off. I find bougies in pots need more watering than when in the ground. I water mine every day and have started planting more of them into sifted deco - I have found a supplier in brissy who sells it as drainage gravel and it is 5mm. I sieve out the smaller stuff and find it is great for bougies and also desert rose. I have no problems with overwatering and I feel it helps with root development. The only downside is heavy pots

I think my mix is way to dense, Ive never heard of sifted deco. would like to find out more, will check it out. cheers

It's something I have been experimenting with. I always like to look into non organic mixes. I find that bougies in potting mix don't develop big roots and just have a mass of finer roots. When you repot them a lot of the roots just come away. Of course you need to feed them regularly - I just put some DL on the surface. So far so good. I carried this on after finding I had a much better strike rate when doing large bougy cuttings using pots of 10mm concrete blend. I feel that it drains better than potting mix and encourages roots.

All of my Bougies are in Diatomite / Zeolite mix and get watered daily.
Some in Full sun, others in part shade and get liquid fert every 2-3 weeks and Neutrog Sudden Impact on the surface every 6 weeks or so..

All aredoing wonderfully.

Ken

Bougies rot very fast, especially if the trunk is buried under soil level. If there are many leaves drying it can be a sign of root rot.
If the leaves are just turning yellow, especially the new growth, it chlorosis, iron deficiency dew to high PH conditions of water or soil.
Use acid fertilizer and add iron chelate.

The little boug is better than ever in its first pot after repotting 3 weeks ago. Thanks for the knowledgable responses.