The serissa's not for turning!

jjb · White Belt Joined: 05 May 2005 Posts: 7

Hello wonderful Bonsai peeps

As you will know if you read my maple entry I am a total novice but I have the bonsai bug and can't wait to get home every day to play with my trees. I've gone and bought myself a Serissa, its in my bathroom, large sash window always open, daily doses of humidity provided by shower. I even think I've got its watering schedule nailed (it likes to have a bath in water butt water every two days and a mist in between at the moment). New shoots are appearing on it and I'm thinking of giving it a trim. So far so good.

However, from what I've seen on the site I should be turning the plant to make sure it doesn't grow lop-sided. I've also read that this bonsai is the prima donna of the mini-tree world and will drop its leaves the moment I do anything it doesn't like. So should I turn my darling little tree and if so how often should I turn it?

Thanks for your time this forum is the best I've found.

Jenny

Dick

Welcome Jenny. This is the friendliest bonsai forum around.

Your serissa seems to like its current environment. I hope that it continues to thrive for you. Take a look at the A-Z section of the forum under serissas and you'll find more information about the care of them. They are a difficult plant to maintain for a long period of time. It's not impossible only very care intensive.

Good luck and come back with any question you might have.

jjb · White Belt Joined: 05 May 2005 Posts: 7

Thanks Dick

Should I turn my Serissa? I don't want it to grow lop-sided but also don't want it to drop its leaves...

Jenny

Dick

Rotating to even the sunlight on all side about once per week is a good idea. However, being that it's a serissa, you should expect some leaf drop. Never let them dry out. Keep the humidity high. Give them excellent light and circulate the air around them. And then you might have a fighting chance to keep them well for some time. They are difficult buggers, though the Kyoto variety is easier to grow than the common variety.

jjb · White Belt Joined: 05 May 2005 Posts: 7

OK so how do I keep the Serissa in temps 10 degrees centigrade or above, humid and in a well ventilated area during winter when my windows will be shut, and my house will vary from about 6 degrees centigrade to 18 degrees centigrade depending on whether my heating is on or not?

Would a humidity tray and a miniature green-house in my bathroom (warmest, lightest room in my house) be any good? But how do I achieve air flow around the tree?

I am beginning to see Serissas in a whole new light..... :(

Tuppence2

Hello Jenny.

Nice to meet you. Smile

Oh dear! These Serissas!

I have a hardy variety that can live outside. John P keeps his outside summer and winter, I believe. No doubt he'll put me right on that if I'm not correct.

It has a pebble-filled tray and it's watered as often as I think it needs to be. It produced flowers a few weeks ago, I put it into a bigger pot once the flowers stopped, and it's producing them again.

Hope your's decides it's happy and lives for you. Smile

Bye,
Penny.

DMicheleR

Welcome Jenny,
I also have a prima donna Serissa. The only thing I can tell you about them is they will always do the unexpected. I sunburned mine to a crisp before I found out how picky they were, and nothing I tried seemed to make it better. I gave up hope that it would ever recover, tossed it in a sunny window in my kitchen, and threw a little water on it once or twice a week. Imagine my surprise when it started bouncing back Shocked

! It is now happily thriving on neglect! I don't recommend this course of action for anyone. The moral of the story is: if you have a method that's working nicely, don't mess with it! Twisted Evil