Fukien Tea/Carmona Help

x98cmongerx · White Belt Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 8 Location: New York

Hello everyone. I bought a fukien tea on eBay last monday. It was in a box for a few days and it got here on friday. When it arrived, I opened it, watered it a bit, and set up a fluorescent light a few inches above it. The bulb is about 750 lumens. Now, almost a week later, about 2/3 of the leaves have fallen off. Some of them were a little yellow, some were a little shriveled, and some were perfectly healthy. I was wondering if I'm doing anything wrong, or if anyone has any tips for me it'd be great. I'm a total newb when it comes to bonsai, so i'm probably missing something pretty obvious. Thanks.

x98cmongerx · White Belt Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 8 Location: New York

Also, I leave the light on for about 16/18 hours a day. Is it bad to leave it on 24/7? if it's not then i'll just leave it on all the time.

emorrin · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:31 pm Post subject: Re: Fukien Tea/Carmona Help

It sounds like you have a decent setup. One thing that would be good to add is a humidity tray. The humidity tray should be a few inches larger than the pot and have some pebbles/stones in it. The larger the better. The pot would then sit on top of the pebbles/stones so the water doesn't touch the bottom drain holes. If you constantly keep some water in the humidity tray then there will be a micro environment of humidity around it, something it needs.

The Carmona is what I would consider and intermediate plant to care for. The soil should be fast draining and should always be moist but not overly wet or overly dry. If it is too wet, it will let you know by having yellow leaves. If it is too dry, the leaves will shrivel up. The reason why your Carmona is probably experiencing this is because of it being in a new environment. Give it a few weeks to acclimate to where it is at. Being in a box during shipping with no light doesn't help either. I too use fluorescent lighting and have it only a few inches away from the plant. An inch or two makes a big difference. During the summer I keep the light on for 16 hours a day. During winter, I only have it on 12 hours a day. Like any plant, it does need a period of darkness to rest so having the light on 24/7 is not a good idea.

You Carmona should be fine in a few weeks and should start growing new leaves by then. I suggest you read all you can on this species and hold off on fertilizing it until new leaves start growing. Adding a few drops of super thrive per gallon of water will help with the stress it is in right now. Superthrive is a tonic of sorts, not a fertilizer.

One last thing, when you water, if you are using city water, let the water sit in an open container for 24hr so that the chlorine will evaporate. If you have well water and are using a water softener, I suggest you buy distilled water because soft water is not the greatest thing for a Carmona.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. There are plenty of knowledgeable people on this forum.

Stymie · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 4:10 pm Post subject: Re: Fukien Tea/Carmona Help

chromeheart · Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:42 pm Post subject: Re: Fukien Tea/Carmona Help

I have a Carmona too. I just put mine next to my window sill. It sits on a humidity tray a few inches bigger than the pot. I've save this tree from Homebase, where it needed repotting since it had originally been in a broken pot. I told them that it needed repotting then they told me to take it instead since they didn't have any bonsai pot. I took it home then instantly repotted it.
Carmonas are very temper mental.
I always make sure that there's water in the humidity tray.
I mist spray it sometimes at night time and feed it once in 2 weeks.
I wouldn't recommend feeding your Carmona if its shedding its leaves.
I hope it gets well. Try using rain water to water it since it prefers soft water.

x98cmongerx · White Belt Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 8 Location: New York

Hey thanks for all the advice. I forgot to mention that I do have a humidity tray, but I don't think I need any gravel. The pot has some "feet" on it so it keeps it about 3/8 of an inch above the tray. If the rocks serve some other purpose then I'll do it up. also, if I water it everyday, and I seem to have a pretty fast draining soil, will it be too much? thanks again.

emorrin · Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:45 am Post subject: Re: Fukien Tea/Carmona Help

If your pot has feet then the rocks are not totally necessary. The only reason why you may want to use rocks in your case is that the rocks add additional surface area, hence additional vaporisation/humidity. Other than that, there is no real added value in your case (i.e. having a pot with feet). Always make sure there is some water in the humidity tray though for best results.

Watering everyday may be a bit excessive. Does the top dry out everyday? I only water when needed. This varies throughout the year. Since your tree is still a little stressed out, it probably isn't taking up much water at the moment. Right now I am almost watering daily since it is in active growth. In the winter, it can vary from 3 to 5 days at times. It is not a god practice to water daily or on a set schedule. The best way to check is to stick a bamboo skewer or chopstick in the soil about an inch or so, leave it there for a few minutes, then take it out. If it looks