i messed up and need help

willowgrove · Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 3:42 am Post subject: i messed up and need help

Hello,
I am new to bonsai and this web site. My name is Mike and I have a problem with my first tree. My girlfriend got me a blue moss cypress as a surprise a couple of weeks ago. My first mistake was not going out and getting the necessary info I needed to properly take care of it. The first mistake I made was not misting it daily. I kept it indoors at first because I didn't know that it would do better outside. My second mistake was trimming the shoots back with scissors instead of using my fingers. A couple of days after I trimmed a few of the long shoots, the places where I trimmed it became dry and yellowish. I then found info on how to pluck it back correctly, but still didn't know how important it was to keep it humid around the tree. After that, the rest of the tree became less of color and dry all over. I panicked and got as much info as I could on the proper care. It has always received the right amount of water, but I didn't know to keep my humidity tray full of water for it. I thought that it just collected the drained water. I now have it outside where it is very humid with the tray full of water, and I mist it in the morning and the evening. It doesn't get but a few hours of direct sunlight in the morning, because of the poor location of my apartment. A little of the color returned, but it is still brittle all over the tree. Is it a lost hope? What should I do?

StaceyR · Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 5:05 am Post subject: Re: i messed up and need help

If some of the color has returned you may get recovery. It is good that you researched and learned from your mistakes(I still haven't) Wink

. Keep up with what yo are doing. That amount of sunlight could be good as your tree is recovering it doesn't too much direct sunlight. It would be very helpful if you could post a pic. Welcome to BonsaiHelp!

Dick · Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:30 am Post subject: Re: i messed up and need help

As long as your tree is still green, it will probably recover, but it will take time and maybe another growing season. So you will need to give your tree excellent care for quite some time.

I see by your post that you seem to spend a lot of time misting the tree and providing humidity. It's not that the tree cannot benefit from both, but it is more important to maintain the dampness in the soil at all times rather than misting the foliage and worrying about humidity levels. Your tree has very limitied ability to absorb moisture through its foliage unlike some other trees can. Most evergreens are like that. Your tree gets it's moisture through the roots. That's why it is important that the soil never dry out completely. If your tree in in a coarse, free draining soil, then it will most probably need to be watered daily. Simply water it enough until the water comes through the pot and drains out freely. That will be enough to sustain it until the next day.

As for light, morning and evening sun are good for a tree that is recovering, but when your tree is restored to peak shape ( it may be a while for that to be so), it can withstand full direct sunlight all day as long as there is enough moisture at the roots.

At this point, do not fertilize your tree. It is under a lot of stress while it is recoverying and fertilizer will only add to that stress since it cannot respond to the urge to grow that the fertilizer will promote as well as a healthy tree can. As for its location, your tree should be outdoors all the year long since it can withstand the winter months as well. It is not an indoor tree at all. We can talk more about that as the winter approaches.

I hope this will help you understand a little bit of the more practical side of bonsai. It's not an really any ancient mystery, but good sound gardening practices.

Welcome to the forum. You'll find it a very friendly place and come back again with any questions you may have.

Stymie · Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 6:38 pm Post subject: Re: i messed up and need help

Willowgrove hiyah.
I'm just adding a word about the 'humidity tray'. This is to form a micro-climate around the tree. Any water in the tray should not be in contact with the bottom of the pot. This may cause root rot. The idea is to have a layer of small pebbles, marbles or grit in it, which is kept moist but holds the pot out of the water. Such devices are mostly used for semi-tropical trees which have to have shelter indoors, where there is very little air movement. Outside, where your tree rightly is, there is more air movement and the formation of a micro-climate round the tree is hardly possible.

willowgrove · Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:39 pm Post subject: thanks for the tips

Thank you for the tips, I have kept a vigilant eye on it ever since I messed it up. There is some green, but from a distance it looks fairly blue. Moisture has returned to the leaves in part, and overall I think it will pull through in the end. Luckily, I only fed it once after the incident, and that was at half-strength, per the instructions. I had thought about putting a plastic bag over it with holes in the top, until I read that my tree doesn't take in much water that way.
Again, thank you everyone for the tips, and the welcome to the community. It's only my first bonsai tree, but already I know that it will be a lifelong hobby of mine.

mike

Stymie · Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:43 pm Post subject: Re: i messed up and need help

The blue look is good.

steve · Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:46 pm Post subject: Re: i messed up and need help

A dose of epsom salts will bring out more of the blue. Welcome to the sites.