Aspire

Yea, That trace element frit....just found out that I dont need much of it! Although if I recall I didnt really put THAT much in....as the bag is still quite full (compared to when I got it). I may have put a bit too much in still though. Although I hate to sound negative but I think the tree may already be gone . I am still trying to keep it alive though! If it does die I will most likely try to find a tree that is a little less sensitive to what I do with it and more hardy. Anyone know of any hardy trees that can be kept indoors through Canadian winters and even outdoors throughout Canadian Summer/Fall/Spring? Our winters are WAY too harsh for a bonsai tree but I think many trees may be able to survive in our climate during the other seasons?

artyanimal

Aspire,

Many sub-tropical/tropical trees can and do not only survive but, thrive inside!

However, as you have already witnessed the effects of having too organic a soil mix firsthand...

Your main obstacle now is likely that your suppliers may not know (exactly) the conditions under which your past, or future trees were/are grown.

I have the luxury of going to a supplier that receives chinese imports like the serissa in question directly in bare root form. Such nurseries then pot and place their trees accordingly where they remain until buyers actually pick them up and remove 'em themselves. In other words, if I buy any tree from their shade houses I already know I can place and keep it in similar conditions in mine with little or no adverse effect whatsoever. I can in turn, then sell a Mt. Fuji serissa for instance, as able to tolerate lower indoor 'good' light conditions with some confidence because, well...it can!

These are loosely referred to as "indoor trees" since they do not have to contend with as radical a change in lighting as a sun grown tree would. A sun grown tree might demonstrate this better for you by dropping half its leaves in the first two weeks. If one then adds a perpetually soggy root system to a tree with a very organic mix that was formally only misted by an automated system well, as you now know, the results ain't pretty.

I guess I said all that to tell you that without accurate knowledge of the conditions any tree was grown under, its really anybody's guess as to how well (or poorly) any given species will do inside.

Again, welcome to the art of bonsai.

Sheesh!

Arty

treebeard55

As our Eminent Doctor Professor Snipologist has said (no offense intended, I just get a kick out of that term ) -- as Arty has said, there are tropicals/subtropicals that can be kept healthy, and enjoyed, in indoor conditions. Yes, you have to give them light adequate to their needs, and humidity ditto; but with species like Ficus microcarpa, F. neriifolia (aka F. salicifolia,) and Schefflera spp., that's not so difficult.

Fact is, Aspire, serissas have earned a reputation as finicky and prone to sudden death. (Part of that, I'm now convinced, is because we've mislabeled them as tropical.) You started out with one of the more difficult ones, actually. Rest assured you are far from the first to lose a serissa; in 20 years, I've lost at least eight. But I'm learning.

Many hardy species can be kept as bonsai: many pines, junipers, arborvitae (also called "cedar" in some places,) larch, will all do fine in your winters if sheltered from wind. Understand, tho, that these species need to be outside all the time. Period. (Unless you bring them in for a day or two to be part of the decor, or a conversation piece at a party.)

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

artyanimal

Treebeard55: "As our Eminent Doctor Professor Snipologist has said..."

LOL

Well, it seemed far less frightening for new customers than:

HACKOLOGIST!

Cheers,

Arty