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Newbie to bonzai trees + first post (and red mites??)
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Author:  KatR [ 26 May 2017, 22:38 ]
Post subject:  Newbie to bonzai trees + first post (and red mites??)
Hello all! I'm new to the Wee Trees forum, this being my first post. I have a few concerns about my tree, which I've been researching a lot. However, now I feel like it would be nice (and more helpful) to just come on a forum and hopefully get advice for my specific tree. Sorry if this post gets long, I want to be thorough :).

So a month and a half ago now, I got my very first bonsai tree from the RHS show. It's a small Chinese Elm and looks to be in a ceramic, glazed pot. The pot has one large-ish draining hole at the bottom. I'm not sure what type of soil it is in, but I assume it's good since it was from a very reputable bonsai seller (I think they even won awards xD). When I first got it, it was doing really well in the first two weeks. It was growing like crazy and had new branches everywhere. So one day I decided to prune it back to a good shape and gave it its first fertiliser. It lives on my south facing window sill which gets really bright. I read that elms like to be outdoors but I'm reluctant since there isn't any places I can put it. It does seem to be happy with the amount of light its getting from what I can tell though. At first I had a bit of a bad watering issue. I'm used to having a cactus, so giving it a lot of water felt unnatural, though I made myself do it anyway. After the pruning/watering/fertilising session though my tree's health rapidly went downhill. It's leaves had yellow splotches and eventually nearly all of them fell off. They never went completely brown though and after scouring the internet to help my tree buddy, I suspected a watering issue. Eventually I realised (since the leaves weren't crispy and the top soil had a little white mould) that it was overwatering. I have now adopted the chopstick method ever since (or cocktail stick in my case xD) and my tree has made lots of improvement. No more leaves have fallen, and loads of new leaves have grown back, with some more buds on the way also. The first picture below shows how my tree looked when I first got it (ignore my photo-bombing cactus :D), the second picture shows how the tree is today. Bare in mind that the tree looked a lot more sparse than it is now (there were only a few leaves left.) So I'm really happy with all the new growth :D.

Image Image

However, I'm also kind of concerned because I saw a red mite leisurely strolling across the soil earlier. I saw a red mark in the soil when I first got it, but it wasn't moving and so I just removed it. But now today I saw a live one. I first thought it was a spider mite, but after some research, I decided maybe not since it wasn't in the leaves. There also doesn't seem to be any eggs or anything at all on the undersides of the leaves. I now think that it could of been the red velvet mite, since it seems to be a little bigger, and more visible, than descriptions of the red spider mite. Also quite slow. I was wondering if this could be a problem? And if so how to deal with the problem? I've also been noticing little white spots/small string-ish stuff on some of the leaves. It basically looks like dust. It used to be around a lot during my overwatering problem, so I thought it was Edema. Most of it is gone now, but it's still on some leaves - including some newer ones. It's also on some branches. It seems to come off if I spray water on it, so I'm worried it could be webs/eggs. However, this only happens on the topside of leaves and not the bottom, which isn't how spider mites behave from what I've read. Here are some more pictures of my tree below. I was also wondering if it looks okay in general. :)

These are the white markings:
Image
Image

Happy looking leaves:
Image
Image

Soil:
Image

Bark:
Image

So basically I have a lot of questions, haha.
-Will my tree do okay indoors? (I think it might of been labelled as Indoors when I got it)
-To be or not to be worried about the red mites?
-What is this white stuff?
-Is one big drainage hole at the bottom of the pot okay?
-I've been getting really small weed looking plants springing out of the soil every so often. Dunno if the bonsai seller put them there for effect (like the moss) or if they're something I should pull out.
-It's been really sunny (for the UK anyway) lately, will the tree be happy in 25 Celsius heat?
-Does my tree look okay?

Thank you for reading and also for any help or advice in advance! :) Sorry if it's a lot of questions, I'm very curious about my tree and want it to grow back very healthy again. xD.
Author:  NickB [ 27 May 2017, 08:27 ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie to bonzai trees + first post (and red mites??)
I am not looking at a happy tree when I see this little Chinese Elm. There really should be much more foliage and the twigs should be pushing extension growths.

Although these trees can be grown indoors, at this time of year it is much better to place them outside on a patio in the sun, rain and breeze.
There is much more light available outdoors and the fresh air should prove a tonic.

In fact, many people leave Chinese elm outdoors all year round. I just give mine winter protection via a cold greenhouse in the coldest months.
Author:  Paul B [Swindon] [ 27 May 2017, 11:40 ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie to bonzai trees + first post (and red mites??)
It doesn't look to be in good free draining soil and when did you last feed it and with what.

The drainage holes on these cheap mass produced pots are rubbish, far too small and gets clogged easily.

Get it outside in the sun, [good light] keep it damp, give it some week feed and it should perk up
Author:  stymie [ 27 May 2017, 12:27 ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie to bonzai trees + first post (and red mites??)
Definitely put it outside where nature intended. The long bare twigs behind the new leaves are a sure indication that this is what it needs. I would also scrape away the growth on the surface of the planting medium and let air get into the surface. A more open medium would do wonders but let's get it growing properly first.
Author:  KatR [ 27 May 2017, 14:50 ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie to bonzai trees + first post (and red mites??)
Thanks for all your replies.
@NickB The pictures are a little misleading. As I said, about a week or two ago, nearly all leaves dropped bar a few due to my over zealous watering. 80% of what you're seeing in the second picture is new growth, since I adopted the chopstick method. There are also a lot of buds around the plant that are still yet to put out leaves.
So I thought considering what it has been through, it was doing quite well (but then I'm new to this).

@Paul B I fed it a few days ago I think, with Baby Bio fertiliser. I didn't give it too much since it's still recovering. I'm sad but not surprised if the soil isn't great. I was going by its instructions of keeping it barely damp before but turns out that was too much. So now I've been letting the topsoil dry and checking by the roots instead, and that seems to be working a lot better. I agree there must be a soil issue then, retaining too much water.

I noticed you all mentioned to keep it outdoors. I read that they prefer this as well, and maybe I'll try it at some point. I am quite reluctant though as I had a previous bad experience where I had a tree die out there (not bonsai). At the moment it's on my window sill (which can get very bright) and the window is open. As Stymie said, I want it to recover before trying anything new.

Also was wondering what brand of soil I should get? And what time of year should I repot? Also does anyone have any ideas on the red mites? Thanks again for your help.
Author:  Gary Jones [ 27 May 2017, 21:49 ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie to bonzai trees + first post (and red mites??)
Hi Kat - welcome to weetrees and to Bonsai as a hobby. You can have loads of fun and interest with your tree and chinese elm is an excellent choice. You've also made a wise move coming on this forum and I agree with the advice given above. Basically your tree needs to be outside and in better free draining granular soil. You've said it's difficult to get the tree outside but if you can, do find a way of some sort, as otherwise the tree will never really be happy. I notice you're in Cardiff and there's a Bonsai society there http://www.cardiffbonsai.org.uk, and there are also some members of this forum who live in and around Cardiff so if you'd like to get in touch with them they'll be able to give you some hands on advice.
Author:  NickB [ 28 May 2017, 08:01 ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie to bonzai trees + first post (and red mites??)
KatR wrote:

I noticed you all mentioned to keep it outdoors. I read that they prefer this as well, and maybe I'll try it at some point. I am quite reluctant though as I had a previous bad experience where I had a tree die out there (not bonsai). At the moment it's on my window sill (which can get very bright) and the window is open. As Stymie said, I want it to recover before trying anything new.



Now you have had several experienced Bonsai growers, each with at least one Chinese Elm in his own garden, all advising to place this tree outside where it can benefit from the optimum growing conditions of fresh air, sunlight, wind and rain.

But you are reluctant to do this?

As long as you keep it watered you will have no problems outdoors.
Author:  Koren [ 28 May 2017, 11:47 ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie to bonzai trees + first post (and red mites??)
KatR wrote:
I am quite reluctant though as I had a previous bad experience where I had a tree die out there (not bonsai)


Trees do die, unfortunately. But I'd wager that more bonsai die indoors than outdoors. Sunlight is a great medicine, and a window does reduce light levels an awful lot. You can get lumen measuring apps for phones now so you can compare how much light it's getting.
Author:  Bill [ 28 May 2017, 15:50 ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie to bonzai trees + first post (and red mites??)
not sure about your little red spiders but if its just one or 2 its probably just clover mites climbing in the open window. the white on the leaves could be residue from watering, simple household dust or spider webs. no probs there really.

gotta add another +1 for outside. ive had one indoors for a while, what happens is you get bigger leaves and longer, thinner twigs with long internodes. i think this is mostly due to less light. the growth outside is much better imo, tighter and denser, but its up to you to decide whats practical for you.

edit: soil is a big topic, try searching the forum. i like to do a site specific google search as i get better results :smallthumb:
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