Anyone have a bonsai?

[Nomsdeplume]

I got my first bonsai for Christmas. I''m the tree-hugger in my family and friendship group, so of course giving me a tree made sense to them.
It''s a firethorn, which is supposedly quite a good starter bonsai. I''m keeping it indoors because there is way too much sun outside. I''ve been watering it almost daily (that''s what the instructions are). It has been fine, but recently I have noticed that it''s getting black spots on the leaves.
Can anyone help me?
Am I killing it?

 

[mousey]

We have a bonsai too. I think its normal for some of the leaves to get these spots and fall off, but I am no expert. Its important to make sure their soil is always moist. You have to feed them at certain times of the year too. I m really sad at the moment as we gave ours to a friend to mind and they told us that they think its dead (all the leaves fell off). I d be interested to know if anyone thinks we ll be able to bring it back to life???????

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Oh no! That is sad. Especially since it takes so much work to grow them in the first place.

Maybe you can still save it? Apparently ficus trees lose their leaves when the environment changes dramatically (almost like a stress reaction) so if it''s a ficus that would make sense. Or the roots could be waterlogged and rotting?

 

[mousey]

It is a ficus.... interesting! So, it might be still alive?!?!?
by the way I juts love your pad- its so pretty. Do you plan on doing anything with it?

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Could be!
Thank you! It was an amazingly lucky buy!
I''m so bad with setting stones after I have bought them. I can never make up my mind. I think the pad will be set in a ring... but I can''t decide whether it would look better in a halo setting or maybe a 3 stone with trapezoid sides. And then I ask myself: Should I set it in rose gold or white? Should I set it in a pink halo or will that be too overwhelming? And then finding a jeweler I trust enough to set it becomes an issue too...
I''m hopeless!

 

[elrohwen]

I had a bonsai once and I loved it! I found that it needed a lot of sunlight - which in my house was hard to come by. It also needed to be watered pretty much every day (though if the soil still feels very wet before you water, you may be overwatering). Make sure the soil is moist, but not soaking wet every day.

They really are challenging - harder than most pets I've had. I find it's much easier to raise a tree that's allowed to have natural roots like a norfolk pine or something. Bonsai involve lots of moving them around, changing your watering schedule, etc, to figure them out. They are beautiful though!

 

[Nomsdeplume]

My grandmother has a bonsai that she barely takes care of (she''s quite senile) and it just seems to thrive no matter what.
But then I get one and this happens... I don''t get it.
I''ve been reading up on it but I get so many different answers: viruses, underwatering, overwatering, leaf burn etc. Guess I''ll just have to experiment and see what happens.

 

[ts44]

I bought my FMIL a bonsai 2 years ago and it died. She tried to take good care of it but the only thing she did that I would have done differently was she kept it right in front of a drafty window in upstate NY during the winter - I guess the kind I got her doesn''t care for colder weather? I know nothing about bonsai and she always wanted one. Maybe I should look into the firethorn for her?

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Maybe it got frost on it? That will definitely kill any tree.
Firethorns are supposedly quite hardy, but they don''t like direct sunlight, so if you get one for her tell her not to put it near a window.
They are pretty though. I''m hoping to get mine looking like this:

 

[elrohwen]

I unfortunately killed mine by taking it to college

There was just no where in my dorm room for it to get any direct sunlight and it withered away.

Now we have our norfolk pine and "giant" sequoia (which is 5" tall) in big pots. In the summer, we basically throw them outside and they fend for themselves pretty well

Much less stressful than a bonsai for me because I don''t have to worry about leaving them home alone for a week or two at a time.

 

[icekid]

We did but we killed it! Sorry I am no help

Plants should steer clear from my hubby and me hehe.

 

[Gailey]

Sorry Kribbie, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I suspect your plant has Pyracantha Scab. If this is the case, throw it away, bleach the pot and start again with a new one and maybe try a different plant altogether.

I hope I am wrong, but I suspect I am not.

 

[House Cat]

EDIT:

Nm...I was confused and thought the bonsai was a ficus!

Note to self: read more carefully!

 

[Dancing Fire]

i love bonsai,but never can keep them alive.

 

[zhuzhu]

I have one called Ginger Root. It has been doing well for the past year and half. I try to water it only as needed and it seems to be pretty happy with the otherwise "neglect".

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Date: 2/2/2010 6:50:19 PM
Author: Gailey
Sorry Kribbie, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I suspect your plant has Pyracantha Scab. If this is the case, throw it away, bleach the pot and start again with a new one and maybe try a different plant altogether.

I hope I am wrong, but I suspect I am not.

Oh no....

I think you might be right.

That is so sad.