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Trouble with ligustrum help please

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Thomas Urban
Kevin S - Wisco Bonsai
Javey
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Post  Javey Mon Jan 18, 2016 5:40 am

I'm having trouble with my new ligustrum I bought about 3 weeks ago. I am very new to bonsai but have read a few books and looking for some help. I keep my tree next to a window or under a grow light and the leaves have started to fall off and now I have this weird green "moss" or something near the bottom of the tree. Can anybody help me with advice? I haven't done anything other than to mist about 2x a day and then fertilized it today with some liquid fertilizer.

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Post  Kevin S - Wisco Bonsai Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:36 pm

pictures would most definitely help with your concerns... along with a more specific location.

many trees that get brought indoors get mopey and drop leaves in the winter so it might be nothing to panic over, but again pictures would help... and in the mean-time there is this

http://www.bonsai4me.com/SpeciesGuide/Ligustrum.html
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Post  Thomas Urban Mon Jan 18, 2016 1:13 pm

Pictures would help. When i read strange moss at the bottom, it sounds like it's in too much of a moist environment and needs some better substrate. This is just my guess based off of the information you provided though.
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Post  Zach Smith Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:23 pm

Javey wrote:I'm having trouble with my new ligustrum I bought about 3 weeks ago. I am very new to bonsai but have read a few books and looking for some help. I keep my tree next to a window or under a grow light and the leaves have started to fall off and now I have this weird green "moss" or something near the bottom of the tree. Can anybody help me with advice? I haven't done anything other than to mist about 2x a day and then fertilized it today with some liquid fertilizer.
Your ligustrum bonsai needs to go outside immediately. I'm not sure they can be grown indoors, but if so you'd have to have just the right conditions. Considering that you're a beginner, it's probably a skill you'll need to develop over long experience.

Not sure what your weather's doing up there. If it's below freezing you'll need to provide protection to the root zone. Otherwise it should be happier outside than inside.

Zach

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Post  Javey Tue Jan 19, 2016 3:51 am

Ok here are 2 pictures I took.  Hope these help to identify the issue.  My weather here is cold, below 40.  I heard it's not good to move a plant outside in the dead of winter in inclement climates, so not sure what to do?  Sad

Ahh I can't post pics, haven't been a member for 7 days yet...can I PM someone or something?

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Post  leatherback Tue Jan 19, 2016 7:45 am

Zach Smith wrote:Your ligustrum bonsai needs to go outside immediately.

Hm.. I am pretty sure there are also chinese ligustrum, which can be kept indoors. Not sure which one we are dealing with here.

If you have temps below freezing do not place outside, unless it was outside.
If you are certain no night time frost are expected for the next few weeks, moving outside should not be a problem.
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Post  Zach Smith Tue Jan 19, 2016 11:33 am

leatherback wrote:
Zach Smith wrote:Your ligustrum bonsai needs to go outside immediately.

Hm.. I am pretty sure there are also chinese ligustrum, which can be kept indoors. Not sure which one we are dealing with here.

If you have temps below freezing do not place outside, unless it was outside.
If you are certain no night time frost are expected for the next few weeks, moving outside should not be a problem.
Have you had good success with Chinese privet indoors? I've been growing the species for over 20 years and haven't tried my hand at it. My main point with Javey is that as a beginner it's hard to start with indoor bonsai growing. From what I can tell it takes a very skilled hand.

Zach

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Post  Kevin S - Wisco Bonsai Tue Jan 19, 2016 12:52 pm

javey - didja read the link i posted ???

'specially this:

POSITION Full sun or shade, Privets are very tolerant of both full sun in the Summer and quite deep shade. Privet are fully hardy and only require additional frost protection when temperatures drop below -10°C, however during the winter the colder the temperatures Privet are exposed to, the more leaves they drop; this is a natural reaction and causes no permanent damage even when specimens lose all their leaves in severe cold. The following Spring, new growth very quickly replaces any foliage lost during the Winter. Ligustrum are also sold as indoor bonsai and will also tolerate indoor growing conditions as long as humidity levels remain reasonably high with the use of humidity trays. Ligustrum that are left outside during the Winter must have spent the Autumn outside in order to acclimatise to the cold. Do not place trees that have been grown inside straight outside in the Winter as they will not have hardened off and it is better to leave them inside until Spring.

if possible, find out what kind you have along with how and where it was raised so far...
that will give you an idea on how to continue.
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Post  Javey Tue Jan 19, 2016 1:50 pm

It is the ligustrum lucidum I have learned is also called the Chinese privet. In that case I should not take it outdoors however it's 70 Fahrenheit in my house so it's leaves should not be browning and falling off right? I water every 3 or 4 days and mist the leaves twice daily. Wish I could post a pic but that will have to wait until 7 days.

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Post  Kevin S - Wisco Bonsai Tue Jan 19, 2016 6:09 pm

if it was accustomed to full sun and now getting much less, that could explain it too...
if that is the case, no need to panic...

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Post  JimLewis Tue Jan 19, 2016 7:05 pm

There is no 7-day wait to post pics.  If you have registered and have signed in, you can post pics. 

Have you read: https://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t243-b-tutorial-on-posting-pics   ?

Under the Curse of the Common Name, there are two "Chinese" privets; yours and Ligustrum sinensis.  L. sinensis, at least, is not real happy indoors.  Dunno about yours. 

As someone said, you may be keeping it too wet.
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Post  Javey Wed Jan 20, 2016 3:30 am

Ok I think this will work. Please see the base of the trunk coloration...

Trouble with ligustrum help please Image11

And the full tree.

Trouble with ligustrum help please Image12

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Post  leatherback Wed Jan 20, 2016 6:39 am

Zach Smith wrote:
Have you had good success with Chinese privet indoors?  I've been growing the species for over 20 years and haven't tried my hand at it.  My main point with Javey is that as a beginner it's hard to start with indoor bonsai growing.  From what I can tell it takes a very skilled hand.

Player with a young plant a few years ago, upon request of the guy who runs bonsaiempire. They were supposed to be indoor ligustrum. After a year I tossed it outside as I do not like them inside either Very Happy
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Post  Tom Wed Jan 20, 2016 11:05 am

That's moss and algae and other gunk at the base. You're keeping it much too wet.
The soil doesn't look terrible in that picture, but you're overwatering. Also, don't fertilise until later in the spring.
Tom
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Post  Kevin S - Wisco Bonsai Wed Jan 20, 2016 12:46 pm

agree w/ tom... too wet... light green going to yellowish leaves is another indicator...

get a bamboo chop stick and stick it all the way into the soil and leave it there
it will absorb all the excess moisture... Laughing

just kidding - stick the chop stick in the soil and leave it there and then pull it out every day or so to check if it is damp/wet...
if so, stick it back in and check again in another day or two... when it comes out dry it is time for some water...

cheapest water meter for us novices and works great for most all species (apart from the "i dry i die" types)

and plants use A LOT less water indoors and during their sleepy times (winter)

by the way, what direction does that window face and what is in the pot next to it (to the right, mostly out of frame) ?
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