Hello there

Last May, I received a Zelkova Scheneidria as a present, and everything
was going fine until about mid December, when the leaves started to get
fewer and fewer and eventually all fell off.

I decided to wait and see what it would do as I'd heard that some types
of Bonsai go into dormancy, and I wasn't too sure about mine (it didn't
mention anything like that in the bumf).

Now that it's the start of April again however, I'm beginning to
wonder.

There are a few things I have to mention about what's happened to it,
or the way I have treated it through my own lack of knowledge, and I
now have lots of questions!:

When I first got it, I wasn't too sure exactly where to put it, and it
was moved around to different places in the house, until, eventually
being placed in a room with a south facing window, where the sun could
shine directly at it.
It has now ben moved to a better place, but, how much will that have
affected it??

I was away 'down south' a lot last year, and as such, it never got
properly clipped back, hence it looked more like a bush at times until
I could get it back under control again
Will this have affected it??

It was watered and sprayed it regularly, but could it be watered and
sprayed too much??
I say this, becuase I have noticed that white stuff, almost like mould
or something can accumulate in small amounts at the bottom of the tree,
even now.
On the other hand however, the tree itself seems to be very dry, and
there are one or two little cracks at the top of the stump (they look
reasonably ok, but I'm curious).
I've started to place a small bowl of water beside it for humidity.
Also, I'm afraid that I tended to forget to feed it at times, so I
decided to experiment with adding some feed to the spray, so that it
got at least some regularly.
Was this a good idea or not?? and what is the best kind of feed for
this tree type??

Due to over zeallous watering at times when I first got it, part of the
top soil washed away, leaving bits of the material underneath showing
through and the roots slightly more exposed that they otherwise would
be.
Now, the tree had seemed ok up until December, so nothing was ever done
about and I was/am planning to re - pot it in the spring anyway.
What, if any, will that have affected it??

Should I re - pot it soon, or should I leave it until the leaves start
growing back again??

Lastly, if it is just in Dormancy, how exactly should I treat it??
I have continued watering it regularly, and it's still in it's current,
warm, brightly lit location in the living room with the small bowl of
water beside it.
Should it be in a cool or/and dark place??

If it isn't supposed to be in domancy, then, what is it, is it jsut
simply it's surroundings and it's bumbling owner, or is it some kind of
disease?? (and if it is, then what do I do?)

I'm sorry to ramble on there, but I'm tired here and just want to ask
it all in one big message.


Talking of which, if this is the part of the group/forum where I cannot
see many people's replies, then how do I go about sorting that??


Anyway, thanks.

Douglas, in sunny West Central Scotland.


--
Douglas

Douglas wrote:
> Hello there
>
> Last May, I received a Zelkova Scheneidria as a present, and everything
> was going fine until about mid December, when the leaves started to get
> fewer and fewer and eventually all fell off.
>
> I decided to wait and see what it would do as I'd heard that some types
> of Bonsai go into dormancy, and I wasn't too sure about mine (it didn't
> mention anything like that in the bumf).

Yes. Zelkova are deciduous.


>
> Now that it's the start of April again however, I'm beginning to
> wonder.
>
> There are a few things I have to mention about what's happened to it,
> or the way I have treated it through my own lack of knowledge, and I
> now have lots of questions!:
>
> When I first got it, I wasn't too sure exactly where to put it, and it
> was moved around to different places in the house, until, eventually
> being placed in a room with a south facing window, where the sun could
> shine directly at it.
> It has now ben moved to a better place, but, how much will that have
> affected it??
>

A lot, possibly. Zelkova are not indoor trees. I don't know how
much winter protection they need, but they should have been out
and exposed in temperatures that at least approach freezing and
for below=freezing temps should have been outside in a protected
location.

> I was away 'down south' a lot last year, and as such, it never got
> properly clipped back, hence it looked more like a bush at times until
> I could get it back under control again
> Will this have affected it??

Probably not.

>
> It was watered and sprayed it regularly, but could it be watered and
> sprayed too much??
> I say this, becuase I have noticed that white stuff, almost like mould
> or something can accumulate in small amounts at the bottom of the tree,
> even now.

Dormant trees need little water (but they should never be allowed
to dry out).


> On the other hand however, the tree itself seems to be very dry, and
> there are one or two little cracks at the top of the stump (they look
> reasonably ok, but I'm curious).

Dunno about this without seeing it.

> I've started to place a small bowl of water beside it for humidity.
> Also, I'm afraid that I tended to forget to feed it at times, so I
> decided to experiment with adding some feed to the spray, so that it
> got at least some regularly.
> Was this a good idea or not?? and what is the best kind of feed for
> this tree type??

That will work, though dormant trees also need little fertilizer.
If you watered too much, however, . . . .


>
> Due to over zeallous watering at times when I first got it, part of the
> top soil washed away, leaving bits of the material underneath showing
> through and the roots slightly more exposed that they otherwise would
> be.
> Now, the tree had seemed ok up until December, so nothing was ever done
> about and I was/am planning to re - pot it in the spring anyway.
> What, if any, will that have affected it??

If it is still in its pot and most of the fine roots are still
under the soil it will be OK from this.

>
> Should I re - pot it soon, or should I leave it until the leaves start
> growing back again??

Watch the tree closely. repot when leaf buds on branches are
JUST about to burst.

>
> Lastly, if it is just in Dormancy, how exactly should I treat it??
> I have continued watering it regularly, and it's still in it's current,
> warm, brightly lit location in the living room with the small bowl of
> water beside it.
> Should it be in a cool or/and dark place??

Only water when the soil is DRY. Get it outdoors. But keep it
in a fairly protected location for a week or so.
>
> If it isn't supposed to be in domancy, then, what is it, is it jsut
> simply it's surroundings and it's bumbling owner, or is it some kind of
> disease?? (and if it is, then what do I do?)
>
> I'm sorry to ramble on there, but I'm tired here and just want to ask
> it all in one big message.
>
>
> Talking of which, if this is the part of the group/forum where I cannot
> see many people's replies, then how do I go about sorting that??
>
>

This is the biggest bonsai newsgroup. It _used_ to be connected
to the bonsai mailing list which was very active, but the link
has broken and no one seems willing (or able) to fix it.

A much more active part of the Internet Bonsai Club can be found
at www.internetbonsaiclub.org. It has a well-stocked stable of
bonsai articles and a very active set of galleries. Your
questions posted to the 'General Discussion Gallery" will get
answers.

Hope all this helps a bit.

Jim Lewis - lewisjk [at] alltel.net - Columbus, NC - The four
universal laws of ecology: Everything is connected to everything
else. Everything must go somewhere. Nature knows best. There is
no such thing as a free lunch. -- Barry Commoner

Post removed (X-No-Archive: yes)

Talking of which, if this is the part of the group/forum where I cannot
see many people's replies, then how do I go about sorting that??



Hey guys, if there have been answers out there, then how do I see
them??

What group is it all on??

Appologies for my ignorance.


Thanks.


--
Douglas

> Hey guys, if there have been answers out there, then how do I see
> them??
>
> What group is it all on??
>
> Appologies for my ignorance.



No need to apologize. It's complicated -- AND broken. :-(

The Internet Bonsai Club started out in the early 90s as a
mailing list. A few months later rec.arts.bonsai was started.
They went on separately for a few years until the original
moderator of the mailing list came up with a way to link them --
effectively doubling the bonsai audience since, then as now,
people who use USENET and people who use mailing lists tend to be
devoted to their own way of doing things.

This went on well into the 2000s, with a few glitches here and
there that were always fixable, but some time last year, the link
between the two broke -- apparently for good, because the manager
of the mailing list (who controls the link, if not the software
that allows it) is unable to get a response from the company who
provided the service and no one else seems to do it any more.

So, as of today, the link is ONE way only. Posts FROM
rec.arts.bonsai make it to the mailing list just fine. And they
are often answered (the original zelkova post got several answers
on the mailing list) BUT THE LINK FROM THE LIST TO
REC.ARTS.BONSAI NO LONGER WORKS.

One or two of us _occasionally_ come to r.a.b. and try to provide
an answer or two (and an explanation like this one -- which, by
the way, will make it to the mailing list as soon as I hit SEND).

Generally speaking . . . very generally . . . the bonsai
"experts" use the mailing list. Beginners tend to find r.a.b.
first. Dunno why. So, you folks get few answers because most
of the beginners (thankfully) know they don't have the answer.
There is nothing worse than getting an answer that is wrong -- or
even half right.

So what do you do? There are two possibilities:

1. Join the mailing list. Here's how:

send e-mail to:

listserv [at] home.ease.lsoft.com

No subject is needed, but if your ISP demands it, they're OK
The body of the e-mail should read:

subscribe bonsai your name
where "your name" is your real name, please.

Almost immediately you will get an automated response. You can
hit "reply" and type OK at the top of the e-mail.

You will then get a couple of other replies, telling you the
mechanics of using the mailing list and the "rules" of the IBC.
PLEASE SAVE THESE.


or

Goto: www.internetbonsaiclub.org

There you will find an extensive "Knowledge Base" of articles for
bonsaiests of all levels as well as a number of "Galleries" where
pictures of bonsai, beginner trees, suiseki, bonsai pots, etc.
are posted and a "general discussion" forum where questions such
as the Zelkova question are handled.

Hope this helps (and wish that it would stick around so I don't
have to do it again.) :-)

Jim Lewis - lewisjk [at] alltel.net - Columbus, NC - The four
universal laws of ecology: Everything is connected to everything
else. Everything must go somewhere. Nature knows best. There is
no such thing as a free lunch. -- Barry Commoner

Well, don't all rush at once, will you??


What the hell is wrong here??


--
Douglas

In article <443A75AF.8040200 [at] alltel.net>, Jim Lewis <lewisjk [at] alltel.net>
wrote:

> > Hey guys, if there have been answers out there, then how do I see
> > them??
> >
> > What group is it all on??
> >
> > Appologies for my ignorance.
>
> No need to apologize. It's complicated -- AND broken. :-(

Jim, this time the problem isn't the link to the mailing list. All the
replies were posted via the newsgroup, and showed up on all three of the
servers I checked.

The problem is that he's using a forum at GardenBanter.co.uk, which serves
as a web interface to the rec.arts.bonsai newsgroup. I think they're using
a defective spam filter which is blacklisting people on the basis of posts
they made with certain "suspicious" words in the subject.

For example, your Feb. 8 post titled "Website", Michelle Bailey's "bonsai
money" post, and Chris's "money tree" post appear to have caused the three
of you to be blacklisted by GardenBanter.

In article <Douglas.2648w0 [at] gardenbanter.co.uk>,
Douglas <Douglas.2648w0 [at] gardenbanter.co.uk> wrote:

> Well, don't all rush at once, will you??
>
>
> What the hell is wrong here??

Douglas, you got several replies, but GardenBanter isn't letting you see
them. GardenBanter's bonsai forum is just a web interface to the
rec.arts.bonsai newsgroup, so messages posted in the forum get sent to the
newsgroup and vice versa. But some messages from the newsgroup aren't
showing up on GardenBanter; I think the forum is using a defective spam
filter, and it's mistakenly blacklisting certain people.

If you want to see all the messages, you'll have to find a better way to
read rec.arts.bonsai newsgroup.

If you prefer to use your web browser, Google has a decent web interface
for the newsgroups. You can find the bonsai newsgroup at
<http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.bonsai>.

Or you can read the Internet Bonsai Club mailing list archive at
<http://home.ease.lsoft.com/Archives/bonsai.html>. The IBC mailing list
has a one-way connection with the rec.arts.bonsai newsgroup, so messages
from the newsgroup will show up on their list and in their archives, but
messages posted in the mailing list don't show up in the newsgroup. You
can subscribe to the IBC mailing list by sending an email to
<mailto:listserv [at] home.ease.lsoft.com>.

Thankyou for that.


--
Douglas