What To Do With A Dead Bonsai Tree

Trim the root mass to ensure it fits comfortably in the new planter and to stimulate new root growth.

What to do with a dead bonsai tree. The wood dies off and is bleached by intense sunlight. If you hit a green cambium before you get to the roots then the bonsai can probably be brought back although the dead areas will have to be removed. Pull the tree out. Cut back the branches to the trunk or leader.

When you get down to hardwood and don t uncover green your tree has died or at least that portion of it. Cut some slices from the trunk polish them up carve or don t or hire that out hang on wires give your wife earrings for the next anniversary. Green is the color of life. Step 2 look to see if the cambiums of the cut areas are green and fairly healthy.

Start in an inconspicuous and scrape off a small portion of the bark with your fingernail. If under watering is not the reason for your tree s deterioration the best way to improve the health of your root system is to repot your tree with new soil. If any the roots appear shriveled and dead or smell rotten use pruning shears or a sharp knife to cut the dead roots from the plant before repotting your bonsai. Within days you will see the leaves of your tree wither and fall off or in case you have an evergreen its foliage will slowly turn yellow.

If you have exposed roots those are probably the next place to scratch. If your bonsai leaves are discolored or your plant has a bit of a rotten smell carefully lift the tree out of its pot to examine the roots for root rot. Or beads or if there s enough wood make pocketknife handle slabs cufflinks etc. Continue scratching down toward the roots and hope to see green.

If you forget to water your bonsai until the soil dries out completely the tree s roots dry out and die. If you don t find green under the surface keep scratching. This technique is almost exclusively used on evergreen trees as creating jin or shari on deciduous trees often looks unrealistic deadwood on a deciduous tree often rots away over time. We get many enquiries about the health of people s bonsai and many cases result in one of the solutions simply being to move the tree into more light or a slightly warmer area of a house.

Use sharp sterile pruning shears to remove any areas of the bonsai that are cannot be saved such as dead or broken branches and wilted foliage and stems. Cut back any long thick or dead roots before placing the tree in a new planter.