This is my first bonsai - an Evergreen Chinese Myrtle. I live in Southern England and was given this in December 2023 and it’s been dropping leaves since. Dropping seems to have slowed down slightly but that might just be because there isn’t many leaves left. There’s some white powdery stuff around stem and on leaves. The leaves start to darken at the ends then fall off.
In terms of watering- At first I was watering it from the tap which is quite hard with lime, but I read Chinese myrtle doesn't do well with that so I’ve recently been using water from my clothes dryer as I figured that it is distilled, any advice whether that is fine would be great. At first I was watering it just when it felt moist to make it slightly damp, but I’ve since read that it is best for beginners to wait until the top layer of soil is almost dry then submerge the pot in water which is what I’ve been doing for about 2 weeks. I understand watering is very important for bonsais so I’d really appreciate any advice. I haven’t given it any food as it is the winter.
In terms of placement - when I first got it I misread a website and thought it said it likes 10 degree Celsius temp. It was in my front porch which is about that temp then reread the advice and moved it to a windowsill- will have been warmer but it continued to drop leaves. I thought maybe there’s too much variation in the temp on the windowsill so moved it to my kitchen by the sink, in the middle of the room. Temp here is usually around 20 but a lot more stable as it’s not by a window, also thought it would benefit from the humidity from the sink.
I’ve got some experience with houseplants but feel as though I really don’t know what I’m doing here and need some advice. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
In terms of watering- At first I was watering it from the tap which is quite hard with lime, but I read Chinese myrtle doesn't do well with that so I’ve recently been using water from my clothes dryer as I figured that it is distilled, any advice whether that is fine would be great. At first I was watering it just when it felt moist to make it slightly damp, but I’ve since read that it is best for beginners to wait until the top layer of soil is almost dry then submerge the pot in water which is what I’ve been doing for about 2 weeks. I understand watering is very important for bonsais so I’d really appreciate any advice. I haven’t given it any food as it is the winter.
In terms of placement - when I first got it I misread a website and thought it said it likes 10 degree Celsius temp. It was in my front porch which is about that temp then reread the advice and moved it to a windowsill- will have been warmer but it continued to drop leaves. I thought maybe there’s too much variation in the temp on the windowsill so moved it to my kitchen by the sink, in the middle of the room. Temp here is usually around 20 but a lot more stable as it’s not by a window, also thought it would benefit from the humidity from the sink.
I’ve got some experience with houseplants but feel as though I really don’t know what I’m doing here and need some advice. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
