Cork Oak Revival

[Bnsi_Trooper]

Hello everyone.

I went out of town for a week and had someone take care of my bonsai. I came back to find half of them struggling; wilted leaves, yellow leaves, dried leaves.

The tree species that got hit hard were my elms and my cork oak.

I’m not really concerned for my elms. I did the scratch test on trunk and branches and it looks like they are still alive.

My cork oak on the other hand is what I’m worried about. All the leaves dried up and it looked like it was forgotten.

I pruned almost the whole tree hoping that maybe it will back bud.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to bring this tree back to life or if it’s done for

Thanks in advance.

 

[hemmy]

I pruned almost the whole tree hoping that maybe it will back bud.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to bring this tree back to life or if it’s done for

Bummer! It is just a waiting game to see if it has the energy to push more growth. I probably would not have pruned it, maybe just removed the leaves. Now it has to spend extra energy on cell division to compartmentalize the pruning wounds. But that probably wouldn’t make the difference in its survival.

Upon returning, I would have soaked the entire pot to rehydrate any dried out soil and then tip it to drain the maximum amount of perched water column. Then it’s just a waiting game. Fingers crossed!

 

[Bonsai Nut]

It is an unusual cork oak that would die from a missed watering in a single week - particularly when planted in that large grow box. They naturally live in areas that experience prolonged dry spells.

They are very resilient trees, and like olives, can lose all of their leaves and still pop back. Just be patient and do not panic. I would not do anything else to the tree (other than water it when needed) between now and June 2025. No fertilization. Just wait and see if it pops out with new growth, and then let it run, untouched, for an entire year. Be careful not to overwater - without foliage its water needs will drop significantly.