Fukien Tea Tree - a doomed affair?

[badatusernames]

I've kept a fukien tea tree for two years now here, with it wintering indoors. I was just taking a look at it and wondering what I wanted to do with it the other day, so I came here for some inspiration.

I found a thread that indicated that, basically, if these don't grow in the ground where you live, don't grow them. That all threads about them are about how they are failing.

I was told it would be a difficult tree when I bought it, but not impossible. So far, it has thrived, outside during spring/summer/fall as weather permits and indoors during winter, near a southwest facing window.

Outdoors, in a humidity tray, it begins to wilt and die - a lesson I learned quickly early on. It revived after I removed the tray. When bringing it indoors, it didn't seem happy, so I put it on a tray to see how it would do. It was placed near a humidifying device in a southwest facing window.

Long story short, it has thrived. It grows during the winter, it looks great. The worst that has happened to it was when I went on vacation for a couple of weeks and the person watering it was doing it wrong and it dried out a bit.

All that said, I know you can make junipers limp along indoors for a couple of years before they finally die, so after reading that comment, I'm wondering if I just have a time bomb on my hands here and if perhaps, no matter what I do, it'll croak on me unexpectedly one day. It's not a bad little tree, so perhaps worth looking into rehoming if so.

What do you all think?

 

[LittleDingus]

There's a lot to unpack here.

How experienced a grower are you? I've seen many times people claimed "thriving" without realizing their plant was suffering large leaves and long branches can be a sign of poor growth even while they look to be lots of growth.

As one who grows lots of things I shouldn't be able to grow, it is also certainly possible your conditions "just work". After all, the tree has little knowledge of geography The tree does know about habitate though. If you've provided an adequate habitate...the tree will survive. It doesn't matter if that hanitate is indoor or out. It's generally easier to provide an adequate habitate outdoors...but with enough effort, indoor habitats work too. If they didn't, the greenhouse industry would be dead

I live in the midwest and yet I've had coastal redwoods, giant saguaro and rainforest orchids for years to name just a few of the oddball things I grow. None of them would survive year round outdoors here. I've researched a lot and put a lot of effort into keeping them healthy...but I've done it for years...sonit is certainly possible...though some are only a minor issue away from death's door sometimes!

Pictures of your tree and some details on its care would help understand its chances better. But my belief is it is not a "doomed affair" if you're willing to take the right actions

 

[badatusernames]

I'll have to take some pictures. It's a little harder indoors, and what it looked like nine months ago probably doesn't matter so much right now. Will try to remember to do so and follow up. Here's one I took around mis summer, it's in the upper left. I give it biogold fertilizer.

that little crane you see made my fiancee happy and I will hear nothing about it.

 

[LittleDingus]

You have enough nice stuff there, you're likely experienced enough to recognize good growth from bad. Sorry...wasn't trying to bust your chops there...justvtrying to point out there wasn't a lot of objective information to be able to offer any thoughts on.

I don't have any fukien myself. Hopefully others will comment on that species specifically, but, in general, if you can give a plant the growing conditions it likes...it will grow! The closer you live to the native habitat of the plant, the easier that becomes but it is certainly possible to keep trees out of habitat if you are willing/able to provide the proper mucro-habitat.

 

[badatusernames]

You have enough nice stuff there, you're likely experienced enough to recognize good growth from bad. Sorry...wasn't trying to bust your chops there...justvtrying to point out there wasn't a lot of objective information to be able to offer any thoughts on.

I don't have any fukien myself. Hopefully others will comment on that species specifically, but, in general, if you can give a plant the growing conditions it likes...it will grow! The closer you live to the native habitat of the plant, the easier that becomes but it is certainly possible to keep trees out of habitat if you are willing/able to provide the proper mucro-habitat.

hahah no it's all good

I have hunches, not firm ideas, I appreciate all the info and opinions I can get. I was just trying to give an idea of the tree and didn't have any better pictures. Lots of long whips grow off of it year round, I've mostly just kept it in shape. It probably needs closer attention this coming spring.