RED CHOJUBAI [Chaenomeles japonica]
- Thread starter MACH5
- Start date
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Unfortunately it perished. One of the hardest loses I've had. No matter what I did nothing worked. I reached out to Michael Hagedorn. He was very helpful and suggested several things to try but nothing worked. Its demise remains a frustrating mystery.
badatusernames
Omono
I'm having that issue with my old one (but color is still good)... I repotted this year and gave it a Zerotol bath but I should have put it in a box vs. a pot
Had kind of been thinking it was having a weak couple of years from too much repotting so wondering if I should leave it in the pot to see if it does OK or just pop it right into a box.
Sorry to hear this is no longer with us, it was a beaut!
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
When trouble started I gave it a ZeroTol bath and transferred it to a box. I even sent samples of the foliage and roots to a lab and came back negative.
badatusernames
Omono
I guess time comes for everything :/
Sorry for the loss of your chojubai. You put a lot time and different solutions to bring it back to health. Did hagedorn offer to replace the chojubai?
leatherback
The Treedeemer
I am a bit confused with this question. Besides the fact this is one of those rare individual trees that cannot just be replaced.. Why would he make such an offer? Is there anything you see here that indicates that a weak of sick tree was sold?
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
He did! But I would accept his generous offer. I had the tree under my care for three plus years and certainly could hold him responsible for whatever happened to it. This was all on me.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Sorry a little edit on my post above. I meant that I would not accept his offer.
fredman
Masterpiece
Damn....its like they commit suicide. I can just imagine the pain when a tree of that stature dies... 
I have it on my mind every time I look at my few that i'm developing.
I have it on my mind every time I look at my few that i'm developing.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Damn....its like they commit suicide. I can just imagine the pain when a tree of that stature dies...
I have it on my mind every time I look at my few that i'm developing.
What's interesting is that I have a few cuttings growing well. These cuttings are from a different source. Not getting any answers as to what happened to that tree is very frustrating because I have learned nothing from it.
Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
It is so frustrating when something as precious as this Chojubai goes down!
Went back over all your posts and the only thing that struck me is it’s been in a shallow (for a chojubai) pot for quite awhile… even though it was repotted.
While it’s entirely possible this plant had some sort of root issue, here’s a thought.
From our work with azaleas, which also like deep pots, we know if kept in a shallow pot a number of years the tree becomes weaker over time, despite repots. Doesn’t respond well to bonsai technique, slow to recover and eventually won’t return to a vibrant state. The way to revitalize these plants is to put them into boxes and cut them back. Also, from work with knowledgeable folks here who have been to Japan, including a well known pot expert, it turns out all those beautiful Satsuki go back into deep pots or boxes soon after display.
Don’t know if this applies totally to Chojubai, but I suspect something similar is occurring maybe simultaneously with a root issue
Anyways, just a thought
Regards,
DSD sends
Went back over all your posts and the only thing that struck me is it’s been in a shallow (for a chojubai) pot for quite awhile… even though it was repotted.
While it’s entirely possible this plant had some sort of root issue, here’s a thought.
From our work with azaleas, which also like deep pots, we know if kept in a shallow pot a number of years the tree becomes weaker over time, despite repots. Doesn’t respond well to bonsai technique, slow to recover and eventually won’t return to a vibrant state. The way to revitalize these plants is to put them into boxes and cut them back. Also, from work with knowledgeable folks here who have been to Japan, including a well known pot expert, it turns out all those beautiful Satsuki go back into deep pots or boxes soon after display.
Don’t know if this applies totally to Chojubai, but I suspect something similar is occurring maybe simultaneously with a root issue
Anyways, just a thought
Regards,
DSD sends
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Thank you. Indeed most if not all flowering/fruiting trees do prefer and do best in deeper pots. The antique pot it was potted in was on the deeper side. I've seen chojubai growing in much shallower pots that seemed to thrive. In fact they do even better according to some when planted in rocks. In any case, as per Michael Hagedorn's suggestion it was transferred into a box with a good 2 inches of extra room on all sides. Despite those efforts, the tree just kept declining little by little.
Well one thing is for certain. I think we can all agree that's one finished bonsai!
