Strange plant friends…

[Bonsai boo]

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday I was gifted a very lovely bonsai (that I have absolutely no idea how to look after, so any tips would be greatly appreciated).
Anyway, I discovered that the bonsai came with friends and I like them but I’m concerned that they could be weeds? But they don't look like weeds?
I don't know, I'm a complete novice!

Hopefully, there should be a few pictures attached for reference, I don't know the country of origin but he was bought for me here in the uk and unfortunately, I don't know much else about him. Oh, also his name is Bob.

Thanks in advance

 

[Flowerhouse]

The volunteer plant looks like wood sorrel. Weed or not weed is subjective. A good working definition of a weed is any plant growing where you don't want it. And you don't want little plants in with your tree. They compete for water, nutrients, and space in the little pot.

 

[Kudo]

It is a clover. Depending on the species, they can spread to other pots and become a nuisance.

 

[Shibui]

It is a clover. Depending on the species, they can spread to other pots and become a nuisance.

That appears to be oxalis - AKA wood sorrel, soursob and a variety of other common names. Very similar leaves to clover.
Oxalis spread by underground roots and bulbils as well as exploding seeds so make a very successful weed and will spread to other pots if left unchecked.
Quite difficult to eliminate once established. Oxalis is resistant to most chemical herbicides. You may be able to get rid of it by regular manual removal but you'll need to be more tenacious than the weed and few gardeners are.

 

[Bonsai boo]

The volunteer plant looks like wood sorrel. Weed or not weed is subjective. A good working definition of a weed is any plant growing where you don't want it. And you don't want little plants in with your tree. They compete for water, nutrients, and space in the little pot.

Having looked at pictures, it does look like it but the leaves are not sticking out (or the technical term for that)
I mean, I really like them but I don't want to damage my bonsai

Thank you so much for your response!

 

[Bonsai boo]

That appears to be oxalis - AKA wood sorrel, soursob and a variety of other common names. Very similar leaves to clover.
Oxalis spread by underground roots and bulbils as well as exploding seeds so make a very successful weed and will spread to other pots if left unchecked.
Quite difficult to eliminate once established. Oxalis is resistant to most chemical herbicides. You may be able to get rid of it by regular manual removal but you'll need to be more tenacious than the weed and few gardeners are.

Thank you ever so much for such a detailed response! If left in the pot, what's the worst that could happen? Idealy i would like to leave them be since they're so close to Bobs roots. I don't want to risk unnecessary damage As I have said, I have no idea at all about anything gardening related and would love to keep Bob alive so if you have any advice regarding this, I would be greatful.

Thanks again for your time

 

[sorce]

Feed em to the chickens, makes a weed not a weed.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[Bonsai boo]

Feed em to the chickens, makes a weed not a weed.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

I have no chickens ...will dogs do?

 

[Shibui]

Don't need to worry about chickens or dogs. You can eat oxalis yourself. All oxalis are edible. As kids we would pick leaves and chew the stems for the sour taste. One species produces larger tubers and is cultivated to eat - Oxalis tuberosa AKA oka, in some places known as yams. Just don't eat too much because the oxalic acid can cause some side effects in large quantities.

Oxalis is a strong competitor. If it is allowed to grow it will steal nutrients and water from Bob so he may not grow as well as he could without the oxalis competing. How much the oxalis affects Bob depends on how much the oxalis grows. If you just let it grow unchecked there's a chance Bob will lose out badly. I've seen trees die because of too much competition from weeds in the limited confines of a pot.
Pull the leaves off the oxalis regularly to keep it in check and let Bob have a bigger share of the water and nutrients so he stays healthy. If you don't want to keep doing that every few weeks for the rest of Bob's life you'll work out some way of getting rid of the oxalis.

Do we know what type of plant Bob is yet? Species can be important when deciding what time of year to repot, prune, feed, etc.
I also note there's no location on your profile so far. Your location also has a big bearing on what can be done and when so you should add that to your personal profile so we can give better advice.

 

[rockm]

Bob would appreciate you removing the "companion" plants. They're competing with Bob for resources and room. Won't disturb Bob's roots if you snip the other plants stems off at soil level and keep it up.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Welcome.
Pull the weeds.
Looks like your tree may be an olive, which will do better outside as long as temps are above freezing.

 

[Nivel]

Tagname you can read Syzigium, and searching photos looks like a Syzigium buxifolium.

​

 

[rockm]

I'd agree this is an "Australian Brush Cherry" or Syzigium. As the name suggests it's an Aussie native tropical plant. They can be a little finicky about watering--too much and they drop ALOT of leaves (I had one a very long time ago).

Care guide for the Brush cherry (Eugenia myrtifolia, syzygium) - Bonsai Empire

Brush cherry Bonsai Care guidelines Placement The Brush Cherry likes sunny, warm locations. It can tolerate full sun but partial shade is recommended in the hot...

www.bonsaiempire.com

 

[ajm55555]

If you don't want to pull it out, try to cut all the leaves and stems of the undesired guest as soon as they appear. At some point it should die.
Next step, you should learn how to repot ;-) and the problem will be solved for good.

 

[Bonsai boo]

Don't need to worry about chickens or dogs. You can eat oxalis yourself. All oxalis are edible. As kids we would pick leaves and chew the stems for the sour taste. One species produces larger tubers and is cultivated to eat - Oxalis tuberosa AKA oka, in some places known as yams. Just don't eat too much because the oxalic acid can cause some side effects in large quantities.

Oxalis is a strong competitor. If it is allowed to grow it will steal nutrients and water from Bob so he may not grow as well as he could without the oxalis competing. How much the oxalis affects Bob depends on how much the oxalis grows. If you just let it grow unchecked there's a chance Bob will lose out badly. I've seen trees die because of too much competition from weeds in the limited confines of a pot.
Pull the leaves off the oxalis regularly to keep it in check and let Bob have a bigger share of the water and nutrients so he stays healthy. If you don't want to keep doing that every few weeks for the rest of Bob's life you'll work out some way of getting rid of the oxalis.

Do we know what type of plant Bob is yet? Species can be important when deciding what time of year to repot, prune, feed, etc.
I also note there's no location on your profile so far. Your location also has a big bearing on what can be done and when so you should add that to your personal profile so we can give better advice.

Wow, I had no idea. As for the Origin of Bob... there's a plant passort code prinited on the side of his pot I dont know if there's a way to decipher what that means? All I can really tell you about that is that he was bought in the uk (and still lives here).
At the moment I really don't mind maintaining the Oxalis as I've already got into the habit of checking on Bob

 

[Bonsai boo]

Bob would appreciate you removing the "companion" plants. They're competing with Bob for resources and room. Won't disturb Bob's roots if you snip the other plants stems off at soil level and keep it up.

I think I'll do this for now, until I'm more confident in gardening as a whole. Thank you so much for your time

 

[Bonsai boo]

If you don't want to pull it out, try to cut all the leaves and stems of the undesired guest as soon as they appear. At some point it should die.
Next step, you should learn how to repot ;-) and the problem will be solved for good.

Repotting... that's daunting I feel like I need a qualification first

 

[Bonsai boo]

Ok. General update: I have gently plucked them suckers out and they came out fairly easy? Is that a good sign?
I have also attached photos of Bob with a ruler for hight reference and his plant passport. I have also added a picture just after his haircut so you can tell me if I did a good job.
Thank you everyone for all your help and the time you put into this. I hope to learn more from you all

 

[Bonsai boo]

I'd agree this is an "Australian Brush Cherry" or Syzigium. As the name suggests it's an Aussie native tropical plant. They can be a little finicky about watering--too much and they drop ALOT of leaves (I had one a very long time ago).

Care guide for the Brush cherry (Eugenia myrtifolia, syzygium) - Bonsai Empire

Brush cherry Bonsai Care guidelines Placement The Brush Cherry likes sunny, warm locations. It can tolerate full sun but partial shade is recommended in the hot...

www.bonsaiempire.com

Thank you so much for this (I'm just going to pretend that the actual name wasn't plain to see on the tag and that I totally knew that already... oops)

 

[rockm]

Thank you so much for this (I'm just going to pretend that the actual name wasn't plain to see on the tag and that I totally knew that already... oops)

It may be plain to see, but if you don't know what a "syzygium" is, then it's pretty much just Greek to you