Tree delayed with delayed shipping. Odds of survival?

[Paradox]

Should I defoliate it? Here’s a picture from above. Wasn’t so much major branches but a lot of the little ones were bent in half with some hard folds. Hard to picture. I’ll get over it, just frustrating to receive a tree with such poor packing. Most of the leaves have necrotic spots on them that are grey and black, not brown.

No, don't defoliate.
I would clean up the breaks and put cut paste on them though

 

[TimberLakers]

I would not defoliate. Looks like you have it in a nice big can with substrate.

Would get that outside in the shade to recover.

Would wait for some opinions on the black stuff. My guess would be some sort of mold/mildew from being in a box.

 

[Scrogdor]

I would not defoliate. Looks like you have it in a nice big can with substrate.

Would get that outside in the shade to recover.

Would wait for some opinions on the black stuff. My guess would be some sort of mold/mildew from being in a box.

Okay, where the black/grey leaf parts are is dry and crumbly. It’s outside in a shady spot, away from wind.

 

[Scrogdor]

I would not defoliate. Looks like you have it in a nice big can with substrate.

Would get that outside in the shade to recover.

Would wait for some opinions on the black stuff. My guess would be some sort of mold/mildew from being in a box.

Question, is a big pot okay? The original soil it was in looked like regular soil. I kept it in the soil it was in and just put it in a mix of some pumice/lava rock and cactus soil that I made to try and keep it consistent. Also put a round plate beneath it in the bigger pot to keep its roots from going straight down.

Tried not to stress the tree by changing too much about it's soil and messing with its roots.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Question, is a big pot okay? The original soil it was in looked like regular soil. I kept it in the soil it was in and just put it in a mix of some pumice/lava rock and cactus soil that I made to try and keep it consistent. Also put a round plate beneath it in the bigger pot to keep its roots from going straight down.

Tried not to stress the tree by changing too much about it's soil and messing with its roots.

Sooo the tree was lost in shipping = Stressed...

And you dig into the pot...mix other medium into what was already there..and placed a plate under the roots. Trying not to stress it to much.

Mental note...not touching the pot or repotting while stressed is not stressing it more.

Best of luck to you. Now isn't the time I personally would do what you did...even if not stressed.

 

[Scrogdor]

Sooo the tree was lost in shipping = Stressed...

And you dig into the pot...mix other medium into what was already there..and placed a plate under the roots. Trying not to stress it to much.

Mental note...not touching the pot or repotting while stressed is not stressing it more.

Best of luck to you. Now isn't the time I personally would do what you did...even if not stressed.

It wasn’t in a pot that stood up straight. It had a rounded bottom, and the tree wasn’t standing up on its own once unwrapped from the bags around it. There was no digging, tree would literally fall out of the rounded Bowl it was in when the bowl would tip. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.

I guess I could have secured the pot some how to prevent it from tipping over and then also tying the tree to it. The roots just had a clump of soil around them, that was it, that same clump of soil stuck to them when I moved the tree.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Best of luck to you...honest. It may not skip a beat.

*If it does decline. You can not put the blame on the seller nor getting lost in the mail. You added another variable to the factor of trees health.

I would have secured it as it was. I am good for sticking a pot inside another to change say...angle before it gets a repot that sets the angle I have in mind... but out of season to repot. But...I've done this hobby awhile.

Again, best of luck to you.

 

[Katie0317]

Ebay is a hit and miss animal. I'm sorry you had a stressful week. It's nerve-wracking without a doubt. I get that but I agree that it's something to get over.

At this point I would make the choice to keep it or send it back and move forward and not waste more energy. It's not productive and only adds to your stressful week. Arguing with an Ebay seller sounds like a nightmare in itself. I wouldn't take that road.

It looks like a nice tree though but up to you...

 

[BrianBay9]

Leave it alone. You have another month at least (maybe two if it holds its leaves) to regain strength. Your winters are very mild. By spring it should be ready to repot, get it into good draining soil, start fixing some of the root issues.

 

[itisoktodance]

Are you in the UK? Royal Mail are absolutely terrible for shipping trees. Every time I've ordered anything from the UK via RM, the package was absolutely caved in and open.

Note for the future, if you mail order trees, only do so in the winter (not even late winter/early spring). They will be dormant and have no issues with foliage. If you order early spring, the tree might exit dormancy in the box (like the black bag method which forces growth pushing), and will have lanky, pale growth that dies off, wasting energy, potentially fatally.

As for time spent in shipping, it can be in transit indefinitely if it's winter and the pot is wrapped in plastic wrap. I've had a tree two months in the mail and it survived and is thriving.

BTW, in my experience, German sellers will almost always package in wood packages or will use a wood frame inside the cardboard box. Hats off to them!

 

[penumbra]

Regarding this whole scenario of buying trees through the mail:
I have bought many many plants this way and I am always amazed at how few sellers mark the box as live plants or perishable. Live plants might or might not present an issue, but perishable is just good common sense .... if there still exists such a thing.

 

[Canada Bonsai]

Never buying off eBay again, this is a nightmare

Wait, you're in Oakland? There seems to be no shortage of pre-bonsai growers in California, and you only have to venture into the nearby states and you can literally get anything you want. Don't hesitate to order from right across the country though, because there are definitely safe ways of shipping plants. I ship across the continent on a regular basis with very, very few issues.

 

[TimberLakers]

Wait, you're in Oakland? There seems to be no shortage of pre-bonsai growers in California, and you only have to venture into the nearby states and you can literally get anything you want. Don't hesitate to order from right across the country though, because there are definitely safe ways of shipping plants. I ship across the continent on a regular basis with very, very few issues.

Agree on Oakland. So many great places to get material here within 40 miles. Ask if you need some suggestions!

Have had great experiences with shipped trees too, but I stick with specialists and west coast area growers.

 

[Scrogdor]

Wait, you're in Oakland? There seems to be no shortage of pre-bonsai growers in California, and you only have to venture into the nearby states and you can literally get anything you want. Don't hesitate to order from right across the country though, because there are definitely safe ways of shipping plants. I ship across the continent on a regular basis with very, very few issues.

Any recommendations of places that ship near the west coast? Is there a spread sheet or a list of resources I can refer to?

 

[TimberLakers]

Any recommendations of places that ship near the west coast? Is there a spread sheet or a list of resources I can refer to?

Here's a couple:

Evergreen Gardenworks

- Mendocino Maples Nursery

mendocinomaples.com

 

[CptnGlyn]

Regarding this whole scenario of buying trees through the mail:
I have bought many many plants this way and I am always amazed at how few sellers mark the box as live plants or perishable. Live plants might or might not present an issue, but perishable is just good common sense .... if there still exists such a thing.

My friend one bought some food items (protein powder and other similar things) online. His parcel was delayed and as the box had ‘perishable’ written on it, they destroyed it, in line with their timed delivery of food policy and he had to have the seller claim for it through the insurance before they resent it.

This is in UK, I can’t remember the courier but it was one of the bigger ones. Live plants and fragile would be enough for me, and sent via a good, fully tracked service!