Hi everyone, I was bought a beautiful bonsai as a gift - I believe that it's a Chinese pepper (as always, the small leaflet attached was of very little help) Everything was fine until a couple of Months ago, now this poor little guy has suffered a lot of leaf drop and what remains are very flaccid and yellowing. It's kept in the kitchen at the brightest and warmest spot and as advised, is only watered when the soil feels dry, with no set schedule. I feel perhaps it was a little overwatered so I allowed it to dry out which seemed to help, but now this is its sorry state. The trunk under the bark is still green so I'm hoping that it's salvageable. The picture was taken just after a watering, from completely arid soil Any help would be most appreciated.
The foliage 'droops' (looses turgidity) like this because there is not enough water in the cells, which basically means water is being lost faster through transpiration than can be resupplied by the roots. If very dry soil were the problem, watering would restore turgidity within a matter of an hour or so. But your soil appears to be damp in the pic and yet not much water is getting conducted up to the foliage, so I think the plant must not have enough roots; more specifically that roots have died because of your previous errors. Roots must get oxygen to live. They quite literally drown when the substrate (soil) is poorly draining or too wet. I suggest that you DO NOT WATER! loosely wrap a plastic bag over the foliage; either trim the bag or gather and loosely bind it to the main stem well above the soil surface this will prevent further water loss through transpiration. we don't want the soil to be covered because we're trying to dry it out. stab a bamboo chopstick or wood skewer into the pot, say about half-way between the stem and the side of the pot - jam it all the way to the bottom. After an hour or so, grasp the chopstick/wood probe where it emerges from the soil and take note how damp it is and how far down from the surface (marked by where you've grasped it) - replace it and check again daily. Turgidity will return to the foliage as the roots recover. It is possible that the soil will go dry before this happens - if your soil probe tells you so, water the pot and carry on. Otherwise, remove the plastic cover over the foliage a week or so after turgidity has returned, water only when the wooden probe tells you the soil is dry to the the full depth of the pot - if you err, foliage looses turgidity, you water, turgidity quickly returns. Of course, I completely wrong; nothing I've suggested is likely to make matters worse, though, but for one thing: fungus/mildew is frequently a problem inside humidity tents (terrarims). Spray the foliage with a solution of 2 tablespoons 3% hydrogen peroxide in one quart of water at the first sign of infection. In fact, doing this in the beginning isn't a bad way of sterilizing the foliage and inside of the bag as well as being a misting to quickly raise the initial humidity level inside - very eco-safe as peroxide just becomes reactive oxygen and water. Eventually, you will want to use a better draining medium, but save your plant first. Good luck.
