Right now I have a Chinese pepper bonsai tree that I bought last summer. It was doing fine all year, until now. To date, I've always kept my bonsai tree inside, in my room. I've done a bit of reading, and some people are saying that they leave their trees outside during the winter. The thing is, its getting to be as low as -20 C at night now, and I'm thinking if I put it outside, it will certainly freeze to death. It isn't looking great right now, so I'm beginning to worry. What should I be doing?
Even if the tree is supposed to live outside (I am not familiar with 'Chinese Pepper Tree), it's not a good idea to just suddenly put it out there in the middle of winter when it's used to being indoors, you will probably shock it and it will die straight away. When the weather starts to get warmer you can put it out during the day and bring it in at night for a week or so, and then moove it out completely after that. What do you mean by it "isn't looking great"? Could you be more descriptive or post a photo? Then hopefully someone who does know about this type of tree can help you out. It may be suffering due to the lack of a dormancy period if it is indeed a temperate species.
A picture of my tree type is here: http://www.bonsaiboy.com/catalog/product3598.html My tree looks almost identical to it, but with maybe... 1/4 the leaf growth. What few leaves I do have are still bright green, but they are few and far between. Right now its inside all the time, gets watered 4 times a week, and misted every day.
I'm sorry, I really don't know anything specific about this type of plant. I'd suggest you keep hunting around on the internet cause someone might. Until then, make sure you don't overwater as it might need less if it's got less leaves, and keep it in a nice light location - like a sunny windowsill - if it's indoors (cause it's a tropical right?). Good luck!
While your tree is an "indoor bonsai" it would be much happier (and make you much happier) if you move it outside in the warmer months. Not during winter. If you got your tree from bonsaiboy, then send him a message and ask what the temperature tolerance of that three is. I'm pretty sure that -20 C isn't in that range.
