Hi,
Firstly this is my first post on the forum, so many thanks for looking in.

I'm desperate for some advice concerning a couple of Bonsai trees. One is some kind of native pine, (Probably a Scots or Corsican pine.) and the other a Ficus Benjamina. Please excuse my ignorance re the pine, but it's a tree that I've grown from a tiny seedling and I'm afraid my knowledge of trees is fairly limited.

I've been tending to these two trees for over fifteen years now and, as I'm sure you can imagine, I've become very attached to them.

To put you in the picture, I noticed both trees were showing signs of dying branches, in the case of the Ficus, the leaves just suddenly dropped whilst still green. The pine has began to yellow from the branch tips inwards. When I first noticed this ill health in the trees, I attributed it to my feeding them a too strong solution of feed. Under normal circumstances I feed the trees, during spring and summer, with a proprietry brand of Bonsai specific fertilizer named 'Chempac'. As I'd run out of this, and couldn't seem to remember to pick some up, I thought I would feed the trees with some Miraclegrow plant feed that I had in the house for potted plants.

When the trees started to look ill, probably a couple of weeks ago, the only thing I could think to blame it on was the plant food. I hadn't done anything outside of the normal routine other than use this compound, or so I thought. As an extra security I also sprayed both trees with Malathion, thinking it possible the dreaded 'Red Spiders' might be to blame.

Well it's just dawned on me what must have happened, and it's worrying me to death! I have a horrible feeling I may have inadvertently killed my treasured trees. There are two watering cans in my small garden, one is always kept topped up with water for the trees, the other not normally used. A few weeks ago though I had been using a weed killer at work called Sodium Chlorate(ide?) I think. I bought some home and made up a solution to kill off a couple of particularly persistent unwanted plants at the back of my garden. I vaguely remember seeing a small amount of water in said watering can a few weeks ago and I now believe I must have assumed it to be collected rainfall and poured it over the two trees without thinking.

Both trees have been growly slowly more sickly looking over the past couple of weeks. They both still have signs of life over most of their growth. With this in mind can anyone tell me if it's possible to still save them?

Having literally only realised what I must have done a few minutes ago, the only action I can think to take, is to remove both trees from the soil they're in and keep them overnight in a bucket of water. Then tommorrow, when I can purchase some more compost, I'm intending to repot them in fresh soil.

Can anyone offer any help?

Thanks in anticipation.

Regards Chris

Chris H wrote:
Hi,

snip


A few weeks ago though I had been using a weed killer at
work called Sodium Chlorate(ide?) I think. I bought some home and made
up a solution to kill off a couple of particularly persistent unwanted
plants at the back of my garden. I vaguely remember seeing a small
amount of water in said watering can a few weeks ago and I now believe
I must have assumed it to be collected rainfall and poured it over the
two trees without thinking.

Both trees have been growly slowly more sickly looking over the past
couple of weeks. They both still have signs of life over most of their
growth. With this in mind can anyone tell me if it's possible to still
save them?

Having literally only realised what I must have done a few minutes ago,
the only action I can think to take, is to remove both trees from the
soil they're in and keep them overnight in a bucket of water. Then
tommorrow, when I can purchase some more compost, I'm intending to
repot them in fresh soil.


You can remove all the soil on the ficus at this time of
year (assuming you are in northern hemisphere) and soak and
repot, but . . .

The pine will not stand for a summer repot.

Most weed killers are taken up quickly into the plant
tissues and do their work from inside; they don't stick
around in the soil. If you truly did water them with weed
killer, I don't think there's a lot you can do but hope that
it was diluted enough -- by rain, or whatever -- that they
got a small dose.

You CAN submerge both pots, let them drain, and repeat --
just in case, but I think whatever damage that is gonna
happen has been done already. KEEP THEM OUT OF THE SUN!
That makes herbicide damage worse.

At any rate, it was NOT the MiracleGro. And, if either tree
survives, I recommend you start using it rather than that
"bonsai fertilizer" (ain't no such animal). It'll be a lot
cheaper and it gives the same stuff to the trees.

Good luck. And henceforth reserve a SPECIFIC container for
herbicides ONLY.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - When we
see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to
use it with love and respect - Aldo Leopold - A Sand County
Almanac

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Thanks Jim.

I fear you're right. I'm changing the soil in both trees containers tonight and hoping for the best. Am I right in thinking that it would do more harm than good to feed the repotted trees initially?

Regards Chris