Hi,

We recently purchased a very large Hackberry bonsai tree. It must be
very old because it's trunk has a 2 inch diameter. It has been doing
fine outside, receiving early morning sun, then getting indirect sun
the rest of the day. Recently here in Phoenix it went up 107 degrees.
We've been keeping it watered but noticed yesterday that the leaves
have dried up and sort of shriveled up. Is this due to the heat? We've
since brought it inside and are furiously talking to it telling it that
it can not die! lol Is there anything else we can do for it, is it past
the point of no return, was the heat too much for it?

Thanks,
Stephanie Mastorakis

Lighthouse Kerry Blues wrote:
Hi,

We recently purchased a very large Hackberry bonsai tree. It must be
very old because it's trunk has a 2 inch diameter. It has been doing
fine outside, receiving early morning sun, then getting indirect sun
the rest of the day. Recently here in Phoenix it went up 107 degrees.
We've been keeping it watered but noticed yesterday that the leaves
have dried up and sort of shriveled up. Is this due to the heat? We've
since brought it inside and are furiously talking to it telling it that
it can not die! lol Is there anything else we can do for it, is it past
the point of no return, was the heat too much for it?

Thanks,

If it is your native hackberry, Celtis reticulata, it MUST
be outside. In fact, none of the hackberries are indoor
trees, but I don't think any of the other Celtis species
will survive at all in Phoenix. It is a riparian tree
(stream banks) and lives under the canopies of cottonwood
and large willows, etc. so it should be kept in the shade in
the summer. It likes moist soil, but like most trees does
not like perpetually WET soil.

There is a Phoenix Bonsai Society, and it has a website but
I don't have the address. Google should find it. Go there,
find a member and get local help -- and do it quickly.
There's not much margin of safety when temps reach 100 degrees.

But it WILL NOT SURVIVE INDOORS.

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

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Kevin Bailey++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

I'm not sure exactly what kind of Hackberry it is. It was sold to us as
a Huckleberry tree. We came home to do research on it over the
internet, only to find that a Huckleberry doesn't look anything like
what we have. We did a leaf match and found out it's a Hackberry. The
guy we bought it from, also told us to error on the side of over
watering it and to bring it inside once the temps hit 110.

I did a google image search and it does appear to be a Celtis
reticulata just going by the leaf. After reading more about it, it
seems like this tree should be doing really well in Phoenix and can
handle full sun once it's established. That comes from the Phoenix
bonsai site you were telling me to look for.

Stephanie

Lighthouse Kerry Blues wrote:
I'm not sure exactly what kind of Hackberry it is. It was sold to us as
a Huckleberry tree. We came home to do research on it over the
internet, only to find that a Huckleberry doesn't look anything like
what we have. We did a leaf match and found out it's a Hackberry. The
guy we bought it from, also told us to error on the side of over
watering it and to bring it inside once the temps hit 110.

I did a google image search and it does appear to be a Celtis
reticulata just going by the leaf. After reading more about it, it
seems like this tree should be doing really well in Phoenix and can
handle full sun once it's established. That comes from the Phoenix
bonsai site you were telling me to look for.

Stephanie

Well, all I can say is that you need to contact someone from
the Phoenix club and get their help.

Good luck.

Jim Lewis - - This economy is a wholly
owned subsidiary of the environment. - Gaylord Nelson

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Kevin Bailey++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++