51cg

Hi everyone. I’m a fairly competent gardener of outdoor plants but a complete newbie at bonsais.

10 days ago my husband spotted a heavily reduced bonsai in the garden centre, I had a sneaky bark check that the trunk and main branch was green underneath and felt fairly sure I?could get it to come back - he’s always wanted a bonsai so decided to have?a shot at rescuing it.

All its leaves were crispy and it has completely dried out. I gave the pot a good soak then put it under our velux where there’s plenty of light and a steady 18-20 degree temp.

So far there’s no sign of anything happening. The soil still seems very soggy, and I’m starting to see some mould growing on the top layer?of soil.

Questions:

-is it normal for the soil to hold onto so much water, or should it be more free draining??

-would it be happier outside (UK)? If so, would it prefer my greenhouse which is v hot and humid?during the day at the moment, or a sunny sheltered spot elsewhere?

- I assume attempting to repot is a terrible idea?
?

I’m happy to be patient, but don’t want to accidentally make it less healthy than it already is! I haven’t removed the dried leaves, figured they’d fall in their own time and they’re not doing any harm, but equally I can take them off if there’s any benefit to doing so.

Any help appreciated!

The best place would be outside in a sheltered spot out of wind. The greenhouse will get too hot. It may be ok, but it may take a month or more to show.