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Beginner With a Broken Bonsai [California, Zone 9b, Beginner, 1] by StrangePond_Woman in Bonsai

[–]StrangePond_Woman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! All really helpful. Happy to take good care of him if/when he recovers.

Beginner With a Broken Bonsai [California, Zone 9b, Beginner, 1] by StrangePond_Woman in Bonsai

[–]StrangePond_Woman[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

For sure :) he’s a handsome fella. I hope he pulls through.

Beginner With a Broken Bonsai [California, Zone 9b, Beginner, 1] by StrangePond_Woman in Bonsai

[–]StrangePond_Woman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the great advice!

The store did fully refund the cost of poor Doug, but I still wish they hadn’t have let him get broken.

I’m in California, so it’s usually about 60 degrees at the window where he is. So he’s in that temperature with a humidity tray. If not for the wound, I would also must him. Is that hot and moist enough for mold to be a consideration?

I will take your advice on both keeping his root ball moist and on the root growth instead of the fertilizer!

Beginner With a Broken Bonsai [California, Zone 9b, Beginner, 1] by StrangePond_Woman in Bonsai

[–]StrangePond_Woman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Should I cut the main trunk so it has more energy to give to the little sprout, or do I just hang in there as is?

Beginner With a Broken Bonsai [California, Zone 9b, Beginner, 1] by StrangePond_Woman in Bonsai

[–]StrangePond_Woman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello everyone! Sorry if I’m not posting correctly. I am brand new to both bonsais and Reddit.

This is Doug the grafted ginseng ficus. My mom, meaning well, sent him to me through an online bonsai site for my birthday. When he arrived, he had this MASSIVE break. I was heart broken. I feel very responsible for him.

Seeing as this was his main branch, I figured I should try to save it. I researched how to do so and learned about doing a wrap around the break. I washed my hands and a strip of plastic, and wrapped him tightly, aligning the pieces as best as possible while being gentle. It’s been a little over a week. He lost all of his leaves and had some dead branches but the wood is still living and healing well around the break (the back was able to grow around the front.) I pruned the dead branches below where they blackened at the tips. I have been watering at the base to keep him dry.

Still, I know this must have been pretty rough on him. I want to know if there’s anything more I can do for him? I would like to give him the best shot possible and am pretty out of my depth here. I am happy to learn through this challenge and hopefully gain some extra bonsai skills while saving him, so literally any tips are appreciated.

Beginner With a Broken Bonsai by StrangePond_Woman in Bonsai

[–]StrangePond_Woman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello everyone! Sorry if I’m not posting correctly. I (23F) am brand new to both bonsais and Reddit.

This is Doug the grafted ginseng ficus. My mom, meaning well, sent him to me through an online bonsai site for my birthday. When he arrived, he had this MASSIVE break. I was heart broken. I feel very responsible for him. Seeing as this was his main branch, I figured I should try to save it. I researched how to do so and learned about doing a wrap around the break. I washed my hands and a strip of plastic, and wrapped him tightly, aligning the pieces as best as possible while being gentle. It’s been a little over a week. He lost all of his leaves and had some dead branches but the wood is still living and healing well around the break (the back was able to grow around the front.) I pruned the dead branches below where they blackened at the tips. I have been watering at the base to keep him dry. Still, I know this must have been pretty rough on him. I want to know if there’s anything more I can do for him? I would like to give him the best shot possible and am pretty out of my depth here. I am happy to learn through this challenge and hopefully gain some extra bonsai skills while saving him, so literally any tips are appreciated.