Bonsai sageretia: most important characteristics and care

Bonsai sageretia

When you go to the stores the day the plant sales arrive, one of the types of bonsai that you can find is the Sageretia bonsai. It is one of the most common along with the ficus, carmona and serissa. And yet, except for the ficus, all the others are not easy trees to care for for beginners in the world of bonsai.

For this reason, on this occasion, we are going to focus on it so that you know what it is like and the most important care that you must give it so that it does not die in two weeks (literally). Go for it?

How is the Sageretia bonsai

Sale of bonsai trees

The first thing you need, when you have a Sageretia bonsai, is to understand what it is like. Its most “common” name is Chinese plum, although in stores, and among buyers, Sageretia sounds much more.

It is characterized by having tiny leaves and a compact habit. Its trunk is smooth and quite normal (very thin in the bonsai that you usually see in stores).

In addition, it blooms with tiny flowers (which are nothing special). But, after them, the fruit arrives, some small balls between blue and purple.

Sageretia bonsai care

Sagetia thea

As we told you before, the Sageretia bonsai is sold as one of the best for beginners. And you really couldn’t be more wrong. Together with the carmona and serissa bonsai, they are one of the three most complicated. They even resist many experts in the world of bonsai.

Therefore, if you have been given one, or you were thinking of buying it, you should carefully read the care it needs.

location and temperature

Like any tree, regardless of its size, it must be outdoors. It is another of the mistakes that is made. It needs the outdoors, and it needs sun. Now, it does not mean that you put it in the sun and forget about it.

Actually, it is best that the tree has direct sun only during the first hours of the day, but after 12 noon, when the temperature begins to tighten, it should be in shade or semi-shade.

In other words, it needs indirect light as much as possible, but direct only a few hours a day.

As for the temperature, it is a delicate tree, and it does not do well when temperatures drop below 12ºC, because it begins to suffer. If this happens in your house, then it is best to protect it or put it in a greenhouse to better control the temperature. for his partIt tolerates high temperatures much better.

Substratum

The ideal mixture for this bonsai must be a combination of blonde peat, volcanic clay and akadama. In this way you will have a soil that will hold moisture, and at the same time it will drain very well.

Irrigation

Watering is undoubtedly one of the biggest headaches for this bonsai, along with the location. And it is that it does not tolerate neither drought nor flooding, being able to die in just a few days for one reason or another.

We can tell you that You will have to water the Sageretia bonsai often but without flooding it. And at the same time you should check that the soil that you have put drains well, but also that it retains moisture. Do you see how complicated it is?

If it helps you, we will help you with these tips:

  • The best water for bonsai irrigation (not only Sageretia, but all) is rain water. But we understand that you are not always going to get this, so opt for tap water but with a minimum of 48 hours of rest. In addition, we recommend you add a few drops of vinegar because it enriches the water much more.
  • The way to know if your bonsai needs water or not is by touching the ground with your finger. But of course, this is where the first problem comes in: the bonsai that you buy in supermarkets have such a compacted soil that this technique is almost impossible to perform. And also, if you buy it and transplant it, the shock is so great for the plant that it could easily die. So you will have to apply watering with very little amount of water, and more daily, until two weeks have elapsed, Sufficient time for the plant to have adapted to the new home and you can, whenever the time is right, transplant.
  • When watering, try to water with a fine bottle so that too much water does not fall on it. The days prior to that transplant water very little, but more times. When you already have the right soil, and check with your finger (inserting it) if it is wet or dry, water until you feel water coming out of the pot’s drainage holes. At that point, she stops doing it.

Humidity

Another of the Sageretei bonsai cares that is hardly talked about, but is important, is humidity. This plant needs constant humidity. But how much? Well, we have investigated and the data tells us that it must be at least 30%. If it is between 30 and 40, which is the ideal humidity, it will be perfect.

This implies that you will have to spray the leaves often so that it is also hydrated in that area.

Subscriber

Small tree

We continue with the care of the Sageretia bonsai and in this case the subscriber is a bit special. You will see, It begins in spring, and a fertilizer rich in nitrogen is applied that you can add to the irrigation water.

However, when the temperature exceeds 30ºC, the subscriber must be reduced by half.

On the other hand, when autumn arrives, it is advisable to fertilize it with a product that is rich in potassium and phosphorus. And in winter you will have to pay once a month.

Transplant

Transplanting is a bit “dangerous”, in the sense that you have to wait until you see a lot of roots outside the pot. At that moment, it will be time to transplant, approximately every two years, but experts recommend that, at that time, you should remove 30% of the roots it has.

If you don’t know how to cut them, or which ones, you can make them suffer a lot, so we recommend that you inform yourself well about the subject before doing so.

pruning

Pruning is done throughout the year to keep it the way you want.

Plagues and diseases

The red spider, the whitefly or the fungi are the downfall of the Sageretia bonsai. Almost all of them will appear for not taking care into accountor not doing it correctly, so changing these can be improved.

Even so, it will require the use of insecticides and fungicides, both to treat it and to prevent problems.

Multiplication

Finally, the propagation of the Sageretia bonsai can be done, either by seeds (of the fruits it produces), or of cuttings that you can take from your plant.

Now you can have more opportunities with your Sageretia bonsai, but remember that it is one of those that you should be more aware of.

Bonsai sageretia: most important characteristics and care

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