Hopeful for serissa

[Mara of dragon clan]

Hello I am currently trying to assist the revival of a Serissa Feotida which I believe has undergone some severe stress due to my lack of knowledge and understanding.

At my workplace, I care for a 7 yr old serissa, which I repotted during late february as the tree was being eaten hy spider mites. Was my choice in premature potting incorrect? Probably.

But the trouble wasnt in the repotting, as it grew back quickly and even had one bloom.

Before the repot, it spent its nights in a special cubby and its days facing a south window around autumn and over winter 2019.

Although I would move it daily, it continued to grow at a steady rate until the leaves started to get eaten.


However, all this changed when the pandemic happened. This altered all sorts of conditions with proper care and watering with the serissa which certainly caused root rot. How do I know? Armed with my lack of knowledge I exposed the roots to remove the rotted ones each time.

After the first 2 times it still grew back and still had some leaves with back buds and new growth on existing branches. But on the third time it finally said no more and dropped all the leaves. At that time I also made the horrible mistake of trying to avoid accurate watering by adding more organic matter so the water would stay longer ((

I felt so conflicted with the fact that all the work would take just one day of misguided intent.

Ive kept on a strict observing schedule for it, with almost 10 days having passed after I corrected my soil mixture and.... removed even more rotted root.

The last exposure showed the bonsai had a lot of feeders but obviously no more mature roots. Much of the nebari... had large portions of it rot away.

Anyways. For whoever reads this thanks. This some serious therapy ive had in my chest.

But I am hoping that one day it will grow again

 

[HorseloverFat]

Greetings, traveler. Dig your roots in..stay a while.

I like serissas.. sorry to learn that this
Particular specimen is giving you such trouble..

They are VERY temperamental and will not waste any time “letting you know” they are unhappy.

Has your running observation been 10 days? Or is it longer now? Because they’ll hang on to stress until theycan PUSH those reminders “out”... like bruising your fingernail.

If you search serissa here.. you’ll find some good information, as well.

Pleasure to make your acquaintance.

 

[Mara of dragon clan]

Hello and thank you,

The observation is at about 10 days now with strict moisture checking and reduced watering with no new growth. The trunk does not look dark within and I do not want to cut the bark to check. The tree has been through enough.

Right now it receives strong indirect sunlight and is indoors. I have the option to place it at a south-east window but it has a vent near the window / or place it in a south window but has full afternoon-sunset exposure because of the neighbour trees.

Can you please advise on what you mean by "push the reminders" out? I feel like i know too much and none of it is correct for this tree

 

[HorseloverFat]

Hello and thank you,

The observation is at about 10 days now with strict moisture checking and reduced watering with no new growth. The trunk does not look dark within and I do not want to cut the bark to check. The tree has been through enough.

Right now it receives strong indirect sunlight and is indoors. I have the option to place it at a south-east window but it has a vent near the window / or place it in a south window but has full afternoon-sunset exposure because of the neighbour trees.

Can you please advise on what you mean by "push the reminders" out? I feel like i know too much and none of it is correct for this tree

By “push the reminders out” I am simply referring to the trees natural reactions to stress.
Let’s say stress causes some leaf Yellowing/browning/drop (very common for serissas.. they don’t enjoy change... even positionally... they enjoy knowing EXACTLY what to expect), so you diagnose and correct the problem. THEN even if the tree is functioning more efficiently.. it will still show those visible signs for a while until the effected areas can recover or cordon/drop and replace with new growth.. “pushing out the reminders”

Also light will become an issue... if your keeping said tree indoors, it would be wise to invest in a grow light/lamp.... or even a universal replacement grow bulb kept 6”-12” away (cheap and SUPER effective).. IF using a window as a light source (you most likely already know this, but it’s worth saying) your effectiveness drops successively every cm foliage is from said window, with a SHARP decline after roughly two feet... so hug the ledge tight South is good...south-facing is your friend (I realize you, also realize this)

So basically (regarding light), IF you are going “indoors”, I would STRONGLY suggest using artificial light to support the natural component.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Also, did you “treat” the plant with anything for the mites?

Fast-draining soil is ideal for these buggers... they are quite thirsty.. but don’t like their feet(roots) “feeling” wet.

Quite ornery... water too much, leaves will drop.. Water too little, leaves will drop... Change it’s position, leaves will drop... Drastic swings in humidity/temperature (which can sometimes happen by indoor windows), ditto...

I‘m rooting for him/her (your tree)

 

[JoeR]

They are now actually Serissa japonica, not foetida

Not sure why so many people say they are finicky. I have had no problems with any of mine. Their old leaves yellow and shed during the summer, and this may account for some peoples 'problems'. Its normal for them to do so in my experience. I believe many peoples issues with serissa can be attributes to low humidity, but this is just a theory.

Serissa mainly grow fibrous roots, with few larger roots usually.

I would move the plant outside immediately, weather permitting. They are subtropical, so in the future you can plan accordingly. Place it in some shade until you see growth. Keep humidity up.

Have you fertilized it? If so, with what and how often?

Did you work the new soil into the root ball?

Don't remove the bark, you just make a small scratch with your fingernail to see if there is green underneath. Won't hurt the tree to do so- as far as I can tell, it looks alive.

 

[Mara of dragon clan]

Thank you all for your responses.

My office where the south window face has a ledge where we have a small garden outside of it. But it has too much exposure to the public and the public often leaves trash like smokes on our flower beds. The office is near some "shady" areas especially because the building was near abandoned until we took it over the last year. So it often is frequented by people who are not conscious of what they are doing.


I was wondering if planting it in ground can be possible. We have the smell ledge area with a flower garden and I might be able to "hide" it from the common spots the unwanted neighbours frequent.

I do not want to risk putting the pot out overnight as I made it myself so it is irreplaceable to me. That would be my only available option for having the tree outdoors.

Today I placed the tree to "hug" the window as before it was no where near direct light. When I used to have the tree where it is now, sometimes the leaves scorched and my panicking newbie mind could never figure out what to do with it.

 

[Mara of dragon clan]

I would move the plant outside immediately, weather permitting. They are subtropical, so in the future you can plan accordingly. Place it in some shade until you see growth. Keep humidity up.

**** so should it be at a south window? It gets shade for the morning but it is exposed from noon to sunset with full light and minimal shade from trees

Have you fertilized it? If so, with what and how often?

*****When it still had health after repotting I fertilized it when I saw lots of back budding. This created a little bit more but then i got excited and am certain I burned the roots too by fertilizing again so soon. I fertilized it first with a 10 10 10 heavily diluted mix and watered with 2 cups ( to do normal watering) and .25 tsp of the dilute. But then when i got too excited I did something like 1 tsp dilute and 1 cuo water less than 2 days after.


Did you work the new soil into the root ball?

*****Yes the new soil has been carefully worked as best as I could. I use a 40%lava rock, 40% akadama, 5% conifer, 15% peat mix.... original mix from first repot was 5050 akadama / lava rock



Don't remove the bark, you just make a small scratch with your fingernail to see if there is green underneath. Won't hurt the tree to do so- as far as I can tell, it looks alive.
[/QUOTE]

 

[Mara of dragon clan]

I treated the mites with some soap water dilute. I thought it worked after 4 treatments during winter but then other branches started becoming affected

 

[Mara of dragon clan]

Did the bark test today which showed a lush deep green loke the preview button color

and repositioned near the south window that could be left open

 

[Mellow Mullet]

How many times did you pull it out of the pot? If I read it correctly, several times, which is not a good idea for a plant that is unhealthy. Serissa have very fine roots that are damaged easily, every time that you mess with the roots, you are damaging the new ones that the plant is making in its attempt to recovery. I think that you may be "loving it to death". It really needs to be outside for optimum health, and don't do anything else except water it appropriately.

I have found that I have more trouble with mites when I bring them inside on really cold nights, the lack of humidity and mild temperatures causes them to grow, and eat the plant. I have more trouble with gall mites than spider mites. You need to get a good miticide to kill them, soap and water will not work.

 

[Mara of dragon clan]

Yes thank you, I recognize I have loved it to near death.

Ive grown from those mistakes and am leaving it be with increased sun exposure and appropriate watering practices.

It cannot be outside although I know it would thrive that way.

 

[coachspinks]

Since it still has green underneath, just be patient. Water when it starts to dry. Serissa can be pretty tough. There are always going to be challenges to keeping them indoor. Like MM said, once it starts growing again you are going to have to stay on top of the mite issue.
A serissa will not survive an Ontario winter outside in the ground. Good luck!

 

[sorce]

Not sure why so many people say they are finicky.

repotted during late february as the tree was being eaten hy spider mites. Was my choice in premature potting incorrect? Probably.

But the trouble wasnt in the repotting, as it grew back quickly and even had one bloom.

Before the repot, it spent its nights in a special cubby and its days facing a south window around autumn and over winter 2019.

Although I would move it daily, it continued to grow at a steady rate until the leaves started to get eaten.


However, all this changed when the pandemic happened. This altered all sorts of conditions with proper care and watering with the serissa which certainly caused root rot. How do I know? Armed with my lack of knowledge I exposed the roots to remove the rotted ones each time.

After the first 2 times it still grew back and still had some leaves with back buds and new growth on existing branches. But on the third time it finally said no more and dropped all the leaves. At that time I also made the horrible mistake of trying to avoid accurate watering by adding more organic matter so the water would stay longer ((

I felt so conflicted with the fact that all the work would take just one day of misguided intent.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[Mara of dragon clan]

Update:

I brought it out for a few hours and let it sit on a ledge. This proved to be the final straw.
I brought it in after leaving work and the next day i noticed there were black spots on the bark.

Did a bark test and that once dark green is now about the same colour of the bark. I learned a lot of lessons from this tree and I give thanks for its offering.

I am not a person who feels like just going out to buy a new tree because I dont view life that way. I was also asked to care for this tree as a sign of trust.

For the time I will let my experiences simmer and keep the tree around as a deadwood piece.

Thanks for everyones input, and I would like to share this to people as well: never doubt your own instinct no matter what others experiences are because the instinct is specific to your own experience.

 

[Carol 83]

Don't be too discouraged, everyone here has lost trees. If your only option is to have a tree inside your office, pick up a ficus.

 

[Mara of dragon clan]

Thank you, I am more humbled than discouraged.

I have met some great people and learned from them on top of all the lessons that I learned when the serissa was healthy as well as in decline.


There is a taoist saying that says "if you want to know the world, allow things to take its course". This certainly has allowed me some insight to this at the very least.

Thank you everyone. I am speaking with the owner right now actually and she wants to bring some mature jade plants so I will be studying that for the time being