New Tamarind Dropping Leave in a Hurry

[matthewsty]

Hi all. I'm new to the forum and fairly new to bonsai. I did something dumb and bought too nice of a bonsai for my skill level because 1) "dumb" and 2) I heard tamarind were easy. I received it from Wigert's in FL last week (I'm in CA, zone 10a). The soil is very chunky and the roots are dense -- moisture meter doesn't get a great read. All of the vibrant new growth it had on arrival is dropping (some green, some looking dingy). I putting it on a west-facing terrace with 5-5.5 hours of direct sun during the day and bringing in at night. The soil is moist. Leaves dropping by the handful. I really, really don't want to lose this tree. Any suggestions?

 

[vp999]

I bought a tamarind a few months ago very similar size to yours and they acted like that after arrival also, I wouldn't worry about it, just put it in the shade for a few weeks, these trees are very hardy and you're in a good zone for it. Cut off all the damage leaves and let it be for a while, dont repot or anything yet, I dont even think you have to bring it in at night being that you're in zone 10, I am in MD zone 7 and mine have been out and its been down to 47-49 here at night lately. You can bring it back out to full sun after a couple weeks. The leaves will open in the morning but closed back up when the sun is intense in the afternoon.

I was looking at the same tree at Wigert website too but too expensive for me lol. Nice tree!!!

 

[Potawatomi13]

Best of fortune with it. Some will hate strange root but personally like uniqueness of it.

 

[matthewsty]

Best of fortune with it. Some will hate strange root but personally like uniqueness of it.

I bought a tamarind a few months ago very similar size to yours and they acted like that after arrival also, I wouldn't worry about it, just put it in the shade for a few weeks, these trees are very hardy and you're in a good zone for it. Cut off all the damage leaves and let it be for a while, dont repot or anything yet, I dont even think you have to bring it in at night being that you're in zone 10, I am in MD zone 7 and mine have been out and its been down to 47-49 here at night lately. You can bring it back out to full sun after a couple weeks. The leaves will open in the morning but closed back up when the sun is intense in the afternoon.

I was looking at the same tree at Wigert website too but too expensive for me lol. Nice tree!!!

Thank you -- that's reassuring. Every leaf that dropped made me feel a little dumber ($1/leaf).

 

[matthewsty]

Best of fortune with it. Some will hate strange root but personally like uniqueness of it.

Who doesn't love a janky root?! That crazy trunk/root bump was the selling point

 

[Pixar]

Use the old leaves as fertilizer add your location & zone details to your profile

 

[vp999]

I’m pretty sure that’s just from shipping stress, from Florida to Cali is a long way lol. Best of luck to you and keep us updated please.