Serissa - discuss!

[Anthony]

Michael,

when a shrub needs such intense training we only grow 2 or 3, max 5.
So the few we keep get constant observation and shoots in the wrong place are
removed on a weekly basis.

Looking at that beautiful specimen you have posted, I cringe at the maintenance

What we figured out ----------- 5 Sageretia , 5 Fustic [ think zelkova density ] 5 Serissa s.
and 5 Tamarinds.
You would give up on anything else.

By the way, what we do with the high density trees / shrubs [ hedge material ] is make a globe or irregular globe with good main branch placements and then take away for the trained shape.
Basically a sculptor's technique.

Our largest effort 15 years ago died due to the pot being stoneware and it didn't lose
water fast enough. Now that pot supports a Tamarind beautifully.
Hopefully we can get this next effort to the heavy refinement stage.
Trying for 8 to 10 cm trunk.
Best of growing to you.
Anthony

Done for IBC - to show how tall in a shallow saucer.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Michael,
They all sucker, even ones that are fairly old. In its natural form, I think it is a shrub with multiple trunks, at least the ones I have growin in the yard do.

 

[JoeR]

@Mellow Mullet

My serissa did well all year, cuttings are thriving, but my best tree is now not doing as good. Dropped two, thankfully unimportant, branches and is slowing growth. It is also suckering from the base, which I take as a potential sign of stress. I believe it needs repotted. Usually I would prefer spring, but I am thinking it won't do well over the winter if I do not repot.

Is it OK to repot now? Any experience with late summer or early serissa repots?

Couldnt get the camera to focus but you can see the foliage is now sparse and overall not as nice looking. Soil is a mess from the akadama

 

[Mellow Mullet]

I have repotted serissa in late summer and have not had any problems, may dad has also.

 

[JoeR]

It desperately needed the repot, did it a few days ago. Terrible pictures but it seems to not have gone well. I didnt remove any roots besides some accidental ones and the black roots. The left and right trunk are doing OK, but the middle one is desiccated. Still green under bark. Only thing I can think of is I also removed a good sized branch from it beforehand that wasn't looking too good either. It will still be a cool twin trunk.... maybe it will rebound?

 

[coachspinks]

Did you wire as well? I can't tell how much bend you put in the center one but maybe that could be the issue?
A lot of people treat these as tropicals repot in the summer with a lot of success but I have had better success in the spring when they are showing new green. Mine are outside year round though. Even sub 20 degree days. When I do work in the heat of the summer mine sulk.

 

[Cmd5235]

I actually report mine in the late fall, just as I am bringing them inside. Sometimes I will actually take a day and pot them the same day that they’re coming in for the winter. I keep mine under a grow light setup here in SE Pennsylvania with no issues. I’ll use cactus mix for soil most of the time and I get great growth indoors. They seem to bloom best when they’re exposed to cooler temps

 

[HorseloverFat]

I love Serissas! I killed a pretty nice one.

They are finicky for some and not for others.. the complexities and varying ideas/hypothesis for these large deviations between experiences is somewhat misunderstood.. even feared by some.

They are very quick to let you know they are unhappy and will drop some leaves everytime their “comfort zone” is pushed against.

I’ve personally found that they have many leaves feeding particular sections, and adjust accordingly to receive those individual “points”.. so they don’t like being altered in their orientation to the light they are receiving. So the whole “they don’t like being moved around that much” idea IS true, in my experience..

They are also notoriously thirsty but can’t tolerate wet feet.. even a little too moist.. they’ll complain..

Almost like their roots are designed for plunging and diving through mountain-esque terrain.

 

[JoeR]

Did you wire as well? I can't tell how much bend you put in the center one but maybe that could be the issue?
A lot of people treat these as tropicals repot in the summer with a lot of success but I have had better success in the spring when they are showing new green. Mine are outside year round though. Even sub 20 degree days. When I do work in the heat of the summer mine sulk.

I typically repot in spring as well, but I believe it would not have made it through the winter had I not repotted now. It was wired sometime this spring I believe, in any case not recently

 

[JoeR]

I love Serissas! I killed a pretty nice one.

They are finicky for some and not for others.. the complexities and varying ideas/hypothesis for these large deviations between experiences is somewhat misunderstood.. even feared by some.

They are very quick to let you know they are unhappy and will drop some leaves everytime their “comfort zone” is pushed against.

I’ve personally found that they have many leaves feeding particular sections, and adjust accordingly to receive those individual “points”.. so they don’t like being altered in their orientation to the light they are receiving. So the whole “they don’t like being moved around that much” idea IS true, in my experience..

They are also notoriously thirsty but can’t tolerate wet feet.. even a little too moist.. they’ll complain..

Almost like their roots are designed for plunging and diving through mountain-esque terrain.

Yeah ive found them to be really easy to care for and haven't had any problems with them until now. But again the soil was so compacted, I should have repotted this spring. Oh well

Here's a flower shot from the spring

 

[SeanS]

Here’s mine, I can’t seem to find the variety when I google. It was labeled as a foetida but it doesn’t look like others I’ve seen online. I was bringing it in at night during winter, and it’s back outside now that it’s spring down here. It’s yellowed a lot, almost all the leaves are yellow but aren’t falling off like they have previously when they’ve gone yellow. Also it’s covered in hundreds of flower buds.

I think it needs a repot, it’s still in the original box store soil it was in when my girlfriend bought it for me last June.

Although it’s yellow it’s growing profusely this spring and as I mentioned is flowering its face off. All the branch tips are extending strongly.

Should I repot?

I don’t have a current photo as it’s dark out now.

 

[Cmd5235]

I think the key to Serissa is the soil and just kinda...neglecting them a bit. I feel like people love them to death, and they show it. I also think the serissa stigma is due to a moderate difficulty tree being mass produced and picked up by total novices.
All of my serissa are cuttings from a parent tree (that I still have) from about 15 years ago. I repot in the fall, grow them under a lamp on a timer indoors and only water when the soil is beginning to dry out a bit. I throw them in the raised bed with all my outdoor trees from spring to fall and rarely look at them more than a few times a month. They grow phenomenally for me.

 

[Cmd5235]

Here’s mine, I can’t seem to find the variety when I google. It was labeled as a foetida but it doesn’t look like others I’ve seen online. I was bringing it in at night during winter, and it’s back outside now that it’s spring down here. It’s yellowed a lot, almost all the leaves are yellow but aren’t falling off like they have previously when they’ve gone yellow. Also it’s covered in hundreds of flower buds.

I think it needs a repot, it’s still in the original box store soil it was in when my girlfriend bought it for me last June.

Although it’s yellow it’s growing profusely this spring and as I mentioned is flowering its face off. All the branch tips are extending strongly.

Should I repot?

I don’t have a current photo as it’s dark out now.

View attachment 327015

That looks solid for now, but it all depends on how long the tree can work in the soil. If it’s stock soil, I’d consider reporting and minimal root pruning fairly soon to maintain the vigor. How’s your lighting setup?

 

[HorseloverFat]

Shoot! I forgot to share mine..

This was a medium seedling plug bought spring 2019.

Not much to look at...

Just gave it it’s initial “branch set” and styling recently..

 

[HorseloverFat]

Someone told me that Foetida IS now classified as Japonica.. could be hot air.

...you never really know.

 

[SeanS]

That looks solid for now, but it all depends on how long the tree can work in the soil. If it’s stock soil, I’d consider reporting and minimal root pruning fairly soon to maintain the vigor. How’s your lighting setup?

That was a few months ago before winter, it looks a bit shaggier now with all the new growth but also pretty yellow.

I did cut off most of the flower buds last weekend to see if it would helpit regain some vigor in the colour department, I want it to put its energy into getting green again. It’s growing strongly now but it’s just the yellow that’s worrying me.

The soil is draining but the water pools on top when I first water it, then it soaks in and drains ok. So I really do think it needs a repot.

it gets sun from just before midday in its current position on the bench. I had it in full sun all day last summer and it really flourished, that’s when the previous pic was from.

 

[Cmd5235]

That was a few months ago before winter, it looks a bit shaggier now with all the new growth but also pretty yellow.

I did cut off most of the flower buds last weekend to see if it would helpit regain some vigor in the colour department, I want it to put its energy into getting green again. It’s growing strongly now but it’s just the yellow that’s worrying me.

The soil is draining but the water pools on top when I first water it, then it soaks in and drains ok. So I really do think it needs a repot.

it gets sun from just before midday in its current position on the bench. I had it in full sun all day last summer and it really flourished, that’s when the previous pic was from.

I’d repot it asap. Even a good cactus mix from a bag will help

 

[HorseloverFat]

That was a few months ago before winter, it looks a bit shaggier now with all the new growth but also pretty yellow.

I did cut off most of the flower buds last weekend to see if it would helpit regain some vigor in the colour department, I want it to put its energy into getting green again. It’s growing strongly now but it’s just the yellow that’s worrying me.

The soil is draining but the water pools on top when I first water it, then it soaks in and drains ok. So I really do think it needs a repot.

it gets sun from just before midday in its current position on the bench. I had it in full sun all day last summer and it really flourished, that’s when the previous pic was from.

This is only slightly ON topic..

Deflowering ( ) Serissas can get a tad frustrating... and gives one “stinky fingers”

I’ve found that misting the mature flowers with chlorinated tap water caused them to shrivel and remove themselves. (Could just be my water)

 

[Carol 83]

I repotted all of the ones from you @JoeR this summer with no ill effects. They have been blooming the whole time. The tricky part for me is bringing them in for the winter. Grimmy advised they needed to see a bit of cold but not frost before they came inside. Hope yours bounces back.

 

[tainoson]

repotted my favorite tree last night, a gift from a friend. this was only my second repot (here's hoping i didn't kill it...) so mistakes were made- potted a little too high and missed the angle a bit, but i'm happy overall with the experience. took me about three hours all in all, especially carefully working the soil out of the roots. lots of misting.



it was given to me in a traditional cascade pot with a very dense loam/sand mix and was percolating extremely slowly, so before it's to come in for the winter i decided to put it in an intermediate pot with a soil i could more easily read (monto clay and bonsai block, i think it's similar to turface? if anyone has any suggestions for a favorite mix for serissa, let me know!). in the new potting i brought the top of the nebari to the surface and started to try an encourage a flare in the roots, but it'll need more work in the future.





the wires have been on it for a month or so, starting to work it towards my vision for it. it was putting out it's second wave of flowers after the peak summer heat started to come down, so after i repotted it last night, i spent an hour or two this afternoon trimming off the buds and flowers to reduce energy consumption. or that was my thinking at least.