Please see the new 2020 bonsai care sheet for taking care of your Chinese Sweet Plum indoor bonsai tree – Sageretia theezans.
The Chinese Sweet Plum (Sageretia theezans) is a pretty indoor bonsai which has great character at an early age due to the flaky bark revealing tones of red/tan. The stunning foliage has hints of rusty red turning to glossy green. Small white flowers give rise to tiny purple plum-shaped fruits.
A really pretty bonsai. Ideal for beginners with fabulous character.
Watering
Watering is a lovely and essential part of bonsai tree care. It is a simple, yet vital part of growing bonsai and only takes a few seconds. We recommend whilst you are learning to check the soil daily. If the soil is wet or very damp, please do not water your bonsai. When the soil starts to firm and feels barely damp to the touch, water well. You can stand the bonsai in water for a few minutes or pour water over the soil to wet the root ball evenly.
Misting your Sageretia Theezans
Misting the leaves of your Chinese Sweet Plum is not essential, but does enhance the growth during winter months in particular. In the winter, when the central heating is on, the air can get very dry and misting will simply replace some of the lost humidity and encourage new foliage growth.
Feeding
Feeding bonsai trees is good practice. The bonsai rely on us to provide the nutrients and trace elements they need. A well balanced bonsai feed, such as Bonsai Direct Fertiliser, will maintain healthy and beautiful trees and promote growth, fruiting and flowering.
mohammed –
hi
bought a chinese sweet plum from you in April, overall its doing ok, i am its getting alot of new shoots and leaves.
i water it once a day after testing the the soil with a moisture meter, its a manual meter going from 0-10 where 0 is dry and 10 is wet i water it roughly every 24hrs. where reading is around 5 which is moist.
i keep a abit of water in the humidity tray but i make sure it is below the drainage holes.
i lose 1,2 or 3 leaves a day, leaves go yellow and brown/black and fall off. there is no reduction in in foilege as its getting alot of new growth however i am considering trying to water it every other day
any advice?
mohammed
Bonsai Direct –
Dear Mohammed,
I think it is probably just the old leaves dropping – this is perfectly normal because they are being replaced by new leaves. This happens when you first buy a bonsai and is something which happens constantly during the growth period.
Only be concerned if the new growing tips are affected.
mohammed –
The sweet plums lost all foilege now so i am trying watering once a week
What should i do
Bonsai Direct –
Please could you send me a photo – it may be just seasonal leaf drop. Please send to sarah@bonsaidirect.co.uk.
From memory – it may have dried out – in which case I would expect it to lose all the leaves.
mohammed –
Thanks, i thought it may be a over watering issue
Heidi –
Hi, I received a Chinese sweet plum bonsia about a year and a half ago, lately some of the leaves have been losing their green colour and appear quite papery and thin, some of the leave have brown tips, but not many, I water pretty much everday after checking the soil and feed once a week. The growing tips are fine and there are new leaves forming, but some if them go papery after a while of being opened. I’m worried that something is wrong with it, or I haven’t been caring for it properly,
thanks, Heidi
Bonsai Direct –
Dear Heidi,
This can be quite normal for a Sweet Plum – basically the old leaves will drop and the next shoots will grow.
When the new shoots are about 3cm in length prune them back to the first pair of new leaves.
This then encourages back budding and new leaves will develop where the old ones drop off.
Your bonsai may need a larger pot this summer if it has not been re-potted for 2 years – if there is plenty of room then it should be ok for another year.
I hope this helps
kind regards
Sarah
Heidi –
Thanks for your advice Sarah, I’ll continue pruning and watering, and I’ll check soon to see if it needs a bigger pot,
regards, Heidi
Chris –
I bought a sweet plum bonsai from you in May 2013 and all of the leaves have fallen off completly. It is kept in a well lit room but not in direct sunlight. I have watered it almost twice a week (when dry on top and needed) I also bought fertiliser from your website and used it weekly (following correct instuctions).
I think the bonsai tree is dead :( there is small patches of white on the roots and not a single leaf. Will it revive or should I throw it away.?? Any advice would be helpful.
Bonsai Direct –
Dear Chris,
I am sorry to hear that your bonsai is struggling. To check if it alive you need to make some small nicks with a sharp knife if the trunk and branches.
If the cambium layer beneath the bark is green then the bonsai is still alive.
We have experienced a very hot summer and have watered every day, sometimes twice a day.
Did the leaves go crispy or change colour when they dropped?
It is very likely that your bonsai may have dried out but I would prefer to check the symptoms and see a photo (Please could you send one to me Sarah@bonsaidirect.co.uk).
Kind regards
Sarah
Chris –
Hi Sarah,
I have emailed you and sent across 3 pictures.
I would appreciate your advice.
Thank you
Chris
Bonsai Direct –
It sounds as though it could have scorched; if the leaves went crispy and dropped. Either that or it dried out for a short time.
This happens when the bonsai cannot take water up to the leaves quickly enough so the tree drops its leaves to protect the roots and branches.
The cambium layer being green is a great sign.
It is starting to get cooler during the night so I would only put the bonsai outside during the daytime – the increased humidity will help the bonsai re-leaf more quickly, but it can take several weeks at this time of year.
You are correct, only feed when in leaf.
I hope this helps,
all the best
Sarah
Chris –
Thank you for all the advice. I will keep a close eye on it over the next few weeks. Just one last question, should I cut it back – obviously not the thicker branches but the fairly new ones that grew just prior to this happening, should I cut them all off to give it a better chance or will this cause distress??
Thank you again
Bonsai Direct –
I think I would just leave it so see where the new shoots start to bud.
Mike –
Hi,
I think I might have killed my sweet plub bonsai. All the leaves are on the tree but they are crisp dry. I think the base went dry for a day last weekend. I have made a cut in the bark and it doesn’t look overly green to me. I have sent pictures to Sarah@bonsaidirect.co.uk. Can you tell me if I’ve killed it? Do I need to cut the bark somewhere else or deeper?
Bonsai Direct –
Thanks for the photos Mike – your bonsai has definitely dried out – I can see the crispy leaves.
These leaves will drop off.
You can make some nicks in the branches too – you do not need to go deeper.
My advice would be to stand the whole pot in water for 5 mins and if you have a garden put outside for a few weeks – the humidity is higher outside.
Only time will tell how far it has dried out and if it can recover.
Do not be inclined to over-water – just water as necessary,
I hope this helps
kind regards
Sarah
Mike –
Thanks Sarah. I’ll do as you say and hope for the best. Thank you for the advice.
Cheers,
Mike.
Ana –
Hi,
I got a Chinese sweet plum tree from this website in december. It went through a phase of brown leaves, and barely growing any. Now the leaves look healthy, but only growing in specific areas. The other areas (the top and the sides) haven’t had any leaves for a few months now. Is there anything i can do about this, or will they not grow anymore?
Thanks,
Ana
Bonsai Direct –
Dear Ana,
It sounds as though the bonsai could have dried out in the early days. I am so pleased the new growth is strong and healthy. To see if the branches which do not have any leaves on are alive you need to make some small nicks in these branches with your thumb nail or sharp knife. The layer immediately beneath the bark needs to be green from these branches to grow leaves.
If the layer is brown then you can grow a new shoot and wrap the new shoot around the old branch. It is a technique which we call wrap around and it works really. Even in the wild a tree will lose branches and its structure will change as a result so this is nothing a normal tree will not do.
I hope this helps
kind regards
Sarah – Bonsai Direct
Ana –
Thank you so much for your reply, could you explain the wrap around technique in more detail please? I will definitely give it a go!
Ana
Sarah –
I have had my Chinese Sweet Plum bonsai for over two years but it has never flowered or produced plums. It seems healthy and happy but I’m wondering if there is something I’m not doing?
Thank you
Sarah
Bonsai Direct –
Hi Sarah,
The Chinese Sweet Plum only produces fruit as it matures, It would need to be 13-15 years before it fruits.
This is probably the reason for lack of fruit,
kind regards
Sarah
Ed –
Hi,
I’ve had my Chinese Sweet Plum for about 3 months and I placed it by a windowsill with some sunlight but its winter so not much. Almost straight away new lighter green shoots came up and the leaves were much bigger than the original ones. Later they started shrivelling up and had pretty obviously died. I water once every day or two and make sure the soil is damp. What am I doing wrong? Any help would be appreciated.
Happy Christmas!
Ed
Bonsai Direct –
Hi Ed,
Please could you e-mail us a photo so we can check out the symptoms; it was obviously very happy and then deteriorated so we need to ascertain the cause,
Kind regards and Happy New Year
Sarah
sarah@bonsaidirect.co.uk
Vivienn –
I received a chinese sweet plum as a gift and it was dry when i got it as I think the giver had it first for a few days. the leaves are all brown and crispy, I have nicked the branches and the trunk and they are not green but a light brown. is it dead?
Bonsai Direct –
Dear Vivienn, It does not sound great. Have you checked for a green cambium layer in several places? It must have really dried out for the leaves to have gone so brown and crispy.
If you cannot find any green just beneath the bark I am very doubtful that it will recover but probably worth giving it a couple of months in the garden to be sure. Please keep the soil damp. I hope this helps. kind regards Sarah – Bonsai Direct
Vivienn –
Thanks for the reply, I agree I think it dried out too much and I cannot see any green anywhere.
Antonio –
I just bought a sageretia prebonsai,i am keeping it in a place at 1.50-2meters from any heating source,direct sunlight for almost 2 hours a day and temperatures at night 15°C and at day 30°,is it a good place to keep it? Thanks!
bonsaidirect –
That sounds like a great place. It is obviously getting warm during the day so please check for water daily and ensure the soil is kept damp.
Antonia –
Hello
I need some help with my bonsai.
I purchased a sweet plum bonsai from you back in August. Slowly the leaves at the top are drying off and falling but not being replaced and looking quite bare.
However, there is still very good growth off the trunk. The leaves coming out are large compared to the original leaves.
When I water it, the water goes straight through. Not sure if this is connected. Watering it now in winter every two days.
What can I do to make it happier?
Many thanks
Ant
bonsaidirect –
Hi Ant,
Please could you email me a photo and I shall check this for you.
It sounds like you may have a watering issue,
many thanks
Sarah
sarah@bonsaidirect.co.uk
Giuseppe –
Hi all,
My tree has some very little spots under the foils.
They look like small black insect eggs but the tree looks still pretty healthy.
Should I take any action to prevent any issue for my tree?
Thank you
Giuseppe
bonsaidirect –
Dear Giuseppe,
If you suspect that your bonsai has a pest I would recommend spraying with an insecticide and repeat the spray as directed on the product.
Always better to treat before it becomes a problem,
Kind regards
Sarah
Dee –
Hello, I was wondering if you could please help me. I have a mature sweet bird plum bonsai tree. The overall condition of my tree deteriorated due to illness and it’s taken a long time to get back in to condition. The tree gets good natural light but the leaves are always very papery and dry and turn yellow quickly. The new shoots don’t grow through red anymore . Watering is done via a tub underneath to avoid over watering. Any help would be grately appreciated, I’m desperate to save this tree thank you.
bonsaidirect –
Hi Dee,
Thanks for your message. Do you feed your bonsai?
kind regards
Sarah
Rowena –
Hi
I was given a small Sageretia last week for my birthday but it does not look happy. A number of leaves are turning brown and I do not know what to do. I water it when the soil is dry, it is on our conservatory window sill and I put outside when the weather is nice. I am concerned that it is too big for its pot and am considering transferring it to a bigger pot. Can you help please, it would be such a shame if my first attempt to have a Bonsai fails?
bonsaidirect –
Dear Rowena,
Would you be kind enough to send a photo please so I can check the symptoms.
Many thanks
Sarah
Shakhlo –
I received a bonsai tree as a gift 2 months ago and it started to slowly dry out. I’ve read that it might be getting used to new place, and was watering it every 24-36 hours. However the leaves are green but crisp now. It started growing new branch from the bottom, but it was overwatered accidentally one day and that branch just wilted. I tried cutting small dry branches, however they look light white, not green on the inside. Is there a hope to save my tree?
bonsaidirect –
Dear Shakhlo,
Please could you email me a photo – it is difficult to advise when i do not know the variety of bonsai and far easier to see the symptoms,
It is not possible to over-water and cause a problem in one day. Many thanks Sarah
Hank –
Hi,
I received my sweet plum bonsai 10 days and ago and I’m quite happy with it. It’s growing new shoots as well. Going through the care instructions again today I was wondering about feeding. The instructions on the 100 ml bottle states that 5 ml is to be mixed with a liter of water and that the plant should be fed once a week as well. How exactly do I go about the feeding, do I just pour this 1 liter of mixed water all over the soil?
Cheers
Henry
bonsaidirect –
Hi Hank,
The video in this link explains exactly how to use thew bonsai fertiliser.
I hope this helps
kind regards
Sarah
Vicki –
Hi, I received a Sagertia about a month ago and have been watering regularly, but I am a quite worried becausr all the leaves seem to be falling off. I scratched a small section of the trunk and it seemed to be green underneath, is there anything I can do to save it. Thank you very much.
bonsaidirect –
Dear Vicky,
If it is just the old leaves the bonsai is probably just re-acclimatising to its new location. The leaf drop should not affect the new growing tips.
If it is worse than this please email a photo to and we can take a look and give you better advise,
I hope this helps
kind regards
Sarah
Caroline Bailey –
Hi, I have had my sweet plumb bonsai since May and it has been healthy with new leaves appearing frequently. However over the past four weeks it has dropped leaves continuously and the new shoots are yellow. I use the fertiliser weekly and water when it needs it – it has never dried out. Is there anything I can do? It used to be placed in a large airily room with good sunlight but drafts at times so when it started looking poorly I moved it into a smaller, slightly darker room (still with good natural light at times) with a regular ambient temperature.
bonsaidirect –
Dear Caroline, I suspect this is seasonal leaf drop.
A lot of our Sweet plums have lost some of the old leaves in the past couple of weeks.
Do you feed the bonsai? It may be short of nutrients.
Kind regards
Sarah
Ciara –
Hi, do you think it is too cold in an unheated conservatory to keep my sweet plum or other tropical bonsai such as serrisa bonsai in over winter? My tree was doing great and now the leaves seem to be shrivelling up a bit. Many thanks
bonsaidirect –
Hi Ciara,
Thanks you for enquiry. For those species of indoor bonsai and unheated conservatory will be too cold during winter. A Chinese Elm would be fine but would lose a few leaves. I would recommend moving them to a warmer position until May, Kind regards Sarah
PanagiotisL –
Hi i have bought a sageretia bonsai and left it in a bright spot for 7 days and it looked well. Then due to my concern about any development of root fungus due to its unique watering I have repot it in a mixture of 2 bonsai compost and 1 akadama with some CuCl to prevent any root rot. The next day the leaves start to curl and became crisp how can I save my bonsai? I have only tree to cut the damaged leaves until know but a significant amount of leaves have been cut.
Sarah Noall –
I suspect when you water it the water is only soaking the new soil. Please stand the bonsai in water so it covers the soil surface for 5 mins then allow to drain. This will evenly rewet the whole root ball. The go back to normal watering and do not overwater but ensure the old root ball is kept damp. I am not sure how much of the old root ball you removed so help is difficult to give. Kind regards Sarah
megan –
hi i got a sweet plum bonsai from you around early december and my tree child has been growing amazingly and has had some bark peel and looks really happy and healthy but suddenly the old leaves have started turning black with a really strange pattern on them? They also turn or brown and die, i suspected fungal black spot but it looks nothing like other cases I’ve seen apart from the black in colour, I’ve been taking these leaves off as soon as i notice them but come the next few days there will be another hand full,
and i wasnt worried because my tree has so much new growth and is very green and healthy and this strange condition was only effecting scattered older leaves, but I’ve noticed that certain new growths are being mildly effected and are turning brown and crispy on some edge/, patches, and in previous month’s when i had leaves drop and the first initial big leaf drop probably due to climate change they didn’t do this, they turned yellowy brown in colour and fell off normally without the marbling fiery pattern,
i water only when barely damp on the
top and bottom soil, and keep it in a room temperature window with at least 6 hours of sun a day, but move it further away if the direct sun is too extreme
i also feed it the included fertilizer and measure accordingly every week or so now that its growing more for spring and make sure that water is just starting to come out the bottom of the pot when i water
I’ve also asked other fellow bonsai enthusiasts and they also thought it could be a fungus but they’ve not seen anything like it but maybe you have?
please please get back to me because i really love my tree i don’t know what to do and i don’t want it to suffer or die :( thank you
Sarah Noall –
Hi Megan,
Please could you fill in this form with some photos so that we can take a look for you:
https://www.bonsaidirect.co.uk/contact-us/something-else/
Many thanks.
Kind regards,
Bonsai Direct
Isobel –
Hi I got a sweet plum bonsai in February and it has been doing well up until now.
I left my tree with a relative while I was away from home for a little over a week, with watering instructions that were working well for me. I just got back and the tips of the branches and the leaves at the end are wilted. I can’t find if this is a symptom of over or under watering or something else entirely. My relative says they watered every couple of days and also misted the leaves.
I don’t know how to remedy this in either case, I would really appreciate any guidance.
Thank you
Olea Noall –
Hi Isobel,
I suspect this is most likely to be underwatering if it happened in such a short space of time (over watering usually happens over a good few weeks). I would recommend cleaning off any old, loose leaves and standing the bonsai in a container of water for 10 minutes so that the water just covers the top of the pot. Then allow to drain; this will ensure the entire root ball has access to water.
Following this, please keep the soil damp at all times, and mist the leaves daily with water to increase humidity. Hopefully over the next few weeks you should see lots of new buds forming.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Bonsai Direct
Lily –
Hi, my Chinese sweet plum is acting off. I moved house six months ago, before that I had also partially defoliated him. At first he seemed to be adapting/back budding well, but now suddenly his leaves are drying out and dropping (but not losing colour). Some finer branches are doing the same. Ive checked carefully for over-under watering but that seems in balance, I e even changed his lighting locations to no avail. I’m worried whatever it is is starting to affect the new growth though. What can I do??
Thank you
The Linhay Barn Office –
Hi Lily,
Thanks for your message. Please could you kindly email us on help@bonsaidirect.co.uk with some photos and we will get back to you with the correct advice. It is so much easier to see what is happening if we can see a photo.
Thanks so much
The Bonsai Direct Team