Question
Hello,
My mother recently bought me a Gardenia Bonsai.  It is about 3 years old.  I had been pretty good about watering it, but I let the soil get BONE dry about a week and a half ago (I know, I know, the cardinal sin with Bonsais).  I've had the plant for a month now, and it looked so happy and shiny and pretty, and now a lot of leaves have turned yellow and are falling off.  I soaked the little sucker for about 20 minutes submerged in water, which is what the instructions say to do if your let it get dry.  It's been about a week and it is still acting really unhappy, although the leaves that aren't falling off became shiny again.  I had been misting it about 2x a week (it's winter).  It gets an OK amount of light, I don't have a great spot that gets tons of indirect sunlight.  It's about 10 feet from two windows facing east and north, but my apartment is pretty light in general.  I live in Colorado, so the sun is pretty strong.  
Are the leaves falling off because it's not getting enough sunlight you think or did I do too much damage when I let the soil get really dry?  I had the "gardening expert" at Home Depot tell me that it is a goner, is that true?!  (The branches are still greenish, I read that's a good sign?)  I keep it in the kitchen, surrounded by 3 other plants, and I water the little tray with stones in it that it sits on top of every time all the water evaporates (I am careful not to let the water touch the bottom of the pot it's in).  Is there anything else I can do to make him happy again, or is he just going to slowly die like Home Depot told me?  Any advise you can give me would be awesome, I am a real beginner, and I'm used to having to talk plants off the ledge.
Thanks so much in advance!
Amy

Answer
Hi Amy,

It's never a good idea to let a bonsai go dry, but it doesn't sound like the entire tree died. Do not fertilize the tree for the next couple weeks - you do not want to fertilize a weak tree.

Also - try to move the tree to an area with more light. Light is very important for the health of your tree. Even if it's a temporary place for the tree as it tries to get healthy again. this is likely why the leaves are falling off.

If you have pictures, i'd suggest uploading them to a bonsai community like http://www.Learning2Bonsai.com. There are several gardeners on the community that can provide additional recommendations, but they will want pictures of the tree, it's environment, etc...

Your tree may not die, but it may look different, especially if you have dead branches. these branches will need to be removed.