Question
Very sad tree
Hello,
I inherited a lovely ming aralia 2 years ago. I've always loved these plants and have a couple smaller ones in my house.
This particular plant was quite stunning when I got it. Sadly now it looks completely anemic having dropped all its leaves a number of times, regardless of what I try to do with it.
It's really difficult to find a place for such a large plant in my house to begin with, but I can't bring myself to part with it (as I did literally inherit it).
I was considering cutting it way down, gathering the trunks into a tighter group, repotting into something more manageable and growing it more a bushier bonzai style. This way I have many more options for placing it around the house. I can't even move the plant at its current size.
Pot size: 24 inch diameter
Plant height: 6 feet
Window options: East or West
Access to city water: Yes
Water: weekly in the spring/summer, bi-weekly in fall/winter
Any guidance or suggestions at all?
Many thanks,
AnswerBrent,
What you are proposing is exactly what I would do. I would suggest putting it in a pot with a diameter of no more than 16 inches. I would look for one of the newer light weight pots and make sure it has a drain hole and you can put a 20 inch clear plastic drain tray under it.
When you repot it use a lighter weight soil consisting of 2 parts of potting soil and 1 part of perlite. This will provide a lighter weight looser better draining soil. This plant hates wet feet. When you water it you need to empty the drain tray 2 hours after watering it. It may still be difficult since you can't pick it up but you can use a turkey baster and bucket to empty that drain tray. This plant gets root rot rather easily if it is sitting in a tray of water for long periods of time and it will stay healthier if it is not watered until the soil is very dry. The roots need a dry period between waterings. I would bet it's poor appearance is because it is in too large a pot that never dries out between waterings so it is continuously overwatered. A smaller pot will be able to dry out between waterings and the plant will stay much healthier.
Pruning it down to about half should trigger new growth and a bushier look like it had when you got it. Good luck.
Darlene
