Bonsai dead?!?!?

Question

My boyfriend has a Chinese Maple Bonsai, which he has left in my care everytime he has gone away. When he first got it 2 years ago it had large green leaves, but as time went on, it lost them all with the season, and when spring came around, everytime it tried to push out new leaves, they would bud, but then the edges of the little leaves would turn black and eventually die. Its been struggling this way for 2 years now. It also leaves a lot of a whitish lime type scale on the pot it is in. Is it perhaps overwatered? Soil is very moist and it seems like the base is much darker than the rest of the tree. Any help?

Answer 1

Sounds like overwatering. Lime scale is from using hard water.

Maples do well not to dry out completely between watering, but to stay only slightly damp, not moist. I usually water my maples when the top of the soil just starts to appear dry, knowing that underneath is still a little damp.

Answer 2

The bonsai needs to be maintained in an environment similar to the standard plant. Maples are outdoor plants and these deciduous trees need to feel the changes from one season to another.

The whitish scale sounds like hard water deposits. It usually builds up near the top of the planter when watering is done almost exclusively from the bottom.

Please look at the care instructions for indoor and OUTDOOR plants on this site.

http://www.american-bonsai.com