AusBonsai

noticed it after i gave it some powerfeed, the leaves werent sitting up like they normally do they were down on an almost 45 degree angle.
then i looked today and the leaves almost hanging down vertical, the mix is not really that good drainage but it was doing fine until the powerfeed
is there any saving it? its a present for my mum

I woud give it a good Soak.
Might leach out some of the fert in the mix if that is the issue, but the soild seems quite dry on top.
If so a good soak will fix that too.

Ken

its moist when i touch it, and stays moist a long time, i dont need to water it for a week or more

I can't see the pot being wet enough after a week - especially now we are coming up to summer. I think Ken has hit the nail on the head - and if not the mix is not free draining enough. It appears to be 100 % organic ? If so you should mix some diatomite in with it, but I am not sure if you can carefully repot the oak now ?

What has the weather been like over there the past few days leading up to this?
Where has the tree been positioned (shade, part, full sun?).

I noticed that with very cold weather some of my tree's droop until they find some sun.
Really from the pic the foliage looks very healthy and green.

I cannot imagine, in australia, any tree in a Bonsai pot not requiring water at least daily this time of year.
if it stays wet for that long then there is something serious wrong with your mix or your local environment.

Wet roots will cause a tree do die just as well as not watering at all. the roots should be allowed to reduce moisture around them till just damp, then rewater. In winter in Sydeny, that meas every 3 days at most and now at least daily, or for smaller shohin / Mame twice daily.

Get some premium bonsai mix and do a slip pot into it till next winter, then if still alive, do a bare root into good Bonsai mix.

Ken

the leaves r hanging down almost like they r hugging the trunk if u can call it a trunk.
if i try to do a slip pot im worried the soil will get disturbed and make things worse :s

Hi Arklan,

Don't take my word as gospel but i often let my trees dry out and do not water everyday depending on our weather and because i am slack they often dry out.

Right now our weather is still very mild, i am from vic. From what i decipher from the pics the soil seems moist. Is that sphagnam moss in the mix?

I have on the odd one or two or more occasions slip potted trees into into bigger pots when necessary without disturbing the roots too much and no problem.

I have a couple of i thinks white pines that will get slip potted as soon as i get some bigger pots but i am talking garden pots, not bonsai pots and will do this when i get around to it.

I have a large Radiata that i will slip pot soon and am not concerned about it. Today it was drooping from lack of water as had done many times before and still going strong But that is me, you have to make the call.

Your tree looks healthy just too wet if that is the way it is kept.

As i said that is just my experience
Regards
Rudy

Have a look at my post under japanese gardens and you will see one of these that has been kept very dry in a pot until recently stuck in the ground.

Regards

iv slip potted it in to a bigger squarer bonsai pot with pure washed gravel
so its the potting mix with the oak then gravel all around
fingers crossed