Serissa Foetida dilemma

[I_♥_Bonsai]

Hi all,
I recently purchased a Serissa Foetida from Aldi which came potted in an awkward black dense material. It does not resemble soil.
I have kept it on my balcony (North facing) and the weather has recently been very humid, rainy, sunny at times.
It has been 2 weeks since I purchased it and the leaves are showing signs of unhappiness.
The leaves have all gone yellow and the plant is shedding its leaves.
It is obviously not happy in its current home
I understand bonsai's need a tray underneath so perhaps I can start by repotting into another pot with a fresh mixture and tray underneath.
Any suggestions are appreciated.

THanks and regards,
I_♥_Bonsai

[Kevin]

ILB,

Firstly check for drainage holes in your pot, as its looks like your plant is drowning.
Either way definitely repot the plant into a well draining and good potting / Bonsai mix.

Welcome and Good luck with your Serissa,
Kevin

[Max]

could be stress from being in air con and then moved to being in sunlight, could be water logged/dry so i'd check that without disturbing the roots to much which would only stress the tree more, i wouldn't fertilize because the tree wont be able to absorb the nutrients and it most likely has fert in the mix anyway, so i'd just make sure it was getting water and in dappled light til new growth appears then lightly fert, then come spring repot

[Theodore]

Serissa are notoriously fickle. The simple act of changing the location in which they are acclimatised to and they turn their toes up.

I'd hate to say it, but I think this one is gone already, and I'd be guessing but I'd say 90% of the trees sold in Aldi a forthright ago will go the same way

[shibui]

The black material on top is just black gravel glued onto the soil surface so it does not fall off during shipping. There should be bonsai mix under it. We usually recommend chipping that layer off so that water can get into the soil.
A tray underneath a bonsai is just a drip tray to catch any excess water. Most of us would not have a tray under our bonsai pots.
North facing balcony would be pretty hot I think and that is a pretty small pot which will dry out pretty quick. Maybe your serissa has dried out at some stage. One day of dry is enough to kill a small bonsai. How often are you watering? I'm currently watering all my bonsai every morning and every evening because it is still pretty dry and hot here.
I would guess dry rather than too wet but symptoms are much the same. You'll need to get some of that black gravel off and check the soil to see which. If soil is dry please soak the whole pot immediately. It may just come back but it does not look good.
If you think you'd like to grow bonsai don't give up after just one go. most of us have had trees die. You should do better with a hardier species from a reputable bonsai nursery.

[I_♥_Bonsai]

Thanks to all for your prompt replies.
I have relocated it and have used some potting mixture.
I will get my hands on some bonsai mixture but yes the North sun was definitely too hot for it I think.
I wont give up, I just need to do more research before getting my hands on another one.

[Daluke]

Put it in the shade.

Mist the foliage as often as you can.

Also water every day or even twice.

My Serissa seem to love misting at night time -

Good luck.