Specimen For Mini Bonsai

Tree Species : Unknown 
Collected On : Aug 18, 2015

I collected this plant seeing the vigorous growth of its multiple suckers on a thick short trunk. The plant survived my initial months of ignorance & mistakes and is still alive, although in a diminished form ! In the wild, it is a short tree, with the mature trunk looking almost blackish and having thick scaly bark.

After basic pruning

20 days later

After losing leaves and some sucker die backs, it looked like the above right image. It was neither dying nor growing. Many times I was tempted to throw it away, like I threw away another one of its kind. Even in the wild, it is a slow growing plant. The wood is soft and easy to break with hand and does not die if planted into a moist medium.

2 months later

3 months later

Despite my 1st repotting into a shallower container, there was no improvement. In the 2nd repotting, I still didn't see any roots but this time, new leaves developed. The plant is in cocopeat, in a clay pot that is kept half submerged in water and covered with a bottle top for local humidity.

Assuming it must have grown roots by now, I then wanted to repot it into a self-made cement planter, having my bonsai soil mix. I didn't like the previous ICU hospital kind of setup and the fact that the plant has been without any nutrition for 3 months. But still there were no roots and I lost the new leaves too, despite my vastly improved knowledge of 6 months ! It still has new leaf buds, so I am hopeful this time around, I will get new roots and shoots. And no more repotting. Either it survives or dies in this final pot.

Plastic bottle cap with holes at base.

Reason : I got bored with this extremely slow growing plant after re-potting a few times and finally threw it. It wasn't in very healthy condition either.