This was my dads bonsai tree given to him by my late mom. He's taken care of it for over 15 years and now the plant sitter left it looking like this. Is there any chance it will live? She said she left it out in the sun. Now we've found it in the shade with all its leaves brown and all the leaves are super frail. Is there anything I should do? Also what are its chances?

Really?
That is as dead as it can be!
My condolences.

That's just sad! Do a scratch test. Scratch the bark with your fingernail. If the tissue just under the bark is green, its alive. If the tissue is brown or hard, its dead. Do you know what it is?

DaisyI said:

That's just sad! Do a scratch test. Scratch the bark with your fingernail. If the tissue just under the bark is green, its alive. If the tissue is brown or hard, its dead. Do you know what it is?

I just did a scratch test and it looks slightly green!! Does that mean it will live?



Also it's not green all the way through it turns white?

That means there's a chance its alive. Take extremely good care of it and hopfully, it will leaf out again. You aren't losing anything by trying but will lose everything if you don't. I really hope there's some life in that little tree but only time will tell.

DaisyI said:That means there's a chance its alive. Take extremely good care of it and hopfully, it will leaf out again. You aren't losing anything by trying but will lose everything if you don't. I really hope there's some life in that little tree but only time will tell.

How do I take care of it well? It's in the shade now and I'm keeping the soil moist,, is there anything else to do?

I don't know what kind of plant it is. Do you? Shade is good (while it recovers) but I can't tell you whether dryer or damper is best. How has it been taken care of for the last 15 years? That's the care it needs now.

DO NOT fertilize!

I do not know where you live in Florida but there are several good Bonsai places in the state.

I visited one in North Fort Myers because I was searching for pots of a specific size for a few of my orchids. I do not grow Bonsai. But, I just thought that whether or not this plant survives, if you visit a place like this you might pick up some valuable information on just how to grow them.
This place had plants by the hundreds, all sizes, pots, shears, soil and containers. Maybe it would be worth it to find such a place near to you.

If it was alive for 15 years, the care was good, it just had a bad experience. Like Daisy said, go back to doing what you were doing.

That is very likely Buxus microphylla. A small leaf variety from Japan.
Boxwoods are pretty tough. If it was in the sun in that container it is likely cooked but not necessarily dead. You have green and that is encouraging.
You want to get the leaves off, as many as you can. See if you can brush them off. Ok if the ends of the stems are malleable enough to almost knot you can and cut these tips of stems tip back to stiff wood. You want to keep the trained form, so be conservative. Do you have any of your dad's tools? Books. Cut on a 45 degree angle. You can remove it and put it into an nursery container. This will reduce your labor and aid in a faster recovery. Get a potting soil with mycorrhizal spores. The fungus will attach itself to the roots extending absorption of water and feeding the plant mineral nutrients. Miniature fall blooming bulbs will feed the fungus carbs from photosynthesis until the bonsai refoliates. You can also put it in the ground and mix in the above potting soil with your native soil. Near other shrubs offering shade or trees. They will nurse this plant and keep it alive for you. You can still use the bulbs there in the soil too and order some spring bulbs for the same purpose in the container or ground. It is not too crowded, its a team.