acinom
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Is my juniper salvageable?

I bought my juniper bonsai around Christmas time, and I didn't realize it had spider mites. The infestation got pretty bad, and there were cobwebs growing on the plant. I got an insecticide, and I think I got rid of the mites, but I'm not sure. There were no more cobwebs, but the tree hasn't really bounced back. I haven't treated it for mites in a few months, but maybe they are still there? I am not sure how to tell. It still looks dead in many places, but seems to have 2 fairly healthy branches.
It was 10 years old when I got it, and I've had it for about 6 months. I water it every other day by pouring water on the soil. The pot sits on a tray, and I used to let the water run into the tray and leave it there, but now I dump the water out immediately. Maybe there is a problem with root rot? It sits on the coffee table in my living room, and gets indirect sunlight there.
Is there anything I can do to save this tree? Any help would be appreciated.
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Close up of what the leaves are looking like.
Close up of what the leaves are looking like.
This picture makes the leaves look slightly more green than they are in real life, but this is what my bonsai looks like right now.
This picture makes the leaves look slightly more green than they are in real life, but this is what my bonsai looks like right now.

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rainbowgardener
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I don't know if it is salvageable. Often by the time juniper looks very brown, it is already dead. Has it put out any new growth for awhile? If not, it is probably a goner.

I'm sorry to say it, but it seems like you did about everything wrong: letting the spider mite infestation get bad, leaving it sit in water in the tray, watering every other day (rather than only when it needs it), and leaving it indoors. Juniper does not tolerate indoor environment very well, not enough light, too dry, etc.

If you want a coffee table decoration, get artificial bonsai; they make some beautiful ones these days. Or preserved bonsai, which were originally a real bonsai.

acinom
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Yea, I figured as much. But I feel like I need to try something, even though my chances are slim to none. Do you have any ideas about what steps I should take if this plant were still alive? I put it outside, but I read that doing so could shock the plant, and I should only leave it out for an hour at first, then 2, then 3, etc. Is there anything else that would work? Should I trim the roots? I read that repotting is a bad idea during this time of year, so I'm not sure what my other options would be, if any

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rainbowgardener
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Very few options. You are right. Don't repot it. Don't trim the roots, which would just be a further injury, don't fertilize it (just stresses it more). Yes it needs to be hardened off to come outdoors, which can be done by gradually increasing the hours of sun over about a week. Or it can be done by starting it out in a very protected shady spot and gradually moving it to less protected, more sun areas. But it does need to be outdoors and with a lot of sun, once it is hardened.

But if it is dead, it is dead. Scrape a bit of bark off with your fingernail and see what it is like underneath. If it is green and moist, at least part of the tree is still alive. If brown and dry, it is a goner. RIP and do some more reading about bonsai and juniper bonsai, before you get another one. And remember it is a TREE, not a décor object.

acinom
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Yea, you should tell that to the guy who sold it to me. He told me it was fine indoors and to water it every other day... little did I know, he was completely wrong. You'd think a guy who owns a bonsai shop would give good advice, but I guess not.

And it's greenish-brown but not dry. Is it dead do you think, or just very close?

tomc
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Well my job, if I have one is to help you to love a tree successfuly. It has been my overwhelming experience that impulse shoppers who buy bonsai, dream of a pet tree at their elbow in the office or next to the TV. regrettably near the office or TV is about as close as can be reliably achieved.

Rather than wishing a pox on all bonsai sellers house', howsabout finding that space near where you can live and your tree can too. He only gets paid if he sells a tree. At worst he has earned only half the blame.

I have a little porch and patio just off the back door. Its a place for my morning coffee and a little tree-time. Can you find a space like that your the two of you?

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rainbowgardener
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good advice tom, but what do you think about whether this particular juniper tree is dead, very nearly dead, or still salvageable?

tomc
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My guess is it was dead before he bought it. Lest I get slammed as Ming-The-Merciless; I'll go back to my little pot of bald cypress cuttings.

I'm picking them because I've been forcing a pot of them every spring for some years, so I feel my skill level is at least average. I suspect Juniper may actually be a harder go because it is an evergreen.

Of the fourteen cuttings I put in the pot, seven are growing today when I opened up the pot. I expect most if not all of those will have roots struck when I get bold enough to put them up into cells come August.

These bald cypress are quite tender, and show distress right off the bat, fast.

Juniper from the soil-line (and up) is a little tank of a shrub, and its a lot harder to tell how your doing.

Should a merchant who looks the other way when an impulse shopper buys one of his trees, have a house fall on him (for his omission)? I dunno, I really dunno.

How can we get folks who are not instantly successful to build a skillset? They simply need to be able to look after their trees procatively. I think this means picking up and being close enough to your tree for it to feel its human's breath, every single day.

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rainbowgardener
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"How can we get folks who are not instantly successful to build a skillset? They simply need to be able to look after their trees proactively. I think this means picking up and being close enough to your tree for it to feel its human's breath, every single day."

AND READING and learning about them. If you are going to try to do it all by trial and error, then you are going to kill a bunch of trees along the way. Actually you are pretty guaranteed to kill some trees along the way anyway. I killed my two bonsais in training, because I left them out all winter without protection. They had been out other winters. I didn't realize our extra harsh winter would do them in.

acinom
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To be fair, I don't think I would describe myself as an "impulse buyer", but maybe more of an inexperienced gardener. I live in Florida, and many plants can't tolerate the extreme heat here. I've accidentally killed a couple of plants that way, so when the salesman told me it was fine to keep it inside, I (wrongly) assumed this was why. After reading about junipers, though, I just feel like I shouldn't have trusted the instructions that came with the plant. Apparently, they are for all bonsais, and junipers are to be treated differently.

For the past few days, I've been getting my tree used to the outdoors. It sits outside for 3 hrs a day now. I started with 1 hr, and have graduated it up to this point. Hopefully this will help. I also want to put it in different soil, since the soil it's in now feels like it is more similar to potting soil than it should be. I read that I should wait until August to do this, but I want to prepare in advance. Can you recommend a soil mixture, or any pre-mixed potting soil that would be good for my tree?

Even if it's dead already, I really don't want to give up hope. It's a living thing and I just am not ok with being responsible for its death.

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rainbowgardener
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Check out the bonsai information page here: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/bonsai/

It has a section on bonsai soil with a link for more information.

And try using the Forum search box. There's been a lot written here about bonsai soil.

Best wishes, but understand that tom may well be right that your juniper tree was already dead when you bought it. It takes a long time for junipers to show on the surface what has happened.



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