Worried about my second Japanese Juniper

[rodrigogar]

HElpful Gardener, please help:

I was given this christmas a Japanese Juniper as a present, I got reallt happy cuz I love bonsais, however I already had a japanese juniper before but it died. I would really like this one to live very long and I am freaking out because I see some needles browning.

I am really concerned about the watering, and the misting, can you point out how to water it properly and how often? What is the Toothpick method? I Was told by my cousin that the chinese guy who sold it to her said to inmerse the pot in water every day, which I am doing.

I live in south florida by the way. Please help, I read all over the internet os many things that I don't know what to do, the bonsai is sitting on a east facing window by the way with good sunlight.

[opabinia51]

Hi Rod,

First of all, junipers are best kept outside. Watering is not to difficult, just keep the soil moist. Use a toothpick or a chopstick and insert it into the soil, if the soil sticks to the wood, then your tree doesn't need to be watered.

This time of year, your tree will require less water than it would in the spring or the summer.

Misting: A daily misting should suffice provided that the air is not already full of moisture.

Read over the material that Scott has posted on the website on bonsai care and get yourself a good bonsai book and read that. The more information you have, the better you will be.

Oh and don't get to worried about the odd needle that goes brown, this will happen now and then. The more you have your tree inside, the more brown needles you will get.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Most true Rodrigo; read some of the other posts of late and I think you'll see what we mean...

HG

[rodrigogar]

thanks guys, the bad thing is that I live in a second floor, so I need to keep it inside, but close to the window I assume, I think its loosing its very bright green color, or maybe is just me.
am going to try the toothpick method I didnt know about that.those are very good tips I guess
I will go ahead and mist every morning, and also try to read more about this, like I said I read different articles on the internet and conclusion I think is that its not imposible to raise one indoors.

thanks, if I freak out again will post, last question, when watering, is it ok to drown the tree on a sink with water? (after doing the toothpick method?)

[The Helpful Gardener]

I have always recommended soaking (in the sink, a basin) once a week or so, but I also don't like to water by calendar, I like to water by feel. How heavy is the pot when it has not been soaked, but given a regular watering (untill you get flow from the drainage holes)? Learn that weight, heft the pot when you water. You'll start to know when it's light. Dig in a finger. Hows the soil? Moist? Damp? Dry? Now you are living where the tree does.

There is an old saying about that too; water once for the pot, once for the soil and once for the tree, so I often water once, wait ten minutes, water, wait a half hour and water again. Really gets the agua into the pot (unglazed ceramics; my favorites, can drink a bit), the soil (we are rehydrating for our soil flora and fauna too), and the tree (good micro-roots hold a bit, then there's trunk and leaves that each get some. In nature a tree can intake up to thirty percent of it's water through absorption above ground!) Thats a good water.

Don't forget the other physical action that takes place when you water. You pull in new air as the water pushes the old out. Trees also do about thirty percent of their breathing below ground (in the upper foot of soil, anyway. That's one of the reasons driving cars and trucks around trees eventually kills that side of the tree; compacted soil means no gas exchange). So always soaking can saturate soils and slow that gas exchange through cohesion. Better to allow periods of less moisture, they encourage roots to search for water.

Right in the window could be harsh even for a juniper (if it was my neck of the woods this time of year I wouldn't worry, but you are a little closer to the sun than I am. Watch for sunburn...

Scott

[opabinia51]

Also, in a window your tree will be exposed to drastic temperature and humidity changes between day and night. It's better to have your tree in a place where it has a more level temperature regime.

[The Helpful Gardener]