Help! (Juniper) Bonsai life at risk!

[jennymartinmusic]

I received what I believe to be a juniper bonsai as a welcome gift when I started my current job 3 months ago. the tree appeared to be healthy and very green, and although I water it whenever it seems dry, its growing more and more brittle and brown. if I even gently touch the tree, large pieces of foilage fall off. The plant has almost no sunlight that reaches it, so I got a flourescent lamp to hang about a foot above it in hopes that could help a little. Please help me figure out how I can keep this little guy alive, ive become quite attached! thank you.
Jenny

[Gnome]

Jenny,

Hello and welcome to the forum, I'm sorry to have to start you off with a disappointment but your Juniper is likely already dead. By the time Junipers get to the stage you describe there is usually little hope for them. Junipers are an exceedingly poor choice for indoor culture. Your tree requires more humidity and more light than you are probably able to provide. Even more difficult is the dormancy requirement, this tree simply will not do well indoors.

You can try this; scratch the bark of the main trunk and look for green, living tissue. If you see none then it is already dead.

Please don't give up on bonsai though, there are trees that you can keep under fluorescents. You need to look to tropicals (or perhaps sub-tropicals) to find an appropriate species. Look [url=https://bonsaihunk.8m.com/cultural.html]here[/url] for information regarding indoor bonsai.

Sorry about your tree and don't hesitate to ask further questions.

Norm

[jennymartinmusic]

Norm,
Thank you so much for replying. I did as you said and found nothing green. It really feels like a loss, I loved this tree.
I will look at the tropicals like you suggested. Thanks so much for your help.

Jenny

[Gnome]

Jenny,

You're welcome. Come back and let us know if you get something new.

Norm