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Hi,
I'm new to this forum and havent done one too actively before. But I was wondering if I could receive some help. I recently bought a juniper and brought it home from a vacation. To my horror when I was watering it this morning, I lifted off the moss on top of the soil and saw these... Should I repot it and place insecticide on the tree to completely remove these pests?

your pictures didn't come through. Use the gray upload attachment button below the typing box. Click on that and it will give you a browse button to find the file on your computer.

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Welcome, hope we can help once you post the pics!

Without pics to go by, are the "eggs" small tiny round green or white perfectly round spheres?

If so, no worries, as these are slow-release fertilizer mixed into the soil by the grower.

Sorry - really can't tell anything from those pics. Need something closer up & sharper.

Garden cook did you click on the pictures to enlarge them? You can click once to enlarge and then click again for further enlargement at which point the top two pictures give quite a nice view of the spheres.

I don't think they are fertilizer capsules, although without seeing the pictures that was a good guess. I don't think they are "eggs" either. I could be wrong, but I am thinking it is some kind of fungus, similar to the scrambled egg slime mold that frequently grows on landscape mulch.

Thanks RG!!! I'm a total techno-idiot - lol!!

Okay - now I see them. Agree with RG. Not eggs & "probably" not part of the soil mix. While bonsai shouldn't be allowed to completely dry out, maybe you're keeping yours a little too much on the wet side?

That is definitely possible, the vendor I got it from may have been overwatering it

I may just repot it and check closely for other fungus on the plant. Is that a wise choice?

I wouldn't jump to repot, as Juniper (& other evergreen) bonsai normally don't require it for at least a couple of years, & repotting it at this point could stress it.

What I would do is cut back on the watering. You shouldn't need to water until a finger (or chopstick or similar instrument) poked in shows dryness an inch or so down.

Also, on a most serious note - Juniper bonsai are 100% OUTDOOR bonsai. You can't keep it indoors. It will die. Honestly - do a little online research re: Juniper bonsai. They're seriously outdoor hardy to at least 20 degrees with a little protection. I've had mine for 3-4 years now & it's outside 24/7 year-round except for the few nights when temps dip into the teens or below. Then it comes indoors to just inside the front door where it remains cool, then goes out again the next morning. They really will not survive long as houseplants.

frijoles108,

I don't have extensive experience with Junipers but the one I do have has been re-potted somewhat earlier in the year and I'm north of you. First, remove the decorations (rocks/moss) they just get in the way. Next, don't water for a while. Utilize the chopstick method to determine when to water.

Organic soil is inappropriate for most bonsai and Juniper in particular. Unless you can purchase/create a decent soil there is no point in messing with it.

Yeah after I had posted my initial messages, I had been researching and discovered that I needed to keep it outside, which is where I'm keeping it now. I haven't watered it for a while and will check soon on the dampness of the soil.