Clandrea
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My St Jose Juniper is browning. Too much water?

It’s kept on a balcony, and watered every other day. It’s been green for over a year.
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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

In general, when junipers are browning, they are in severe distress. You really want to figure this out, since it is a nice tree with a beautiful thick trunk. It would be a shame to lose it.

I don't really know what the problem is, but I have some thoughts:

*It looks like your balcony is covered, therefore your juniper is likely not getting enough sun.

*Every other day is too much watering. Bonsai should not be watered on a schedule, but only when they need it, which will be different at different times, depending on temps, amount of sun, humidity, how actively the tree is growing, etc. See bonsai learning tips here: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1479

*The soil looks wrong for it, too moisture holding. Bonsai soil should be very loose, gritty, free draining. Here's a thread about bonsai soil: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=75146&p=424643&hil ... il#p424643

*The white stuff on the soil is salts/ minerals left behind when the water evaporates. It's not a good sign. Are you using tap water? Try watering with distilled water instead. How are you fertilizing? Synthetic fertilizers can leave salts behind also.

Maybe someone who knows more about bonsai than I do will come along with more advice about how to fix all this. But in the meantime you can work on getting it more sun and learning more about when it needs water.

It would help to know where you are located, what your climate is.

How long have you had this tree?

Clandrea
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Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:26 pm

Thanks so much for your reply.
I’ve had the bonsai for about a year and a half. It was part of a collection from someone who owned a nursery.
I’m located at Santiago, Chile, and the bonsai comes originally from the south of Chile, where the weather is coldish and rainy, unlike Santiago; hardly any rainfall and hot summers.
I plan to take the bonsai with me to the south, soon, where it can be checked by the bonsai guy, for repotting, or stress.
I really don’t know much about it, I’m looking for learning to properly care for it.
Thanks!

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Be sure to emphasize the kind of climate you live in, and ask about how to change the way you need to care for it as the weather/temperature/sun/rain/seasons change through the course of the year.



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