Moved into Apartment - Bonsai Branches Dying?

[JennetteLynn]

Hello, recently I moved into an apartment, before this I lived in the country and had no issues with the health of my plants (as most of the went from seedling straight into the ground). I've always loved bonsai but never had the guts to care for one until I received one this valentines day.

Now that I've moved into this new environment I've noticed my little bonsai is not looking so well.

I have no idea what species the poor fellow is and have simply been maintaining it's soil before now with seemingly no issues, however, it's now experiencing what I assume is branch dieback.

Could this be the fault of less direct sunlight or something more severe?

I've attached pictures of it for reference and as you can see my thyme is not doing so well either and is showing onset signs of the same symptoms.

I was thinking of purchasing some hanging pots and moving them outside as well as some plant food (which I have never actually used before as the plants I cared for before this were other trees I only watered and threw fruit and bread scrapings around for the worms to turn the soil).

[rainbowgardener]

Never ask gardening questions without telling us where you are and what kind of climate you are growing in .

But your bonsai is a juniper tree. They are sometimes sold as "indoor bonsai," but they are not. As soon as it is warm, you need to get yours outside and then leave it there, all year round. They die indoors. They are cold hardy down to well below zero and they need cold dormancy in winter. The next thing is to get real bonsai soil for it. What it is in looks like potting soil, dense and peaty. Bonsai soil is very inorganic/ mineral/ gritty and free draining.

So, repot your juniper tree into real bonsai soil, get it outside and leave it there, and then do some reading about juniper bonsai and their care.

Here's another recent thread with similar issues:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 37&t=57271

[JennetteLynn]

Sorry bout that, I live in Texas by the way... not sure if that matters anymore. And yes extremely true, my husband was told that it would do just fine indoors! Thank you very much for your response, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it.

[imafan26]

People mistakenly believe bonsai is an indoor plant. Nearly all bonsai will do better outside in full sun. Junipers are not indoor plants and do not do well indoors. Ficus will tolerate indoors better, but they will drop every leaf when they are brought from high light to low light, and are much happier outside too.

Try to gradually move the juniper out to full sun as soon as you can. Give it as much light as you can now. You may have to supplement with artificial lighting. If you have a light meter, good cameras usually have built in light meters try to get the light over 8000 lumens. It will mean pretty much putting the light right over the plant and maybe a couple of smaller spots from the side.

This link explains how to measure light with a camera, light meters are sold separately too, but pricey.

https://www.orchidsusa.com/3Lightlevels.htm


I used a sun system light meter. Hydrofarm is also good and the sun system measured in lumens and fc.
The spectrum of light is also important as well. These meters did the job and did not cost $80-$250. If you grow anything indoors it is a good adjunct to have. If you want to maximize light indoors you need to use reflective surfaces as much as possible. Tin foil under and white walls or more tin foil or mirrors around the plant helped a lot to reflect light.
https://www.horticulturesource.com/adva ... cription=1

There are also very cheap moisture and light meter combinations. I had a separate moisture meter. I called it my happy meter because it ticks very slowly when the soil is dry and is practically shrill after watering. I have a tendency to over water things and I used the sun sensor meter to determine how much light I was getting and how much shade cloth I needed for my orchids. Some places I had to double the shade cloth.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lusterleaf-18 ... r/21285606