Jack Pine sproutling turning brown - can it be saved?

[Blue Trilobyte]

I'm an absolute novice when it comes to anything bonsai, since I mostly grow cacti. I bought one of those crappy bonsai kits from a bookstore when it was going out of business, and managed to get one seed to germinate. It's been growing fine since about February, on a southern facing window with monthly diluted fertilizing. It had grown to about two inches in stem length, with a "ball" of needles at the end.

About a month ago, in the rush of finals week, I let the sproutling soak in a bit of the diluted fertilizer - I have my sproutling in a small pot inside a petri dish, and normally add the water to the petri dish so it gets absorbed into the pot. I apparently added too much this time, as the dish was still full of water the next morning and needed to be drained. Over the next few days, the needles slowly started to turn yellow.

I was on vacation overseas the last three weeks and haven't been able to give my plants the full attention they need, but today it looks mostly the same as it did before I left. The stem is still strong, and the needles are yellowish brown but are still strongly attached, not a single one has fallen off. It seems to be in okay shape, besides the obvious discoloration of the needles.

So, is my sproutling okay? I've done a bit of research on Jack Pines, and apparently the needles can turn yellow if overwatered, but I haven't found much information about young plants. Is the tree still alive, or is it dead and just slowly breaking down? If necessary I can provide before and after pictures.

Thanks in advance.

[TomM]

You posted this in the "INDOOR BONSAI" section. Did you think that pine trees can be grown indoors?

They can not.

[kdodds]

Besides not keeping pines indoors (they WILL die), your watering methods are not conducive to keeping them healthy. Water from above, thoroughly soaking the soil, once the soil is mostly dry. Or, soak by submersion of the pot for 15-30 minutes, again once the soil is mostly dry. NEVER leave them in standing water. If you can, get the seedling outside and follow one of the watering regimens mentioned.

[linlaoboo]

I don't think newly sprouded trees seedlings with tender roots can take in too much fertilizer. Let them harden off more.