Re: Indoor Juniper Bonsai Sick - Turning Brittle
I find this amusing and also depressing. I too got a juniper in December from Sams Club in my area. It was very cheap ($10) and I figured I'd never find one that cheap again and it looked all dried out so I purchased it in hopes to revive and rescue it. Well... That hasn't happened. I'm new to juniper (I have two different ficus, bamboo, and a money tree) and I don't know what I'm doing. I repotted it (beginning of spring) with my own mixture and a fertilizer I purchased online from Bonsaiboy. It was inside for the remaining winter because Google said to bring it inside if the weather is below 40. Recently it has been inside because it has rained everyday for the last week and a half and I didn't want it to get over watered. If you barely tap the branches they fall off. I haven't scratched the trunk because I'm not home yet. Not sure if my tree is dead yet or not. On another note, I also have a ginsing ficus that is losing leaves and becoming naked. The tips of the leaves are browning and then they jusy drop. I repotted it the same as the rest of my bonsai after the dormant stage. It is in a pot with a humidity drip tray that I keep wet. It sits two feet to the right of a window that the blinds are kept open and the temp doesn't drop below 70 degrees. Any idea what is wrong? It was fine for a year and a half and then took a massive turn for the worst.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
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Your juniper is dead. Sorry, but juniper dies in slow motion from the inside out. By the time it is showing significant browning on the outside, it is a goner. If you read through this thread, the message is there is NO such thing as an indoor juniper. If it's been indoors, it needs to be gradually acclimatized to outdoor, but in nature juniper is native almost up to the Arctic circle; it is hardy to something like negative 30 degrees. It needed to stay outdoors.
Re the ginseng ficus: If it was fine for a year and a half, what changed after that. Did you change its location? soil? watering? Ficus is prone to dropping its leaves in response to environmental change, especially change in lighting.
" ginsing ficus that is losing leaves and becoming naked. The tips of the leaves are browning and then they jusy drop. I repotted it the same as the rest of my bonsai after the dormant stage. It is in a pot with a humidity drip tray that I keep wet. It sits two feet to the right of a window that the blinds are kept open and the temp doesn't drop below 70 degrees. Any idea what is wrong? It was fine for a year and a half and then took a massive turn for the worst."
I'm not sure what you meant by the humidity drip tray. You understand that your plant and pot should be sitting OVER the humidity tray, not in it, right? The humidity tray is just supposed to add some moisture to the air around the tree. You never want your tree sitting in standing water. Two feet to the right of a window doesn't sound like enough light. Indoors, ficus likes plenty of light. I always had mine in a corner with windows on two sides and it did well there.
Re the ginseng ficus: If it was fine for a year and a half, what changed after that. Did you change its location? soil? watering? Ficus is prone to dropping its leaves in response to environmental change, especially change in lighting.
" ginsing ficus that is losing leaves and becoming naked. The tips of the leaves are browning and then they jusy drop. I repotted it the same as the rest of my bonsai after the dormant stage. It is in a pot with a humidity drip tray that I keep wet. It sits two feet to the right of a window that the blinds are kept open and the temp doesn't drop below 70 degrees. Any idea what is wrong? It was fine for a year and a half and then took a massive turn for the worst."
I'm not sure what you meant by the humidity drip tray. You understand that your plant and pot should be sitting OVER the humidity tray, not in it, right? The humidity tray is just supposed to add some moisture to the air around the tree. You never want your tree sitting in standing water. Two feet to the right of a window doesn't sound like enough light. Indoors, ficus likes plenty of light. I always had mine in a corner with windows on two sides and it did well there.