juniper bonsai--how to tell if dead?

[thaoisms]

hi,

I've been reading the posts about juniper bonsais on this website to try to figure out if it's too late for my plant. I got it from a nursery in april and it was doing wonderful for almost two months even though I kept it indoors (didn't know it should have been kept outside). over the summer, I gave it to a friend to keep and she put it on the windowsill of an east-facing window. it was a hot and humid summer in nyc.

when I returned in sept, the bonsai needles were totally yellow and dry. I've been keeping it outside now but am thinking it's dead as it looks the same---dry and yellow. is it possible it went into dormancy stage? if it is dead, is there no way to revive this plant?

also, I'm confused about the outdoor/indoor thing. I read that it is an outdoor plant but if I keep it on my window ledge (south facing), it will get a lot of sun during the day but the temps drop pretty quickly when the sun goes down---won't this be bad for the plant? I live in nyc.

thanks so much!

[The Helpful Gardener]

Sorry to say the tree is gone; Junipers are evergreen unless deceased...

As for the indoor/outdoor thing, junipers are outdoor, should be kept there as long as possible, but not subjected to the full rigors of winter. If you leave it out this time of year and get it to around or a little below freezing for a month or two you can often fool the plant into thinking it has had a full winter's rest. You are fooling it, and it increases the rate of growth by extending the growing season (sort of a law of diminishing returns for trees), but it can be done.

A tropical tree (indoor)is used to an extended growing season, so is better suited for growing during winter months, but should also be kept outdoors when meteorologically feasible (above freezing) My Ficus and Schefflera both just came inside last night, and I think I may have jumped the gun by a week (They spent the few freezing nights in the garage already)

HG

[ty guy]

Usually when you feel your foilage and some of the needles fall off it is probably to late. I hope you try again with a different tree and it works out for you.



Tyguy

[The Helpful Gardener]

Not always so Ty. Pines, for instance, push off old needles; sure it's evergreen but new needles appear and old one pass, so falling needles are not a sure sign for all evergreens...

Scott