Avatar for Phioloplant
Mar 18, 2023 3:53 PM CST
Thread OP
FL
Hey I just received a bonsai plant, a juniper I believe, and I was wondering if anyone would share some tips on caring for it. I'm open to any suggestions from watering and lighting to pruning and wiring the branches.
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Mar 18, 2023 8:43 PM CST
Name: Al F.
5b-6a mid-MI
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Juniperus procumbens. It isn't going to like being kept indoors, especially in air conditioning. It wants to be outdoors where it gets plenty of sun and air movement, but the pot might need shading as summer approaches. Water generously when you water, so the entire soil mass is fully moistened and at least 20% of the water applied exits the drain hole. If you're watering correctly, you can fertilize every 4th or 5th time you water. Drop a marble, button, or other item in the pot each time you water to keep track of when to fertilize. To determine when it's time to water, use a 'tell' made from a 1/4 or 5/16" wood dowel rod (any hardware for about $1). They usually come 48" long, so cut it into several pieces and sharpen the ends in a pencil sharpener. Stick it in the soil all the way to the bottom of the pot - withhold water until it comes out nearly dry. Junipers don't like wet feet. I use Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 for all my bonsai trees.

How you prune and wire depends on your vision for the tree, ans sometimes the tree tells you it wants to be something quite different than it looks before you start work on it. The tree below was as full or fuller than yours before it was styled in this 'minimalist style' called literati.
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The before/after images below are the same species as your tree except it is the dwarf cultivar 'nana'.
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Quite a size reduction for it's first styling.

Did you have a sense of what you'd like the tree to look like, something to work toward? If not, just enjoy growing the tree and keeping it healthy. If you get the opportunity to connect with other practitioners of bonsai, ask them what features they see in the tree that might serve as a focal points around which you could style the tree, and what they see as potential flaws and how to deal with them. Join a bonsai club if you have on near, you'll find almost all bonsai practitioners very willing to help ensure your successes.
Good luck!!

Al
* Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for. ~ Socrates
* Change might not always bring growth, but there is no growth without change.
* Mother Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.
Avatar for Meandmyroses
Mar 19, 2023 5:13 AM CST

Your bonsai has great potential.
And as ever, Als advice is spot on.
It's really good to have someone with that kind of knowledge
On this forum.
John
Avatar for cardenasnico
Mar 18, 2024 9:53 AM CST

First off, let's talk about lighting. Junipers love sunlight, so find a bright spot for your bonsai, preferably with some indirect sunlight during the hottest parts of the day to avoid scorching those delicate leaves.
Last edited by cardenasnico Mar 25, 2024 10:13 AM Icon for preview
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Mar 18, 2024 4:07 PM CST
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cardenasnico said: First off, let's talk about lighting. Junipers love sunlight, so find a bright spot for your bonsai, preferably with some indirect sunlight during the hottest parts of the day to avoid scorching those delicate leaves.


@cardenasnico first off, this thread is a year old and the OP got that advice and then some back then. Or are you AI?
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Last edited by Calif_Sue Mar 18, 2024 4:09 PM Icon for preview
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