Any Bonsai experts here?

I recently received a Juniper Bonsai as a gift. I will start off by saying that the instructions which I received with the tree were not anything close to what I have read online.

The day after I opened the package I had to leave for a week and the soil dried out entirely. When I got back the tree was drying up so I followed the package instructions by submerging the pot in water for a few minutes at a time until it was soaked through. I did this every few days until I read online that it is wrong.

I have no choice but to try and raise the Juniper indoors even though they are supposed to be outdoors, I do have a sunroom which I will keep it in. I feel the potting mix that the tree came in is retaining too much water as well and I will need to re-pot it if I attempt to save it. The tip branches are brittle and break off with any pressure.

Does anyone have advice for me on how to proceed? I would like to try and save the plant if possible.

Thanks

Try lightly misting with a perfume bottle on the branch ends only? I got nothing but you have a Project!

Bonsai can get complicated; determinants can involve species, soil type, root pruning, environment, etc.

Do you know where it came from? Store type nursery or a real nursery? If it's from the actual grower you can emulate their environment. When I had my business I had specific areas outdoors and in the greenhouse for bonsai - they were a favorite of mine and were of high quality from a grower in China Grove, Texas. Buyers were well informed at purchase and they were encouraged to bring them back to be put in our infirmary for resuscitation.

Humidity, indirect/direct sunlight, watering, and a lot of monitoring are pretty essential factors. Basically, they are similar to other potted plants and require individual knowledge and treatment.

I would start with Juniper and back up from there. Bonsai is beautiful, and involved.

Juniper is very resilient and can be very drought tolerant. However, when the green dries even a little, that portion is almost always dead. Keep it alive and you should get branching after a while. Dead branches can sometimes be a good thing aesthetically with bonsais.

My ex gave me one a few weeks before we broke up.
I tried (for reals, regardless of relationship status) to keep it alive by following the directions that accompanied it.
No dice.

Now there's an awkward dead mini tree on my back porch with a lego hazmat guy at it's base.
Seems... oddly appropriate.

Thanks for the info Hasbro, I'm guessing the tree is toast since the branches are all dry. They are still green in color and haven't turned brown but I think it's too late. Guess I'll have to start over...

Hasbro, who do you recommend buying these from on the internet?

Hmmm, dunno.

The key is adapting/hardening them off to your environment. They are grown in so many different environments; greenhouses with different light, temp, humidity, outdoors, shade houses. I've bought them from Texas, California, Hawaii, and Florida! Very different. And they mostly went into my greenhouse, which was pretty humid and they were maintained by expert workers. Some were then put outside under a big tree to deal with less humidity to be saleable to outdoor growing conditions.

Maybe you could google your area for nurseries that carry them. Or try your ag extension office - the Master Gardening volunteers will research for you. I can almost guarantee there will be a network of hobbyists or growers somewhere in your area. And, usually, whatever shrub or tree grows well in pots in your area can likely be a good bonsai for your area.

In reply to SnowMongoose: I lol'd

In reply to Hasbro:

Even for indoor plants? It seems most of these are supposed to be grown outdoors and whenever you ask a question on a bonsai forum they tell you you're screwed if you try and grow them indoors...

They are best outdoors or in a solarium or greenhouse. Screened porches work well. There are some that will grow indoors/lower light. Shade cloth works great.

Oh, and I'm not an expert by any means.

I had a friend that was REALLY into bonsai, like 40 of them in his basement and more outside. He gave me one as a gift. I did pretty well with it.

Till my idiot cat decided to jump on the shelf it was on, over my computer. Took out the whole shelf, dumped all the dirt inside the computer tower & everywhere else. Poor little tree didn't make it.

I just emailed a coworker who used to be the president of a bonsai club. His response:

Junipers hate to dry out like that, and in a pot, the process can be very quick. Whether he can save it depends upon how damaged it is. It is likely that branches will continue to slowly die for a while. Many bonsai need to be watered twice daily. If he thinks the soil is too waterlogged, he should change it to a soil that is mostly rock fragments (i.e. chicken grit sold in feed stores – it is pulverized granite). If he travels often, he should try putting an old nylon inside his soil and extending out of the soil into a container of water so that is constantly, but slowly, wicks water into the bonsai pot. However, he is correct that most Junipers don’t do well indoors.

Thanks for all the feedback guys! I'll see what I can do!

There is quite literally no topic that this forum cannot lend support on. GRM is like 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon for the entirety of human knowledge.

Oh, wait. That's banzai, not bonsai. Never mind.