Bonsai Newbie question
 

My wife heard me singing "Just lie there by the Juniper." When she came
back from Chinatown today, she brought me a small Juniper (?) bonsai. How
do I care for/train it?

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !
~Semper Fi~ www.delphiayachtsusa.com

Bonsai Newbie question
 

wrote:
My wife heard me singing "Just lie there by the Juniper." When she came
back from Chinatown today, she brought me a small Juniper (?) bonsai. How
do I care for/train it?

The main mistake people make with these is keeping them indoors. The
Juniper is an outdoor plant, it needs a lot of sun and it needs to get
cold in the winter.

A correctly potted bonsai is usually in a very shallow pot with many of
it's roots cut off and a fast draining soil. If this is true of yours,
you'll want to water it a lot more often than you would a house plant
that has soil that holds more water. Most of the small bonsais that
people casually buy in chinatown (i.e. bonsais that don't cost hundreds
of dollars) probably are potted more like house plants and require less
water.

You'll want to repot it every few years.

Bonsai Newbie question
 

"Scooter the Mighty" wrote:
wrote:
My wife heard me singing "Just lie there by the Juniper." When she came
back from Chinatown today, she brought me a small Juniper (?) bonsai.
How do I care for/train it?

The main mistake people make with these is keeping them indoors. The
Juniper is an outdoor plant, it needs a lot of sun and it needs to get
cold in the winter.

A correctly potted bonsai is usually in a very shallow pot with many of
it's roots cut off and a fast draining soil. If this is true of yours,
you'll want to water it a lot more often than you would a house plant
that has soil that holds more water. Most of the small bonsais that
people casually buy in chinatown (i.e. bonsais that don't cost hundreds
of dollars) probably are potted more like house plants and require less
water.

You'll want to repot it every few years.

Thanks, Scooter. It's been below freezing here the last few nights, so I
brought it indoors to avoid root freeze. It's in one of those 2" square
thin black plastic 'pots'. It's now on a west facing windowsill in our
bedroom, which runs around 50°F this time of year. Once the frost danger is
past, I'll move it back outdoors. I don't think the soil is well drained,
as it's still quite moist. I'll repot it into a proper Bonsai pot in the
Spring, if I don't kill it first, as I did with a Bristlecone pine some 20
years ago. It needs a lot of Sun?

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !
~Semper Fi~ www.delphiayachtsusa.com

Bonsai Newbie question
 

wrote:
"Scooter the Mighty" wrote:
wrote:
My wife heard me singing "Just lie there by the Juniper." When she came
back from Chinatown today, she brought me a small Juniper (?) bonsai.
How do I care for/train it?

The main mistake people make with these is keeping them indoors. The
Juniper is an outdoor plant, it needs a lot of sun and it needs to get
cold in the winter.

A correctly potted bonsai is usually in a very shallow pot with many of
it's roots cut off and a fast draining soil. If this is true of yours,
you'll want to water it a lot more often than you would a house plant
that has soil that holds more water. Most of the small bonsais that
people casually buy in chinatown (i.e. bonsais that don't cost hundreds
of dollars) probably are potted more like house plants and require less
water.

You'll want to repot it every few years.

Thanks, Scooter. It's been below freezing here the last few nights, so I
brought it indoors to avoid root freeze. It's in one of those 2" square
thin black plastic 'pots'. It's now on a west facing windowsill in our
bedroom, which runs around 50°F this time of year. Once the frost danger is
past, I'll move it back outdoors. I don't think the soil is well drained,
as it's still quite moist. I'll repot it into a proper Bonsai pot in the
Spring, if I don't kill it first, as I did with a Bristlecone pine some 20
years ago. It needs a lot of Sun?


50 degrees is too warm, you should move it back outside or it'll break
dormancy.

Bonsai Newbie question
 

"Scooter the Mighty" wrote:
wrote:
"Scooter the Mighty" wrote:
wrote:
[ . . . ]
Thanks, Scooter. It's been below freezing here the last few nights, so
I brought it indoors to avoid root freeze. It's in one of those 2"
square thin black plastic 'pots'. It's now on a west facing windowsill
in our bedroom, which runs around 50=B0F this time of year. Once the
frost dange=
r is
past, I'll move it back outdoors. I don't think the soil is well
drained, as it's still quite moist. I'll repot it into a proper Bonsai
pot in the Spring, if I don't kill it first, as I did with a
Bristlecone pine some 20 years ago. It needs a lot of Sun?


50 degrees is too warm, you should move it back outside or it'll break
dormancy.

Did that as soon as I heard this morning's weather prognostication. Of
course, days are gonna be in the mid-seventies. Thanks again!

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !
~Semper Fi~ www.delphiayachtsusa.com

Really quickly, they should be outside. If your weather is especially hot, some mid-day protection may be advisable. Ideally it should be potted in a fairly gritty free draining soil mix. If not be very careful to ensure that the soil is not kept constantly wet. When watering, water thoroughly then wait until the soil approaches dryness before repeating. Frequent, shallow watering is the wrong approach.

As long as you are seeing growth a younger tree, still in the early stages of development, can be fertilized regularly throughout the summer. A balanced (10-10-10 or 20-20-20) water soluble fertilizer mixed according to directions about every two weeks will be fine.

If your weather is damp be on the lookout for small dark spots on juvenile foliage, this is black spot fungus and must be treated quickly.

Unless you have purchased older, well established specimens there won't be a lot to do right now other than your daily routine. Just take some time and learn how to manage them properly.

Bonsai Newbie question
 

So it is essential to remember that the level of water needs to be monitored regularly on a daily basis. In case there is too much water in the tray or pot, the roots will rot, and if it is left very dry then roots will become weak and fragile. So when you are growing a bonsai, make sure that the soil maintains a constant level of moisture and is replaced