I am a beginner at bonsai and started about 4ish months ago. I am getting slightly concerned because some of the foliage on one my junipers started to get dry, brittle and easy to remove but the majority of it (~95%) is still supple without a change of colour. I will try to take some more pictures when I can but the brittle/crispy foliage is at random spots around the outside of the tree.
I would like to know if there is some cause for concern or any preventative measures to take because I only started noticing it this week and began to mist the foliage. My two other junipers are doing fine.
As for what was done with this juniper:
- This juniper was purchased about 3 months ago and it had never been styled or potted previously
- I did the repotting about 2 months ago and it is wired in tightly although the angle is quite bad. About 40% of the mix in the pot is from the original sandy soil
- Some organic fertiliser was applied when I repotted. The potting mix is from Bunnings (bad choice, I know), mostly of pine bark compost but it has some wetting agent which I can't really do anything about now.
- A first styling was finished about a month ago but most of the canopy was left intact to avoid removing too much foliage. During the process, I removed a lot of brown/dead/weak foliage in the interior which was shaded out.
- I usually check the soil everyday and water when it starts to dry out beneath the surface (average every 3 days)
- The juniper is positioned outside with full morning sun and partial sun in the late afternoon but there is a high wind at night
- I don't really plan to do anything but feed, water and maintain it for at least a year before attempting any other styling