My first Juniper

[Brusai]

Hi everyone,

I have been browsing around this forum for the last few hours reading through some great advise and tips. I though I might post some pictures of my very first bonsai. My dog passed away a few days ago and I wanted to have someting that I could remember him by. I have always liked bonsai's so I thought it would be a good time to get started with one.

The one I purchased was from a local nursery here in Newcastle, although the tree comes from Bonsai Environment. It is a 1999 model and stands approx 35cm tall.

I love the look of this tree, but upon reading more and more about the art of bonsai wonder now if I have a good base or not.

Anyhows here are a few photo's for comment.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to your comments.

[Diane]

Im so new to bonsai that I dont have any trees yet, so I will leave the experienced bonsai members to comment on your bonsai.

The thing to remember is, you chose the tree in memory of your much loved pet so there must have been something that connected you and your dog with this tree. That connection will show itself in time.

[LLK]

Very good material, good buy. Needs a lot of work, though. Please don't do what two other newbies did recently and cut off far too much foliage, placing the accent of styling on their painstaking effort of wiring. The straight part of the trunk will need to be shortened above the curving part. In your place I'd first do a lot more reading and looking before starting to cut. And I'll leave you to it, rather than give you a lot of details, so you'll have the pleasure and pride of working it out. For looking, you might start with http://www.bonsaiassociation.be/en/gall ... gal=trophy

Lisa

[Brusai]

Thankyou Lisa and Blue. After much reading I will be happy if I can just keep my Juniper alive for now. I was thinking if shortening it so that will give me something read about for a while I am sure. Thanks for the replies.

Brett.

[LLK]

For more looking (and seeing!!) you can't do much better than this: ...
Your juniper is a nice healthy plant and it will do fine so long as you don't overwater. If you get a lot of rain where you are, put it under cover for a few days, i.e. for as long as it needs for the soil to return to barely moist. This is especially important when the weather cools off, as it is doing now. Your soil should take care of the drainage, but better check if the water passes through easily.

Lisa

[JulzD]

Lisa,

Question for you and others...

Is root rot as much a concern if the Juni is still in a deep pot?
I have been looking at mine for a few weeks and thinking that the on-and-off rain we've been getting in and around Brisbane could be a concern, especially as the bottom of the trunk just above the soil is darker and damper to about 25mm above the soil level.

I have checked it and it seems as though the soil is pretty damp the entire way down and I am very concerned about losing it through winter purely for a lack of chance for it to dry out.

Does this seem logical or am I off-base?

[kcpoole]

Lisa,

Question for you and others...

Is root rot as much a concern if the Juni is still in a deep pot?
I have been looking at mine for a few weeks and thinking that the on-and-off rain we've been getting in and around Brisbane could be a concern, especially as the bottom of the trunk just above the soil is darker and damper to about 25mm above the soil level.

I have checked it and it seems as though the soil is pretty damp the entire way down and I am very concerned about losing it through winter purely for a lack of chance for it to dry out.

Does this seem logical or am I off-base?

How well does the soil drain? Does it hold too much water? how long does it take to dry out?

This time of year. I water only once a day in the morning, and by late afternoon the top of soil is dry to the touch. I fi dig down a Cm or so, the substrate is just most but not wet. If your tree has wet looking Soil after a day outside then it is holding too much water and staying too wet.

The solution will be to reduce the frequency of watering so that the top of the soil has a the barest hint of moisture, and 1/3 down will just be moist, or to repot and use a coarser free-er draining mix that will not hold as much water .

Ken

[LLK]

No, you aren't off-base, overwatering of any sort just isn't good for bonsai or pre-bonsai. In principle the type of soil we use for them takes care of excess water, by ensuring drainage through the use of a high percentage of inorganic components, i.e. minerals of some sort, that also provide aeration. Some growers even use an entirely mineral mix. Personally, being oldfashioned, I mostly use a mineral : organic mix of 70 : 30 percent. In Canberra, drier than other parts of Eastern Australia, that works pretty well.
Where you are, and with all the rain you've had, it wouldn't be superfluous to put your plant under shelter, out of the rain. To aid in removing excess moisture, you can force strips of drainage cloth into the holes at the bottom of your pot, making sure the exterior ends are lower than the bottom of the pot. Chux wipes and that kind of artificial fabric make good drainage media.
Maybe bonsai growers from other rain-affected parts of the country can tell us here how they coped with the danger of overwatering?

Lisa

P.S. - Ken wrote a reply in the meantime, but I'll still let mine stand as it is, for whatever it's worth.

[JulzD]

Awesome guys. Thank you very much for that.

I fear that the soil may to too dense, and hence not drain enough. However, when watering the water does drain from the top quite quickly.

What I've decided to do, based on the two replies above - and my sincerest apologies to you Brusai for hijacking this thread - is put some drainage media into the holes around the base of the pot to see what happens with the soil. As I usually start work at 0530H I don't really want to be watering before I leave home as the ensuing tirade from my wife for waking her up from the outside noise, I am watering in the afternoon when I get home; around 1600H.

I did test it with my chopstick today and the soil didn't seem to dampen it too much after about 5 mins in the soil. Also, given that I've had concerns I haven't watered it since yesterday to see if the soil dries out enough.

Should the soil not either dry out enough or the cloth in the holes do enough to drain it for me, is changing the soil mix at this delicate time - the temps are starting to drop as of the last couple of days - going to be detrimental or will some liquid fertiliser take care of the after-care for me?

[kcpoole]

In in Ipswich, you would be able to Repot now. Just do not take off too much Root mass
Many people repot their Pines and junipers in Autumn, but I wait till spring in Sydney. anyone else do repots of Juni in Autumn?

Ken