AusBonsai

Hey guys hoping you could help me i think something is wrong with my bonsai it was great a week ago, but now the top leaves are yellowish and i think its dying i only water when the soil is dry keep it outside in the sun all day but i have no idea why its dying, also for some reason it wont let me upload pics

Hi Justaguy,
You don't mention what type of tree it is, but it would be worth trying the following. You need to water the tree every day and make sure the water has penetrated right though the soil. You can try and rehydrate the tree. Put in in a tube of Seasol for a few hours. With the Seasol use a mixture of 30ml to 9ltr of water. If there are still some live roots it may come back.

Regards Ray

Ray M wrote:Hi Justaguy,
You don't mention what type of tree it is, but it would be worth trying the following. You need to water the tree every day and make sure the water has penetrated right though the soil. You can try and rehydrate the tree. Put in in a tube of Seasol for a few hours. With the Seasol use a mixture of 30ml to 9ltr of water. If there are still some live roots it may come back.

Regards Ray

Yea sorry for not mentioning the tree its a juniper, if you can send me your email i can send pics the website wont take photos that exceed 1 mb i really like the bonsai so nice and its quite old aswell i dont want to kill something that has lived for so long, just to be sure in order to revive it i need to dip it into a small bowl diluted with seasol or just spray lightly then water down a few hours later.

Justaguy wrote:

Ray M wrote:Hi Justaguy,
You don't mention what type of tree it is, but it would be worth trying the following. You need to water the tree every day and make sure the water has penetrated right though the soil. You can try and rehydrate the tree. Put in in a tube of Seasol for a few hours. With the Seasol use a mixture of 30ml to 9ltr of water. If there are still some live roots it may come back.

Regards Ray

Yea sorry for not mentioning the tree its a juniper, if you can send me your email i can send pics the website wont take photos that exceed 1 mb i really like the bonsai so nice and its quite old aswell i dont want to kill something that has lived for so long, just to be sure in order to revive it i need to dip it into a small bowl diluted with seasol or just spray lightly then water down a few hours later.

No mate put the whole pot in a tub a seasol so its fully soaking

In the absence of pictures I'd agree that it probably needs water. Just soaking the pot in water for an hour will do the job just as well. No need for seasol but it probably needs water immediately.
Being a juniper rings alarm bells for me. Usually by the time stress shows up a juniper is already past saving but still give it a go

also for some reason it wont let me upload pics

I think pictures need to be under 1mb to post. You might need to reduce the file size before you can get them up. This wiki page might help https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... lay_online

shibui wrote:In the absence of pictures I'd agree that it probably needs water. Just soaking the pot in water for an hour will do the job just as well. No need for seasol but it probably needs water immediately.
Being a juniper rings alarm bells for me. Usually by the time stress shows up a juniper is already past saving but still give it a go

also for some reason it wont let me upload pics

I think pictures need to be under 1mb to post. You might need to reduce the file size before you can get them up. This wiki page might help https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... lay_online

i uploaded pics now

Looking at the pictures the tree is as dry as a bone put it it a tub/sink and let it sit in the water for at least an hour. Then lift it out let the water drain away and repeat tomorrow. Use seasol if you have it if not just water will do for now. You don't mention where you keep it? Inside or outside? Full sun or shade? How often??????? Do you water it? And how do you water it?
Bonsai at this time of year require watering at least daily in some cases even twice if they are in full sun. Water needs to run out of the bottom of the pot. If you can't do that then soak it daily to give it a good water.
If you mist a tree, THIS IS NOT WATERING. It only creates humidity. The tree needs water.
Cheers
Kirky

KIRKY wrote:Looking at the pictures the tree is as dry as a bone put it it a tub/sink and let it sit in the water for at least an hour. Then lift it out let the water drain away and repeat tomorrow. Use seasol if you have it if not just water will do for now. You don't mention where you keep it? Inside or outside? Full sun or shade? How often??????? Do you water it? And how do you water it?
Bonsai at this time of year require watering at least daily in some cases even twice if they are in full sun. Water needs to run out of the bottom of the pot. If you can't do that then soak it daily to give it a good water.
If you mist a tree, THIS IS NOT WATERING. It only creates humidity. The tree needs water.
Cheers
Kirky

I put the tree outside on the veranda where it takes 5hrs + of direct sunlight plus about 2-3 hours of semi sun, and about the watering i water once every 2 days, only a little realizing that was a mistake now i read that juniper hate alot of water i guess that kinda messed me over thank you so much for the information i now know what to do, i also have seasol how much per liter do i add when soaking it, do i soak it for an hour only tomorrow or more than that i was gifted this i though they were really easy to look after now i realize this needs alot of TLC i just hope it lives and thanks again for taking the time to help.

You can soak it every day in seasol. Because it is so dry it will take awhile for soil to start drawing water again.
Once it it wet you can still soak daily to ensure it is wll watered until the cooler weather starts then every other to third day.
Cheers
Kirky

KIRKY wrote:You can soak it every day in seasol. Because it is so dry it will take awhile for soil to start drawing water again.
Once it it wet you can still soak daily to ensure it is wll watered until the cooler weather starts then every other to third day.
Cheers
Kirky

How long do i soak it in seasol for everyday, when its hot. I just want to clear this up and when its not hot i soak lightly every three days i just really want to know what to do to ensure this never happens again.

like Kirky and Shibui said.....an hour

As you have no idea how to water your bonsai. I suggest you only ever soak it. Follow instructions on Seasol for how much to use. Like i said while it is hot daily for one hour. After it cools down every second to third day. By then it should not require an hour of soaking 10-15 minutes will be enough to water it.
Suggest you join a club. Or go see a Bonsai Nursery and talk to them with regards on how to care for your tree. There are many more things apart from how to water that you will need to know if you want to keep this tree healthy/alive.
Cheers
Kirky

Hey mate, I would recommend getting a couple more just in case this one doesn't make it. It looks fine in the photos.

Before you water it, have a little dig in the soil all the way to the bottom of the pot to check how much water the soil is holding. You want it to be damp, but not soaking or dry (keep in mind this is just before watering). If it's soaking wet, leave it a little longer before you have another dig and water.

From about mid-sprink to mid autumn you'll want to be watering daily, then for the rest of the year water by having a dig first. After a little while you'll get used to watering.

As a beginner you will kill trees (I still do). I have killed more than I currently own, it's all a learning process.

Good luck

Yep you'll lose some. My first bonsai were junipers of different types. They're dead now. I don't like junipers. Even when they looked great and thriving they were dying. Good luck with yours, I thought it looked ok, so there you go, they're deceiving. Hopefully it is ok.

After reading your comments on Juniper, I am a little worried for my little juniper now. I have not noticed any new buddings on it so may be it is dead and just keeping a little green coz probably doesnt' want to break my heart. It's my first bonsai that I worked on during a training session at one of the nurseries here. They made us root prune these poor things and re-pot and probably it has been dead since. No new growth in 4 weeks that is worrying.