Community post
My First Bonsai - Juni
For some time I tried to avoid the unavoidable, or perhaps I didn't want to accept it, but let me tell you that my juniper bonsai did not survive a storm a couple of months ago that tumbled it over. :(
It had most of its roots exposed to air and by the following day, when I checked on all my bonsai trees, they had dried out. Repotting was immediate and did everything in my knowledge to save it; and the following weeks it seemed that it worked. However, its foliage slowly began to turn yellow. My initial thought was that I needed to water it more since we had a couple of weeks here in Austin with extreme heat. No success, more and more foliage turned yellow.
Regular watering continued, hoping that it was just a weather thing and when fall arrived everything would come back to normal. By the time fall arrived most of its foliage had fallen off. It was then that I decided that I could not continue hoping for a recovery.
There were to options: 1) throw away Juni and accept defeat, or 2) repot it in a smaller container and still keep it as a bonsai, but one that never grows and stays as it is forever. Obviously I chose option 2, and here are pictures of it:
Black sand was used to decorate it and gives it a great contrast with that pot. There's beauty even in death and I did my best to pay respect to this juniper. It taught me many lessons on how to take care of bonsai and learned from my mistakes, I will keep Juni forever.
Thank you for reading.
Social media:
Instagram - @bonsaiaustin
Replies (8)
That is a sad story.
What kind of soil was it in initially?
This past year I found out that akadama clay tends to suffocate juniper for unknown reasons. I'm going to have to repot my tree now that I know that.
I have a hard time keeping my juniper healthy too. Last year I had more parts dying off than growing. This year it had some new green buds that grew only on one side. Mine really hates wet feet and too much hot sun, but it loves humidity from nearby water sources. Many bonsai growers insist on never using any organic soil material, because it does not let the water drain well enough.
I've used black decorative sand too, but haven't had much luck with it in potted plants. My indoor plants usually end up dead by the end of the year. It helps loosen up garden soil a bit, but I think it starves the plants because it cannot hold any nutrients, and it cooks the roots in the summer.
Next year, I'm going to switch almost exclusively to pumice, since it is white and porous inorganic lightweight volcanic rock.
Ah I'm sorry for your loss. It really was a good looking young Juniper. That black sand is pretty with the pot and tree. I'd love to get my hands on some of that for decorative purposes. Could be great for indoor plants. Keep writing.
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