Just wanted to introduce myself real quick, since I will be stealing as much knowledge as possible. A few months ago, I became very interested in trying my hand at this. Our local commissary had a few plants on sale, so I did some research. After reading, I decided to wait a little while, and get a plant from an individual, or a shop. Well, yesterday my wife came home with one from the commissary. So, even though it wasn't exactly what I wanted, I will have to love it and take care of it anyway.

I did some more reading today. Then I removed all of the glued rocks, and ordered new soil and a new pot. Also picked up some Superthrive. I will get it repotted as soon as possible. I have more reading to do. I'm not sure where to go next with it.

trey

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Sorry o say but that is a malsai (mass produced money making no art trees) but you can still do fhings with it. Good that you removed the rocks they dont do anything. Make sure you repot next spring though this year is too early. Wait fo some further advise as i may be wrong.

Welcome!!


Jaimin

trey wrote:

Just wanted to introduce myself real quick, since I will be stealing as much knowledge as possible.

Hi trey and welcome to this magnificent forum.

trey wrote:

I will get it repotted as soon as possible. I have more reading to do. I'm not sure where to go next with it.

Well, as bob said, that is a "mallsai" and more important... Now is not the right time to repot your juniper. If you still want to keep it, the best thing you can do now is to take good care of it. The first thing to know is that this is a hardy species and you should put it outdoors, this is very important. Do not keep it inside your house! They can withstand temperatures as cold as -10ºC. And when spring finally comes I would suggest you to plant it in the ground or at least in a big pot to let it grow and develop and after a few years, you could probably start working with him.

Anyway, here in this forum, there are quite a few more knowledgeable members that might advise you deeper, but meanwhile I strongly recommend you this page regarding basic care guidelines for junipers: www.bonsai4me.com/SpeciesGuide/Juniperus.html

Alain

Welcome. This is a reasonable piece of material that you can learn with. How it grow and how to water, prune and where to keep it. It is a hardy species, a Juniper removing the rock was good, but you cannot re pot now unless the soil is so bad that it is not draining. The tree must be kept outside all year. It would help to know what country you are in as if you are in the souther hemisphere then it changes things.

I disagree with m5eaygeoff: this is not a reasonable piece of material for bonsai.
It has no branches to shape, no foliage to prune. It is going to need a lot of growth - for at least 5 years - before you can do anything with it. There's really not much you can learn from it - if we're talking about bonsai. "How it grows and how to water, prune and where to keep it" you can learn by buying a normal nursery plant.

I do agree with what you wrote - you will have to love it and take care of it anyway. Do not try to shape it or prune it - it's too young and fragile for that. Just let it grow and make it thrive. In the future it may be usable material

I also agree with what the others wrote about repotting. As this plant is going to need growth, I would personally place it in a much larger pot for the next few years.

Thanks everyone. I will wait to repot it. I live in Central California. Zone 10b. I will just let it hang out and be cool for a while. If it takes five years to be something, if ever, then that is ok. I found out that there is a bonsai shop nearby, and I might go look for another one.

Also, it stays outside. That was a picture I took as soon as I got home.

Fine, it is out. Learn how to keep it, learn how to water and fertilise it and how to prune, it is a small pot so it will not grow much, however if you can plant it in the ground for a while this will put a lot of growth on. If you want to keep the tree small, or make a semi or cascade then a deeper but shorter pot is needed. Find a book, and a club to join. You will learn much quicker that way.
Geoff.