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Bonsai begginer, basic questions 4 years 10 months ago #49276

  • Roshan
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I recently bought my first bonsai tree. It is a sort of juniper but I am unsure if it’s specific type. I have a couple questions I hope you guys could help me with.

1) I have attached an image of the foliage and as you can see there are some light green leaves emerging that seem to be the “growing” part, in co yeast to the small, dark green chains of leaves which are presumably older. Should I be pinching off these gadfly growing parts at wait till they energy an inch or so off the foliage.

2)also attached is a picture of the foliage in general. As can be seen, the growth seems very uneven, note this has been growing only two days. Is it adviseable to turn the tree around periodically so that growth is more homogeneous?

3) In addition to trimming of the leaves, it seems the store that grew this tree has cut of some larger branches (evidenced by the cuts in the picture). Why did he remove these branches and should I be doing similar things to the tree as new branches emerge?

4) finally, I’ve attached a picture of its location. Does this look adequate? I live in Colorado mountains so it will unavoidably need to come inside in the winter when we get negative Fahrenheit regularly.

Thanks for all you answers in advance.

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Bonsai begginer, basic questions 4 years 10 months ago #49278

  • Clicio
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Despite the mix of juvelile and mature foliage, your juniper looks normal and is very healthy.
It should be outdoors as much as possible and don't fiddle with it , it's an adaptation period for the tree.
Don't pinch or prune anything and learn all you can about growing junipers.
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Last edit: Post by Clicio.

Bonsai begginer, basic questions 4 years 10 months ago #49279

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Thanks for your reply. So once it has settled, how should I prune the new leaves? Also, I have noticed a few very small brown leaves, do I need to worry about them?

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Bonsai begginer, basic questions 4 years 10 months ago #49282

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1) I have attached an image of the foliage and as you can see there are some light green leaves emerging that seem to be the “growing” part, in co yeast to the small, dark green chains of leaves which are presumably older. Should I be pinching off these gadfly growing parts at wait till they energy an inch or so off the foliage.
[/post]
You shoul dnever nich. Let the branches grow. If you get runners (Individual branchtips that start to really extend) you can cut these out once 5+cm long. Cut them out deep, e.g., cut into the older part of the branch, below the surface of the foliage. Once a year you will need to do a broad thinning but I would recommend doing this with someone experienced.

2)also attached is a picture of the foliage in general. As can be seen, the growth seems very uneven, note this has been growing only two days. Is it adviseable to turn the tree around periodically so that growth is more homogeneous?
[/post]
I turn mine a few times per year; when I think of it

3) In addition to trimming of the leaves, it seems the store that grew this tree has cut of some larger branches (evidenced by the cuts in the picture). Why did he remove these branches and should I be doing similar things to the tree as new branches emerge?
[/post]

At some point the plant becomes too dense and certain branches are too thick. That is the point where a tree gets a mayor overhaul (This may be after 10, 20 years mind you). As trees grow, you need to do maintenance on them. Else they become just shrubs.

4) finally, I’ve attached a picture of its location. Does this look adequate? I live in Colorado mountains so it will unavoidably need to come inside in the winter when we get negative Fahrenheit regularly.


Hard to tell. Give it loads of sun. My junipers have to deal with temps up to -20C every once in a while. They do nto mind.

Finally: The tree has a mixture of needles and scales. The scales it what you have when the tree is fully happy. The scales is something that the tree procduces mainly when too much pruning is done. I would allow this tree to get back to full scale, if possible. However, it might be tht this is a San Jose Juniper, which are very dificult with their foliage (Mine is about 60% needles, several years after initial styling & severe pruning). in any case.. Give it time to settle and do not go overboard pruning.

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Bonsai begginer, basic questions 4 years 10 months ago #49284

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Finally: The tree has a mixture of needles and scales. The scales it what you have when the tree is fully happy. The scales is something that the tree procduces mainly when too much pruning is done. I would allow this tree to get back to full scale, if possible.


I guess LB mistyped the above.
Read it as:"needles is something that the tree...";)
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Last edit: Post by Clicio.

Bonsai begginer, basic questions 4 years 10 months ago #49310

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Is there a way, out of curiosity, to determine the exact species or is it too hard to tell?

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Bonsai begginer, basic questions 4 years 10 months ago #49311

  • Ivan Mann
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I have an Adroid app called Plantnet that will process a picture of a plant and produce an answer, with a probability of correctness. Sometimes it gives two possibilities. You can give it a leaf, a flower, a trunk shot of bark, and maybe more.

It is, quite frankly, impressive. It does far more than trees,

You have to have internet access when you ask about a picture because it accesses some central server somewhere. I would guess it is on iPhone and other platforms, since all the heavy lifting is done by the central server.
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Bonsai begginer, basic questions 4 years 10 months ago #49312

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That sounds awesome! I will definitely try it out.

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Bonsai begginer, basic questions 4 years 10 months ago #49316

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The species is easy. Juniperus chinensis, so chinese juniper. The variety is more complex.

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