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Juniper? First Bonsai possibly sick 11 years 9 months ago #5987

  • Fast Eddie
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Hello,

I have a little bonsai tree that I recieved as a gift about a year ago.
First off, what species is it, looks like Juniper but then there are different types aren't there? any specific info would be great on species etc.

I live in Dunedin in the South Island of New Zealand, at first I kept my tree inside and moved it around to follow the sun, leaving it on window sills. Sometimes no direct sunlight but in well lit room. and it looked ok for many months apart from the moss that it came with started to dry out/die away.

But recently the foilage/leaves have been getting a bit lighter in color and more pale and I have noticed some white stuff on the tree trunk and also on the rock and pot and sometimes surface of moss/soil. I have moved the tree outside and it sits outside all the time now, has been there for a few weeks. Hopefully its not too cold. It doesn't look like it is improving in health though.

I have attached some photos (hopefully)





They aren't very good, but the leaves are a bit pale toward the tips and also there is white stuff, maybe mould? on the trunk and rock and pot. I don't water it much anymore. But it rains a lot here and is cold.

Can you tell me is it sick? the soil that its in looks kind of barky, and it has just the main root ball covered in good soil, the rest of the pot is the barky stuff. It has some fertilizer in the soil.. I also have liquid feed but havent used it yet.

I don't want the tree to die so dont want to shock it or do anything drastic. But I want to ensure that it is healthy. It is mid winter here now.
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Re: Juniper? First Bonsai possibly sick 11 years 9 months ago #5988

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Re: Juniper? First Bonsai possibly sick 11 years 9 months ago #5989

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Re: Juniper? First Bonsai possibly sick 11 years 9 months ago #5990

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Re: Juniper? First Bonsai possibly sick 11 years 9 months ago #5991

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Re: Juniper? First Bonsai possibly sick 11 years 9 months ago #5992

  • James May
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Junipers need to be outdoors 24/7. Looks like a precumbens nana to me. From the photos you provided the tree doesnt look that unhealthy at all. Keep it outside and it should bounce back.
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Re: Juniper? First Bonsai possibly sick 11 years 9 months ago #5993

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Cool thanks, I'll leave it outside from now on. (A shame as I quite liked to display it inside, it looks nice.)

Photos are a bit poor, sorry. I'll try take better ones.. mainly worried about the white stuff on the rock and it was on the tree trunk too but i just rubbed it off with my finger. Also about the paleness of some of the leaves.

Will keep an eye on it and see how it goes outside by itself :) Thanks, it never gets below -4ish celcius at night here I think, most of the time its above 0 celcius during the night.

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Re: Juniper? First Bonsai possibly sick 11 years 9 months ago #5994

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A little fungicide spray will help with any mildew problems you are having. The white stuff on the rock could just be calcium deposits. Those can be removed effortlessly with a little camellia oil.

If you want a bonsai tree in your home might I suggest purchasing a little tropical tree. A ficus or a sageretia will grow just fine indoors.

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Re: Juniper? First Bonsai possibly sick 11 years 9 months ago #5999

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The white stuff is scale. It is caused by a buildup of calcium carbonates, due to watering with hard water. Use rainwater or boiled water. This may also cause the yellow leaves. Scale buildup will affect the roots.

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Re: Juniper? First Bonsai possibly sick 11 years 9 months ago #6000

  • Pinkham
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No matter what anyone tells you, this tree needs to stay outside like James May stated. Many bonsai sellers tell people that junipers can be grown inside. They will die after a few years.

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