Totally Newbie!

xFusion

hi ive just bought a bonsai today with a friend for 28.00cdn (buy 1 get 1 free boxing day special!)


- its a japanese juniper
- the bonsai dude told me its about 3 years old when i asked him how old it was.

im wondering... is it still too small/young to start shaping or trimming it?

and whats the best way to water it. and how much water to use
and is distilled water better? (cooled boiled water or aged water [water left over night])


ahh just too many questions.... i just wanna know a bit of everything! lol i wanna keep this thing alive... cuz i saw one at the store and it was PIMP!! it was about 20 years old japanese juniper omg it was gorgeous ^^

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xFusion

ive read a few articles and this juniper is not intended for indoors... well ill describe the enviroment a lil

im placing it next to my window.. ive opend a lil gap of my window so the breeze will hit it... ive also pulled up a tiny tiny bit of my window blinds. so that air can pass through. its about 4-5 degrees celcius outside right now (11am) my window is located in my atic where my room is.. and the window points south.

my particular pot is split in half.. the right side is holding the soil/bonsai and the other side is for holding water (which helps create some kinda moisture aura? hehe)

i have 1 florecent light bulb in my room its on the otherside of my room so the light source in my room is 22w energy saver type very bright white light... but the light source doesnt reach the plant very well. (should i get a desk lamp and place it near the juniper? (is florecent ok?)

should i also get a mist sprayer to spray the plant every so often?

xFusion

oh yea and one more thing.. the juniper is only 4 inches tall from top of soil
and widest area is only 5 inches

TreeBay

Hi there xFusion,

There is a little edit button under the post. If you click it you can edit your messages.

Your juniper will do much better outside than the best care you might provide indoors. If it's indoors it will need a great deal of light close to the tree, and even then it may not get enough light. Most places indoors have a a dry, dark environment. Misting it occasionally may not help much. You would need a humidity tray and probably some type of containment tent to keep the humidity up.

Boiling water won't do anything useful for your tree. People do that to drinking water to kill protozoa and bacteria. Your tree doesn't need that. Tap water is probably fine unless you live in Chernobyl or something.

By the way, where do you live, and why don't you just put the bonsai outside where it will probably thrive, instead of indoors where it will probably die?

Regards,

Matt

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xFusion

because i wanna see it hehe i am not outdoors much

is it ok to leave my bonsai outside on my roof!? cuz i live upstairs in the atic of my house...

would i need to cover the bonsai or anything at all? cuz it does get quite cold outside.. can probably reach temperatures of freezing during the winter right now..

i like in vancouver , bc, canada.

FredL

xFusion, count yourself fortunate; you live in one of the planet's very best climates for bonsai. Outside will be terrific for this tree. Inside will almost certainly result in its decline and eventual death.

In respect to styling and the issue of whether to put it into a growbox to encourage rapid growth: this all depends upon how the tree looks now and how big you want it to be. Sending in a picture for comments would help get you comments from participants in this forum.

Fred

xFusion

so is it ok to leave it on my roof? cuz i can reach outa my window and put it down on my roof..... but is the cold wind gonna damage it at all?


btw i kept it in my room with my window slightly open (1cm) and the bonsai is placed right infront of it.
the soil is still very moist! but there is not much sun shine in the winter its all cloudy!

but yea.. placing it on my roof.. isnt going to freeze it to death is it?
or do i need to make some kidna sheild of it.. to reduce wind

FredL

xFusion, you might try taking a walk outside and counting the number of trees that have died from the weather. If you get to one, you will surprise me. Look around for seedlings that just got started in the last year or so. You will find that they are doing fine. What seedlings generally die from is shade or insufficient moisture. Not the cold. Japan has a climate much like yours.....or at least, that part of it where Junipers flourish. It is also cloudy and moist much of the year. Like the Vancouver area, it is also very green. Trees love its climate, just as they love yours.

It is not likely that the wind will hurt it. A wind shield would certainly do no harm and if you have concerns, by all means, put one up.

On the other hand, even with the half measures you are taking, it is not likely that your tree will survive indoors indefinitely.

Fred

xFusion

its snowing outside =\