falling needles

Jack_the_Bonsai

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Joanie

You need to give us more information, Jack. Where do you live? How has the weather been? How long have you had the juniper? How often do you water it?

Generally speaking, junipers should live outside all year long. If it was used to being inside, or in a greenhouse, you may have to baby it a bit, but if you live in a reasonable climate it should be fine outside all the time.

Joanie

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Jack_the_Bonsai

Here's some info om my plant



1. What kind of bonsai do you have and how long have you had it?
To my knowledge,it's a juniper and its about yrs old. I recived it as a gift, so it's age was told to me, so I"m aussming that this is it's age.

2. Where did you get it, and what was its condition at the time you acquired it?
I recieved it as a gift. when i recived it it was strong and healthy and all it's needles were dark green

3. When did you notice the problem?
A few weeks ago. they leaves were starting to turn yellow so I took it in. being told I could but it out in the open , I seem to have scorched the leaves.

4. How have you been watering it and how frequently?
It being the summer here, I water it every day and mist the leave at least twice a day.

5. What region are you located geographically and where are you keeping your tree, indoors or out, full sun, part sun, shade?
I am in flagstaff, AZ. before I took it to the nursery, I kept it indoors, near the window

6. Does the soil have any unpleasant odor? no

7. When was the tree last repotted? I do not know, I have no repotted it since I reicved it 3 months ago

8. Is there any discoloration of the foliage? Would you describe it as turgid and green, dry and brown, wilting, mottled or partially eaten? If you brush the foliage with a fingertip, does it fall off?
the leaves are turning yellow and are falling off. and when i brush my hands over it, some of the leaves come off.

9. Is there evidence of pests, like ants or aphids?
No evidence of any of that.

10. Can you post a picture of your tree to the forum?
not at the moment.sorry

Joanie

Junipers should be fine in Flagstaff at this time of year, at the most it should have some shade in the afternoon, or dappled shade during the day. Yellow needles MAY indicate the the tree is too wet. You should only water it when the soil is dry on the top, but when you stick your finger into the soil up to the first knuckle, it is just damp still. Then water it very well, making sure that the water runs out of the holes. You don't need to mist a juniper, that I am aware of. It isn't a tropical tree.

Is the soil sort of chunky, or is it like dirt?

Are the needles yellow, or are they more like a tan color?

Is it only the needles toward the inner parts of the tree, or all the way to the tips?

Joanie

__________________
"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,
'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" ~ Dave Barry

Jack_the_Bonsai

the yellowing needles are from teh inside out. there are very few yellowing needles at teh tip. but my needles are very dry and brittle. and I water my bonsai every day, so the soil is very moist. I think I will let it dry up a bit, maybe it's too wet. even though I will prolly regret it, I'm going to ask the lady at the nursery what else I should do, maybe it has spider mites. something is wrong, I know I'm doing something wrong. maybe it's the water here...a bio professor of my friends said that there are minute traces of cyanide in teh drinking water here. is there any kind of water in particular that you might reccomend? maybe some synthetic plant foos might help. right now I'm using seaweed extract. anything you could advise me on would be wonderful. how about repotting? is it too late to do so? sorry to ask so many question, I'm in distress about my lil plant, it means a great deal to me. I just hope I haven't killed it already. thank you for your help

Vance Wood

Losing inside needles is normal, usually, but did you say the outside needles were dry and crispy? If so the tree is gone. I also read you bring the tree in at night. This is also a problem, Junipers are not puppy dogs or small children, they need to be outdoors even in cold winters, an indoor environment will usually kill them. You also mentioned you water every day and the tree is quite moist---do I read that wet? If so you are watering too much. For now it needs to be outdoors in partial shade and allowed to dry out before it is watered again. Do not fertilize or do anything to it until it starts to grow again.

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rockm

I think you're mistaking damage done by keeping the plant indoors with keeping it outside.

Stress in conifers, especially junipers, shows up in a time delayed fashion. It's likely the juniper was weakened by the indoor treatment (As well as being moved around--plants like to stay in one place, moving them forces them to readjust to local conditions every time you move them). Watering a juniper every day can be a bad thing, soggy soil kills them pretty quickly..
Junipers are among the toughest of bonsai subjects--when they're in a suitable environement--outside 24/7, 365. They cannot be kept indoors for any length of time--light is too low, temperatures remain too warm all year and air inside a house is both arid (less humid than desert air, BTW) and still. Junipers need weather--wind rain, snow, frost ,etc. to do well. They can take it...Stop babying the plant. Leave it outside in partial shade. Keep it MOIST, not soggy and see what happens in the next few months.

Jack_the_Bonsai

oh ty guys for your advice. you told me exactly what I'm been asking. I put out and will leave it out there. now I just have to wait and give it time. all I can to is water when it needs watering and wish...really hard. lol.anything I can give a stressed out bonsai would be wonderful. right now, I'm watering with seaweed extract, is that enough? thanks again everyone!!

Jack_the_Bonsai

ALSO...I put my bonsai under a rather large tree, is that enough partial light?