Overwatering a Procumbens Juniper

narmentr

I have a pre-bonsai procumbens that has great potential. Unfortunately the active bud tips are starting to yellow. After much research here and elsewhere the only thing I can come up with is overwatering. I live in a very dry place and to compensate I have been watering my trees several times a day. All the other trees are doing fine as the bonsai soil is coarse enough to let excess water drain out. This juniper is not in bonsai soil and after reading about overwatering I did see that the soil seemed very saturated. Is there anything I can do to salvage this situation or did my inexperience destroy a beautiful tree. Please Help!

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WildChild

Junipers need free draining soil, and sparse watering. I live in Sydney, Australia, I have several Junipers, and all have survived the last summer, and we are in the middle of a drought, and one of the hottest Autumns in the last few years, and all my Junipers (a few Procs) are watered once a day (at around about 4pm.) and all are growing and doing fine.

Also, might I add that Junipers - provided they are outdoors - are very very hard to kill.

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"Creating bonsai is not a mechanistic process; we prune with the hand but are guided by the heart..."

RedPine

Hi,


Some simple tricks you can use...poke extra drain holes into the pot and from now on start putting your finger about 1-2" down into the soil to feel the moisture level before you decide it's time for watering. As already mentioned a free draining soil in the future will really help.

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narmentr

Thanks for the tips. Do you think the tree will recover if given the proper care from here on out? Is there anything else I can do to help its recovery?

WildChild

Best thing for recovery is to not do anything. As odd as it may sound, most will either damage or kill sick bonsai while trying to save them. Trees in nature tend to recover on their own and bonsai are no different. I would pinch off any die-back, maybe give it a slight dose of fertilizer - nothing major - and leave it watering only when the top 1 inch or so of soil is no longer wet.

Drew.

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"Creating bonsai is not a mechanistic process; we prune with the hand but are guided by the heart..."

narmentr

Thank you wild child. I appreciate the help.