Is it geting too much water?

Hi Kevin, long time no see... Just wondering, I know you said you put the second juniper outside, but from the looks of it, either it's a third tree, or it is inside. I know you have a really special garden/pond, etc., and wonder why all your trees aren't out there now anyhow. Again, with juns, it may be a watering issue, hard and breaking aren't good signs. What's the soil mix like? How fast does it really drain - almost instantly, or kinda-in-a-while? Are you watering .. because you think it 'must be time' (that's hard to get over :-) or because you're pretty sure it actually needs a drink? Nice pots, BTW!

Kevin

If the needles are brittle and break or crumble when touched, that part of the plant is dead. If the whole plant is doing that, it's dead.

randy

Not the whole plant is brittle but its getting close.. The water doesnt drain right away it holds in the pot for a while.. I dont think I am watering to much.. outside temps are in the upper 90's in the afternoon. It gets direct sun from morning till about 2pm everyday so it dries up pretty fast.. Not sure what to do.. maybe give up and get a different breed of bonsai.. the Elm is the one that almost died before Lucy..

Is the pot protected by something reflective so roots are cooking? If the water's not running right through it, it definitely needs a repot into something else, with lots of gravelly grit - pumice, lava rock crushed, perlite (unattractive as it may be for now), and some small sized fir bark.

It was potted by the bonsai place.. the roots are probably cooking as the other pots are kinda reflective, this pot is terra cotta.. or I just cant grow Junipers.. also that Sago I thought I killed.. its still alive too. I planted it behind my waterfall in my yard and it sprouted new fronds not long ago.. so looks like the only thing I seem to kill are junipers.

Significant browning today, he's dead.. not sure what I could of done different.. done with Junipers, will get something else..

Sorry Kev! I'm like that with some things too, stupid ordinary house plants, so I just stop bothering with them and move on. You're good with lots of others though, so don't take it personally :0)!

I got a F Tea as a replacement... if you want to see him he is on my site, I also put a reed backing on the house to maybe it wont cook that much there.. having photo'd that yet..

Here is a link that might be useful: Newest bonsai

Cute! Keep it well watered there!

i have a juniper bonsai, too. I'm a new owner. it has dry brittle light green/yellow bristles. i recently moved it from a south facing room to an east facing room- slightly away from the window. i think it was fried by the sun. should i remove and cut away the dead parts to allow the live parts to be nourished better?
thanks!

Liz, unless most of your tree is a good green color and flexible when you bend it, or to put it another way - if more of the tree is brittle and yellow than less of it, it's probably been dead for some time, as junipers don't actually look dead (all over) until they've been gone a while. It should have been put outside as they won't live indoors anyway, and has probably been watered like a houseplant - way too often. If pebbles were glued to the surface they should have been pried off right away, and the soil it came in should have been changed to much gritty peat-less stuff that drains right away as the trees are sensitive to any water that isn't just a free flowing drink that drains right away (and the pot should never sit in drain water as roots rot). If this all sounds familiar (or any of it), the answer should be in there somewhere.