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bonsaibeginner77

Juniper Bonsai Help!!

BonsaiBeginner77
10 years ago

I recently purchased a Juniper Bonsai from an online source, it came fairly well packaged with moist soil and packing peanuts between the branches. The tree looked very green and healthy. I've had it for almost a week and noticed that the leaves are starting to turn brown at the branches. It said to let it dry out before I watered it so I did. I've been placing it outside for a couple hours every day to get sunlight but I don't want to leave it out for too long because I'm afraid the 100 degree weather might kill it. I have taken to misting it often when it is outside so it doesn't get too hot. When it is not outside I have it near a window. I started thinking that maybe because the soil was moist when I got it, the roots might have started to rot. This morning I lifted up the rock to check the soil and there was some funky webbing and a worm. It looked like a grub but it was black. A few days ago I had also seen a tiny green bug walking around on the soil, not sure if that means anything. I've been reading online about bonsai's and it said the soil should be more gritty than soil. Today I pulled up my bonsai and the dirt smelled a little funny, the roots looked ok but I saw that the soil was a potting mix with a thin layer of sand on top. So I figured that the soil is probably never drying out when I water it. The roots didn't look like they were too much for the little pot so they still have plenty of room to grow. I mixed some aquarium rocks with little pieces of mulch and placed it back inside the bowl. I shook off some of the soil from the roots but not all of it. Should I have kept a little more of the soil, like mix it in with the rocks, or should i have washed off all the soil off the roots and then placed it in the mixture? Is my mixture even ok? The bowl is concave with the hole in the center so I think the drainage is adequate. The bonsai is a present and I want to make sure that when I give it to my boyfriend it wont die. He has always wanted one of these so I'd hate for his first one to die on us.

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