What's wrong with this pic?

[michaeel]

Can anyone help?

I've got what appears to be a dying bonsai. After covering the dirt at the base of the tree with moss, and leaving it inside for a day or two the leaves started to turn brown. I removed the moss around the base and put it back outside, but it has only gotten worse. Here are some before and after photos. I water it every few days.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[leatherback]

It has dried out and is dying.
Trees belong outside, and Junipers especially

 

[BunjaeKorea]

Soil looks like its almost completely organic and while junipers dont mind a good bit of organic in thier posts this can actually cause hydrophobic soil once it dries out. Remove the moss and give it a good drink then be sure not to overwater but keep the water levels steady.

 

[just.wing.it]

Always keep junipers outdoors....
It looks like you is a goner, unfortunately.
Good advice above, as well.
Live and learn!

 

[Smoke]

The good news is it's winter....you can use this as tinder in your fireplace.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Please add location to profile. If near any Bonsai Club strongly suggest meeting up and seeking local mentoring help. In most NON desert/dry US locations trees are watered naturally when kept outside once fall arrives, if not trees should be kept damp. Soil is normally at least 2/3 inorganic like pumice or hard baked clay like floor dry and 1/3 organic or less. This tree looks pretty bad off but "might" survive. Best of Bonsai fortune.

 

[M. Frary]

It's been dead for a while.

 

[jeanluc83]

I would find a place to plant it in the ground and pray for the best. I think it is a goner though. If it does make it through just leave it where it is for a couple of years to recover and grow. Even if it does survive there is not much there now anyway but after a couple of years growing in the ground you could have something.

The good news is you have all winter to read up on bonsai and you can be ready for spring.

Welcome, and add your location to your profile. So much of the advice you will receive is regional climate dependent.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[Eric Group]

The good news is it's winter....you can use this as tinder in your fireplace.

Don't forget the fact he has not got a free pot... and it is big enough to house a much larger/better tree!

Seriously man, don't let it get you down. Killing a Juniper is a right of passage into bonsai! Learning how to care for one without killing it is the first step... then you can upgrade to better stuff...

 

[BunjaeKorea]

Don't forget the fact he has not got a free pot... and it is big enough to house a much larger/better tree!

Seriously man, don't let it get you down. Killing a Juniper is a right of passage into bonsai! Learning how to care for one without killing it is the first step... then you can upgrade to better stuff...

Lol a juniper? Just one? Lol its probably dead but let him see if a miracle happens...

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

How does the brown section feel? Is it soft and bendable or will it crumble and fall off? Some junipers can dramatically change colour in winter. Care for the tree as you would if it's still alive, be careful not to water to much. Plan a funeral in spring but don't bury it yet. On junipers think back of what happened 2 months ago. The root of the problem might be there.

 

[Smoke]

The root of the problem might be there.

No pun intended right.....?

 

[BunjaeKorea]

How does the brown section feel? Is it soft and bendable or will it crumble and fall off? Some junipers can dramatically change colour in winter. Care for the tree as you would if it's still alive, be careful not to water to much. Plan a funeral in spring but don't bury it yet. On junipers think back of what happened 2 months ago. The root of the problem might be there.

Thats true I have one thats pretty much purple, kid you not goes purple in winter. But very much alive....funeral roots down

 

[Vance Wood]

Not meaning to be argumentative but I have found that many times when someone gives us a description of a problem with a tree and a brief description of what they did to the tree,--- in the end it usually winds up being only half the story, and neglects to reveal the facts that you removed half the roots, shot it with a shot gun, poured some white lightnining over it and ran it over with your pick up truck. I am not saying that this is what you did but other than keeping it indoors and putting it in "Dirt", what is shown seems to be a bit of an extreme response to what you seem to have done. So what does this mean? In bonsai it is often as important to understand what was done as it is to understand what you should do.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

No pun intended right.....?

You are good in reading between the lines. How do twisted minds like us end up twisting bonsai...

 

[Vance Wood]

You are good in reading between the lines. How do twisted minds like us end up twisting bonsai...

Because it s the only thing we can do that would not put us in jail-----yet.