Are Junipers brittle?

[RichKid]

I don't have much experience with evergreen conifers. I received a juniper from my wife about a month ago and have been watering etc. I notice however that if i touch it even slightly more than gentle that sections of needles just break off. Is it normal to be so brittle or is something wrong with mine?

 

[october]

No, It sounds like it might be dead. If you post some pics and provide info on where and how you cared for it. We can make a better assessment.

Rob

 

[Stan Kengai]

Is it a needled juniper like procumbens or rigida, or does it have cord foliage like a shimpaku? Shimpaku varieties will normally drop a small amount of older/weaker foliage. But needled varieties dropping foliage is a sign of something wrong or worse. In either case, the foliage should never be "brittle" as you describe it, but rather it should be limber/pliable and bounce back to normal shape after being bent.

 

[catfish chapstick]

I don't have much experience with evergreen conifers. I received a juniper from my wife about a month ago and have been watering etc. I notice however that if i touch it even slightly more than gentle that sections of needles just break off. Is it normal to be so brittle or is something wrong with mine?

I think it's dead. Did you keep it indoors?

 

[RichKid]

Well, it is/was mallsai. I asked in an earlier thread when she first brought it home should it go outside, because I know junipers are outdoor trees. The response was to keep it inside until spring. I have done so. Its still green, but I just recently discovered that they will remain green long after death, unlike my normal deciduous trees I work with. It is a needled variety. I placed it in a sunny windowsill and watered it normally. But it is not pliable at all. Bending it will definitely break some needles off.

 

[RichKid]

Would it help if put it outside now?

 

[rockm]

Once junipers become brittle they are mostly dead, unfortunately. It sounds like this one is a goner. Overwatering is a big problem for indoor junipers. They like to get pretty dry in between watering. They also need a lot of light--supplemental lighting is usually the way to go.

 

[RichKid]

Well this one probably died from overwatering. My wife swears all my trees die from lack of water, so she takes it upon herself to water. The thing is the only ones that are doing bad are the indoor ones, which I don't like keeping because of the difficulty supplying the proper light and humidity. I had a fukien tea that I reported at the wrong time. It still scratches green but has no leaves. This juniper. And I acquired some ficus which were already neglected when I bought them that aren't looking great. All my outdoor trees are looking well. I guess the pot it came in adds solace to the loss. It's one of those were one side has drainage and the other is a water feature.

 

[Poink88]

I guess the pot it came in adds solace to the loss. It's one of those were one side has drainage and the other is a water feature.

The final phase for a bonsai...the pot reclamation phase.

Learn from the experience and move on. There are much healthier and probably better juni's in the garden center (for cheap too) if you look.

 

[RichKid]

The final phase for a bonsai...the pot reclamation phase.

Learn from the experience and move on. There are much healthier and probably better juni's in the garden center (for cheap too) if you look.

Pot reclamation! That's a good one. I'm accepting it, although its hard to know something died while in my care. I'm sure there are plenty of healthier junis but I don't want any. I'm going to stick to my deciduous and at the most broadleaf evergreens. Not a huge fan of conifers and needles species.

 

[fourteener]

If you didn't buy it too long ago, I would take it back and ask for a refund. It could be nice and green for a couple of months (even when dead) before it got to the stage it is now. Sorry it didn't go well this first time. If you want to buy a tree to stay in your house go for a ficus. It will fare much better.

You might have done something wrong, but more likely you bought and already unhealthy plant and that's tough to recover from.

We're all in the dead tree club...welcome!!

 

[berobinson82]

I'm accepting it, although its hard to know something died while in my care.

One of the guys here has in their signature something to the effect of, "Killing trees is the tuition for learning bonsai".

I like that guy, just don't have the attention span to look for him.

Everyone kills trees, bud. Most times, you kill far fewer with experience. So, if we've both much to learn; cheers to killing more trees!

I remember a thread by smoke (he's got gobs of experience) where a gorgeous pine tree trunk was his tuition for learning about some not-so-great soil component in his grow bed... It was a lesson he shared and we all learned from. Chalk it up!

 

[Joedes3]

Pot reclamation! That is really good. That's what I'll tell my wife in the future.

Joe De

 

[jkd2572]

You should be able to run your fingers through healthy foliage without it breaking off. This is how I clean old dead needles out.

 

[Vance Wood]

I don't have much experience with evergreen conifers. I received a juniper from my wife about a month ago and have been watering etc. I notice however that if i touch it even slightly more than gentle that sections of needles just break off. Is it normal to be so brittle or is something wrong with mine?

I don't think Miracle Max can help your tree, it sounds not just partly dead but all the way dead. Sorry, it's unfortunate that this is the usual outcome of variety store bonsai Junipers. Problem; it was a gift from someone who probably feels worse about the loss than you do.

 

[RichKid]

I don't think Miracle Max can help your tree, it sounds not just partly dead but all the way dead. Sorry, it's unfortunate that this is the usual outcome of variety store bonsai Junipers. Problem; it was a gift from someone who probably feels worse about the loss than you do.

Yeah, I was leary when she bought it. She told me where it came from and I already knew it had a slim chance. A store in the mall with an old chinese lady and dozens of these things, which appear to be cuttings in pots not really receiving much light. And its not a nursery store either, they sell ALL kinds of things so I'm always skeptical. People think because the store owners are older and asian they must know all about bonsai, and the owners use that image to their advantage. But having kept these things all summer and winter indoors in the mall they have a short lifespan. unsuspecting buyers are sold dying trees at ridiculous prices.