Bonsai from Home Depot

[Kage]

Hi everyone.. just got a bonsai from Home Depot and I'm brand new to this. Trying to figure out what kind of bonsai it is and how to care for it.

The worker at the store didn't seem to know much except he said give it plenty of water.. which from I'm reading is not neccesarily the case with bonsai. Also, google searches flood me with so much info but not direct info if ya get what I'm saying.

So any help here would be greatly appreciated! Literally need all the help I can get. The tag says house plant and they had it inside but I'm not even sure if that's correct.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[StarGazer]

Looks like a chinese juniper (juniperus chinensis). Keep outdoors and water daily. Hope the soil is not glued...

 

[Kage]

Looks like a chinese juniper (juniperus chinensis). Keep outdoors and water daily. Hope the soil is not glued...

Thank you. Yes the rocks are glued like one big rock, not even sure how to tell if it needs water. Also, thought it was an indoor bonsai as per the tag and the fact they had it inside. I really don't have a place to keep it outside

 

[Rivian]

Thank you. Yes the rocks are glued like one big rock, not even sure how to tell if it needs water. Also, thought it was an indoor bonsai as per the tag and the fact they had it inside. I really don't have a place to keep it outside

If you can only provide a place indoors, get a ficus. There are many species and they root easily from cuttings. Add your location to your profile and ask for young plants that can be grown indoors, there is a subforum for trees you are looking for at the bottom of the forum list.

 

[Kage]

If you can only provide a place indoors, get a ficus. There are many species and they root easily from cuttings. Add your location to your profile and ask for young plants that can be grown indoors, there is a subforum for trees you are looking for at the bottom of the forum list.

Thank you. What do you think I should do with this one. Don't wanna bring it back because it will probably be kept in bad conditions.

Would it be viable to put outside during the day and bring in at night?

Thanks

 

[Rivian]

Thank you. What do you think I should do with this one. Don't wanna bring it back because it will probably be kept in bad conditions.

Would it be viable to put outside during the day and bring in at night?

Thanks

Im not sure, artificial light at night can stress trees but it may be negligable stress. Of course constantly carrying it in and out may annoy you too. Brutal as I am I would either throw it away, give it to someone who wants it, or plant it outside somewhere.
Heres an idea - trade it in (with a bonsai nut member for example) for rooted cuttings of species that can be grown indoors. This way itll be in good hands.
Some people will vehemently tell you to grow all your bonsai outdoors in the summer. They dont understand that some people dont have that option, even if you tell them over and over. Dont let them discourage you, there are a number of genuses from the tropics and subtropics that can be grown indoors successfully, though Im not an expert on indoor trees so I cant tell you too much about it. You would look for evergreen and semi-evergreen species. I think theres even at least 1 Acer (maple) species.
But make sure your trees get several hours of direct sunlight each day (through a window is ok too), and maybe give them a shower every few weeks to get the dust off. Water only when the surface of the soil has dried a bit.

 

[Kage]

I dont think I'm gonna trade it with anybody lol but I might as well try to care for it

Not gonna buy another one yet as I should've done more research before getting this one :\

 

[Rivian]

I dont think I'm gonna trade it with anybody lol but I might as well try to care for it

Not gonna buy another one yet as I should've done more research before getting this one :\

Thats fine, if they labeled it as an indoor plant then you might as well try it. Still worth checking with others for spare rooted cuttings, if you ask me.

 

[Rivian]

Maybe this video will give you some ideas

 

[Shibui]

That tree is a juniper but J. chinensis rarely has juvenile spiky foliage all over. More likely to be J. procumbens. J. procumbens 'nana' is often sold as mallsia by the large commercial suppliers.
Junipers rarely live for more than a month or so indoors. I think you will need to be an expert indoor plant person to keep it inside. Conifers do not usually give notice they are not well. By the time you see it look a bit sick it will already be too late.
If it can be outdoors during the day why can't it stay out overnight?

 

[Bnana]

Indeed, inside it won't survive but even with proper care these plants have a very poor start. They're poorly treated for a while and are on bad soil with stones glued on top.
If it doesn't survive it might because it was already in such a shape it doesn't really matter what you do. These are not the best introductions to bonsai. If you want to go indoors, that's possible but get informed and a species that can handle that.

 

[sorce]

Don't wanna bring it back because it will probably be kept in bad conditions.

Like a ..... Kage!

Welcome to Crazy!

You SURE there's no where to put it outside?

Sorce

 

[DonovanC]

This is not juniperus chinensis - I can say with almost 100% certainty that this is Juniperus procumbens. Procumbens is the most common species of juniper sold as bonsai in big box stores - and might actually be the only species they sell. The reason for this is because it’s one of the only junipers that can be kept indoors (contrary to common belief). I’ve come across many people who’ve kept them indoors. But having said that - the best place for the tree is outside year-round. It may survive for quite a while indoors (I personally kept one indoors over a year when I first started bonsai), but it’s never going to do as well as if it were outside.
Have you looked into a window planter?
Have you looked into any tropical species? A ficus perhaps? Ficuses are regularly kept indoors and do just fine.
Edit: Home Depot and Lowe’s typically have plenty of ficuses - they usually have F. microcarpa “Gensing” but I’ve seen F. microcarpa “Tigerbark” at Lowe’s before.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Greetings, wanderer. Unburden yourself along the banks of the Tiny Forest!

I had to learn the hard way about “indoors”, also... I have a VERY adequate(for MY needs) lighting set-up supplementing a large South-Facing window (paned with OLD glass ), a duel-humidification unit (keeping it around 76-80 percent) with a room designed in mind to control any moisture/fungal/mold issues, a C02 (crude) dispersal system, a port and exhaust fan supplying consistent freah air.....

And my setup would kill that Juniper. ... But I reeeeally wanted to do “primarily indoors” when I first started as well. (Hence the time put into my indoor area).. then I discovered that, besides the usual culprits (ficus, jades, ect.), “growing bonsai indoors” ACTUALLY means “wintering bonsai indoors” (for the most part)

It is ALWAYS going to be a non-ideal situation... but with certain species.. you can KIND of make it work.. as long as you can summer outdoors. (There ARE species that will survive year-round)

I recommend this book by the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.. it helped me a TON with this issue.

Pleasure to make your acquaintance.