bonsaimiki
Seed
See this video for a basic idea of what's going on.
[video]https://www.dropbox.com/s/y15ou8z4stigziw/Video%20May%2026%2C%206%2011%2054%20PM.mov[/video]
Detailed explanation:
Hello, everyone. So I've had this Green Mound Juniper bonsai tree for about a little less than a year now. It was doing fine during the summer (when I first got it) and winter, but then I noticed in the spring some of the leaves were turning yellow.
First though, I'll talk about its winter care (in case that might be the cause of what is to follow). Since I live in Zone 6, it got a good winter for dormancy. Though it was a little longer and colder than normal, it wasn't anything too serious (I don't think). Whenever it did freeze or got too much snow on it, I immediately took it inside until it recovered. I did not mist its leaves since the water might have froze over them. I also wired it over the winter to change the angle of its trunk. I seemed to be doing pretty good since all the while it had its leaves a dark green color.
Once spring started up in late March, I noticed the roots were taking over its tiny pot (which was only about 4 inches). Since it was about 3 years old at this point and spring had arrived (good time to repot it), I decided to buy a new 10.5 inch pot online. Note: I didn't realize just how big a 10.5 inch pot was until I got it, but I figured it would still be okay.
When I transplanted it, I changed the soil to akadama mixed with a little bit of the old potting soil it came with (which was more like houseplant soil with bits of gravel). I did not remove any of the roots since it was going into a bigger pot, however, I did transplant it outside and I'm told that UV rays can harm the roots.
One other detail I'd like to mention is that I used the material from an old window screen for the mesh to cover up the drainage hole and keep the akadama in.
Anyway, after I got the tree settled into the pot, I watered the akadama thoroughly until I saw water dripping from the drainage hole. I then left it on my back porch where it gets a healthy amount of sun in the morning and early afternoon (which seemed to do fine for it all summer and winter). I checked on it everyday and watered it when the soil became dry (which took a couple days after the initial watering). I did not fertilize until about a week or two after I transplanted it.
It appeared to be improving for awhile, but then one day I noticed webbing all over the tree and patches of yellow. I figured it was spider mites so I made a do-it-yourself insecticide. It was 1 part 70% rubbing alcohol, 3 parts water, and a drop of Canola oil (to help it stick to the leaves). I then sprayed the leaves down every other day or so.
While this certainly took care of the spider mites, it did not improve the yellowing. Distraught, I thought it might have a vitamin deficiency and began supplementing it with water mixed with a few granules of Epsom salt. That still didn't work.
So now it's been a month and as you can see from the video it is looking pretty bad. There are some parts where it remains green, but not much. The other day I trimmed off some of the branches to maybe give the roots a break. I also scrapped the bark and found it to be white underneath, so I'm not sure what that means.
In general, I keep it watered with a spray bottle. Since I do not just dump the water on the soil, it takes longer for the water to reach the roots (so I have to water more often than most, I think). I use a chopstick or dig my finger into the soil to check if it's damp. I fertilize it using a general houseplant one (it had the closest to the 10-10-10 ratio). That's all though.
I would hope I can still save this tree, but if not, hopefully I can learn something from this for future bonsai. I hope I provided enough details.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
[video]https://www.dropbox.com/s/y15ou8z4stigziw/Video%20May%2026%2C%206%2011%2054%20PM.mov[/video]
Detailed explanation:
Hello, everyone. So I've had this Green Mound Juniper bonsai tree for about a little less than a year now. It was doing fine during the summer (when I first got it) and winter, but then I noticed in the spring some of the leaves were turning yellow.
First though, I'll talk about its winter care (in case that might be the cause of what is to follow). Since I live in Zone 6, it got a good winter for dormancy. Though it was a little longer and colder than normal, it wasn't anything too serious (I don't think). Whenever it did freeze or got too much snow on it, I immediately took it inside until it recovered. I did not mist its leaves since the water might have froze over them. I also wired it over the winter to change the angle of its trunk. I seemed to be doing pretty good since all the while it had its leaves a dark green color.
Once spring started up in late March, I noticed the roots were taking over its tiny pot (which was only about 4 inches). Since it was about 3 years old at this point and spring had arrived (good time to repot it), I decided to buy a new 10.5 inch pot online. Note: I didn't realize just how big a 10.5 inch pot was until I got it, but I figured it would still be okay.
When I transplanted it, I changed the soil to akadama mixed with a little bit of the old potting soil it came with (which was more like houseplant soil with bits of gravel). I did not remove any of the roots since it was going into a bigger pot, however, I did transplant it outside and I'm told that UV rays can harm the roots.
One other detail I'd like to mention is that I used the material from an old window screen for the mesh to cover up the drainage hole and keep the akadama in.
Anyway, after I got the tree settled into the pot, I watered the akadama thoroughly until I saw water dripping from the drainage hole. I then left it on my back porch where it gets a healthy amount of sun in the morning and early afternoon (which seemed to do fine for it all summer and winter). I checked on it everyday and watered it when the soil became dry (which took a couple days after the initial watering). I did not fertilize until about a week or two after I transplanted it.
It appeared to be improving for awhile, but then one day I noticed webbing all over the tree and patches of yellow. I figured it was spider mites so I made a do-it-yourself insecticide. It was 1 part 70% rubbing alcohol, 3 parts water, and a drop of Canola oil (to help it stick to the leaves). I then sprayed the leaves down every other day or so.
While this certainly took care of the spider mites, it did not improve the yellowing. Distraught, I thought it might have a vitamin deficiency and began supplementing it with water mixed with a few granules of Epsom salt. That still didn't work.
So now it's been a month and as you can see from the video it is looking pretty bad. There are some parts where it remains green, but not much. The other day I trimmed off some of the branches to maybe give the roots a break. I also scrapped the bark and found it to be white underneath, so I'm not sure what that means.
In general, I keep it watered with a spray bottle. Since I do not just dump the water on the soil, it takes longer for the water to reach the roots (so I have to water more often than most, I think). I use a chopstick or dig my finger into the soil to check if it's damp. I fertilize it using a general houseplant one (it had the closest to the 10-10-10 ratio). That's all though.
I would hope I can still save this tree, but if not, hopefully I can learn something from this for future bonsai. I hope I provided enough details.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
