New poster, novice trees.

[Skinnygoomba]

Hi,

My trees have far more experience in bonsai than I do at this point, so I would like to introduce myself and say that I'm a proud owner but have little to no idea what I'm doing. I am your clay to mold, so to speak.

Juniper:

Plum:

Those shots are at the nursery, so I will update with new photos once I have a spare moment to do so.

So far I have pinched a bit of new growth off of the juniper, along with giving the small branch to the right a little more of an N shape to it. I bought some fertilizer (12-4-6) and have been watering both every time they start to dry out (daily at this time of year). I have done nothing in the way of pruning with the plum.

I have a place to protect the plum in the winter, which is in an un-heated garage) and was advised to move it there when the temperature falls below 30. I presume that I will be trimming the roots this coming early spring.

I have some tools on the way from Hida Tool, where I get my regular gardening tools.

 

[M. Frary]

Welcome Skinnygoomba are you from jersey? Or a fan of the Sopranos?
You're off to a good start looks like. Just how warm is this heated garage? Ideally your trees need a cold rest period. Not freezing but just above would be fine. A lot of people use unheated garages for winter storage. I just leave mine outside protected from wind. Bury them in snow. But I have no plums.
Well I have plums but no plum trees. Couldn't help myself. Sorry?

 

[berobinson82]

Decent little juni you got there. Not so sure I'm stoked about the branch on the right but if that was made into a short jin you have the makings of a semi cascade to the left. Horticulture before art though. And take your time with removing foliage.

Welcome to the nut house. Or should I call it a mad house?

 

[Skinnygoomba]

Cheers fellas, thanks for the warm welcome. Correction; I meant to say un-heated garage, but Apple fixed that for me...

I'm in nj, and while my moniker barely applies, it has stuck with me for a long time. It would likely be appropriate for me to get a bonsai fig tree if such a beast exists.

I am also on the fence about the little branch on the right, but as you suggested I'm taking my time to see if it's something I want to keep in any format.

Ps, sopranos one-four were great, five and six were terrible.

 

[Paradox]

Welcome to B-Nut and the madness.

Please update your profile with your location so we can give you proper advice if you need it along the way.

 

[edprocoat]

Hey skinny ! Your plum looks like the Natal Plum, if that's the case its a tropical and you really should not let it experience temps below 50 degrees.

ed

 

[Skinnygoomba]

I'll certainly fill out the profile.

Ed, with an unheard garage I'm certain it goes below 50, I suppose I could keep the plum in my study all winter which ranges at about 70 degrees but gets little to no light. What do you recommend?

 

[Skinnygoomba]

Wondering if I can trouble you guys for some insight on this. For the Juniper my understanding is that I should be finger pruning the new growth, cleaning out the growth on the main branches and trimming the stuff on the underside to clean up the pad of foliage. Anything I'm missing here?

I have a couple different fertilizers, I will use them every few weeks.

For the plum, I've been following the guidelines of trimming branches that form into three branches by trimming them back to two. I also moved a few crossing branches, but beyond that I'm unsure where, if anywhere I need to prune.

 

[Paradox]

For the juniper: You should go along that main branch/trunk and yes, thin out some of the foliage. You are going to want to develop smaller branches on either side so try to plan for that. Dont leave two smaller branches at the same spot on both sides of the main branch (ie dont leave "T" branches). You want branches on the outside of curves and none on the inside.

If you like the length of the main branch, you can trim the end back to slow its growth. Keep in mind that this will also prevent the trunk from getting bigger if that is what you are trying to do, however it will take a VERY long time for this to happen so you might as well deal with it as it is.

I would also cut that tiny branch on the right coming out from the base. That is not a proper place for a branch and makes the tree look like a young shrub not a tree.

Dont remove too much at once. You can always prune more next year.

As for fertilizer: we are coming into the very hot period of the summer when most trees stop growing for a bit. If you have fed your juniper recently, I would feed it again in the middle of July then I wouldnt feed it until the end of August then feed it again in September and then probably not again until next spring.

The plum I cant really help you with as I dont have any of those but it sounds like you already did some pruning. I wouldnt do any more this year.

 

[Skinnygoomba]

Thanks for your insights. The main branch has actually already been trimmed back by the nursery. I have had mixed feelings about the small branch on the right, so I will likely remove that.

I'll post up another pic once all the pruning is complete.

 

[Skinnygoomba]

Eh, not making out so well here;

Happening recently, from what I've read this can be from over watering?

 

[Skinnygoomba]

Well, not sure exactly what I did to kill my juniper, but at this point I'm certain it's dead. There is one patch of green hanging on.

Hopefully I can gain some insight from this;

I fed the tree once, as mentioned previously. Trimmed the low branches below the trunk that were dangling down, and finger pruned out the new growth.

This tree received afternoon sun and I watered it daily, with exception to when it rained, since it would dry out by dinner time.

The Natal plum is happy happy, so far. I was actually expecting the plum to be more difficult and the juniper to be much easier.

 

[GrimLore]

Well, not sure exactly what I did to kill my juniper, but at this point I'm certain it's dead. There is one patch of green hanging on.

Hopefully I can gain some insight from this;

I fed the tree once, as mentioned previously. Trimmed the low branches below the trunk that were dangling down, and finger pruned out the new growth.

This tree received afternoon sun and I watered it daily, with exception to when it rained, since it would dry out by dinner time.

The Natal plum is happy happy, so far. I was actually expecting the plum to be more difficult and the juniper to be much easier.

Inquire about returning it, most places have some sort of guarantee perhaps even if just a replacement. It sounds like you did everything correct and sometimes you just receive stressed stock. Moving a stressed plant can and does cause death. Junipers are pretty easy to care for the first years if not handled to much and I do not believe you did.

Grimmy

 

[Vance Wood]

Well, not sure exactly what I did to kill my juniper, but at this point I'm certain it's dead. There is one patch of green hanging on.

Hopefully I can gain some insight from this;

I fed the tree once, as mentioned previously. Trimmed the low branches below the trunk that were dangling down, and finger pruned out the new growth.

This tree received afternoon sun and I watered it daily, with exception to when it rained, since it would dry out by dinner time.

The Natal plum is happy happy, so far. I was actually expecting the plum to be more difficult and the juniper to be much easier.

There are a number of things that can kill a Procumbens Juniper, sometimes they are dead before you get them home. Spider mits can do this and fooling around with the branches can break them at the joints and that does not do them well.

 

[Skinnygoomba]

Thanks fellas, that makes me feel a little better as I've been somewhat baffled on this one. I'm bringing it back to the nursery in a week or two on their instruction.

 

[larlamonde]

Thanks fellas, that makes me feel a little better as I've been somewhat baffled on this one. I'm bringing it back to the nursery in a week or two on their instruction.

Yea the tree might have been dying when you purchased. The only thing might be overwatering. Are you letting the soil dry out a little between watering's? I put a chopstick in the soil and check it. If the stick is damp don't water. Procumbins are tough as hell but sometimes they just die for an unexplained reason. Don't sweat it go get another.

 

[GrimLore]

Yea the tree might have been dying when you purchased. The only thing might be overwatering. Are you letting the soil dry out a little between watering's? I put a chopstick in the soil and check it. If the stick is damp don't water. Procumbins are tough as hell but sometimes they just die for an unexplained reason. Don't sweat it go get another.

I bought 5 Junipers to grow from a "Master" not far from me a few years ago that died for no good reason except they were sold before they should have been as they needed more treatment. I tossed them into the fire pit shortly after bringing them home - I am certain they would have made good for it but was in the frame of mind where I could not be bothered. I had FAR more plants then but today I would not hesitate to return them as I have more time... It is a strange market since 2009 with many "growers" here looking for a dollar. That being said they "should" bend a bit to make you happy so do you do not broadcast to others that they "took you"... Sad sometimes but in perspective makes sense

Grimmy

 

[Skinnygoomba]

Yea the tree might have been dying when you purchased. The only thing might be overwatering. Are you letting the soil dry out a little between watering's? I put a chopstick in the soil and check it. If the stick is damp don't water. Procumbins are tough as hell but sometimes they just die for an unexplained reason. Don't sweat it go get another.

I haven't tried the chopstick, but I definetly check below the surface to see if it has dried out before watering. And when I do water I give it a good soaking.

 

[Skinnygoomba]

So, this one is still alive, apparently moving it into a mostly shaded area and cutting back on watering was good for this one.

I picked up two new trees, a dwarf tropical cherry and a Korean Hornbeam.

 

[TN Jim]

Welcome to BNut! There is more information than you can shake a stick at.