Newbie, needs help about soil of a Juniper in nursery pot

[restlesswanderer]

Happy new year to eveyone! I got interested in bonsai art and culture recently and was gifted with a tree. For information, I locate in Istanbul and the tree is probably a chinese juniper bought from a local bonsai shop. I keep it in a balcony, which is as close as I can get to outdoor conditions. Temperatures are between 6-12 degrees celcius night/day. I guess tree is quite healthy, but when I check the soil, it’s really dense, I can’t even poke it with my finger. Might be due to shipping but I’m not sure. There are roots coming out of surface and some from the drainage holes on bottom of the pot. It must have been sitting in this pot for some time but I’m not sure. I was planning to repot to a better soil in early spring but today I tried to water it a little to see the drainage, the water just stayed on surface for around 5 minutes until it got soaked by soil. Soil got a little softer after it soaked the water tho. I got worried because I heard that junipers get root rot easlily. So, should I take any immediate action about the soil? Or can it survive until early spring, like 2 months? Also, I plan to keep it in nursery pot for a little more, what kind of soil mix should I use when I repot into another nursery pot? I’m adding pictures of the trunk and surface of the soil, also a picture of the tree.



 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

You don't need to take immediate action.
The pot is full of active roots and that's a good sign.
One thing that's super important for bonsai, as well as other plant hobbies, is to learn how to water according to your plants' and soil needs.
This is organic soil, so you don't have to water often but you will have to water thoroughly; and that might take a two-step approach if the soil is very dry. A two step approach would be to water once to make the soil re-absorbent and about an hour later water again for the actual watering.

A pot full of roots is not a problem either UNLESS the plant is declining in health. Which it isn't. So there's not even a need for a repot in that sense. However, I'm fine with agreeing that some people just love repotting and that it's one of those things that are a good step forward in most cases. So go ahead in spring!

I stand by the point that there is no bad soil, there's only bad watering habits. If we would water an organic soil as we would water an inorganic bonsai soil (daily or more in the summer) then it's not the soil that kills the plant, but the watering habit.

 

[restlesswanderer]

Thanks a lot! That’s a relief, as I was worried. I will definitely try to learn more about watering. Also, I would appreciate any in-depth informational material recommendations, especially books.

 

[HorseloverFat]

@Wires_Guy_wires covered the analysis well...

As far as. ..Also, I would appreciate any in-depth informational material recommendations, especially books. ...goes.

I recommend MANY points/sources of information saturation...

Reading through posts here is a decent source! Tons of info flying around.

All of my 'beginner books" were "Penzai/Penjing"-based... So someone else may be able to provide a more relevant "Starter Bonsai Book List"..
We can talk more specific books once you have a solid base.

YouTube CAN contain decent content...

I highly recommend the Channel "Growing Bonsai By Jelle"... It's like the 'best of a worlds' when it comes to TinyTree channels.

Also, Al ( @Smoke ) has a tremendous log of archived information in his old blog. This is one of my personal MOST recommended, to others, resources. (Lots to dig through and absorb)

California Bonsai Art

............ Live from the Bonsai Bunker

bonsaial.wordpress.com

Al?

Do you have a current blog?... Or am I just poor at navigating?

 

[eugenev2]

To add on to all the above information. Learning the watering habit is key, but if you are concerned that the water doesn't penetrate throughout the root ball, bottom up watering my help with this. Ie place the pot in a deep bucket or tub that is filled to almost height of the pot (about a 1cm from the rim of the pot is a good benchmark) and leave until water starts percolating to the top of the soil.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Thanks a lot! That’s a relief, as I was worried. I will definitely try to learn more about watering. Also, I would appreciate any in-depth informational material recommendations, especially books.

Well, for one it helps to put your estimate location somewhere in your profile, so you can get adequate help from the rest of us.
As for the in-depth information, let me tell you up front that I have never ever found a complete guide that was fully complete on any plant species. Maybe Brian van Fleet's book on japanese black pines comes pretty close. There's always a teenie tiny bit missing, for instance there are hundreds of videos that make use of raffia in bending big branches, but only a hand full explain how to apply raffia well and most of those videos don't do extreme bends at all.
My best advice is to learn more about plants in general. Once you understand the horticultural and physiological side of things, the rest like design and repotting and wiring and bending and stuff, is all mechanical.

 

[restlesswanderer]

@Wires_Guy_wires covered the analysis well...

As far as. ..Also, I would appreciate any in-depth informational material recommendations, especially books. ...goes.

I recommend MANY points/sources of information saturation...

Reading through posts here is a decent source! Tons of info flying around.

All of my 'beginner books" were "Penzai/Penjing"-based... So someone else may be able to provide a more relevant "Starter Bonsai Book List"..
We can talk more specific books once you have a solid base.

YouTube CAN contain decent content...

I highly recommend the Channel "Growing Bonsai By Jelle"... It's like the 'best of a worlds' when it comes to TinyTree channels.

Also, Al ( @Smoke ) has a tremendous log of archived information in his old blog. This is one of my personal MOST recommended, to others, resources. (Lots to dig through and absorb)

California Bonsai Art

............ Live from the Bonsai Bunker

bonsaial.wordpress.com

Al?

Do you have a current blog?... Or am I just poor at navigating?

Thanks a lot, I will dive deep into them!

 

[restlesswanderer]

Well, for one it helps to put your estimate location somewhere in your profile, so you can get adequate help from the rest of us.
As for the in-depth information, let me tell you up front that I have never ever found a complete guide that was fully complete on any plant species. Maybe Brian van Fleet's book on japanese black pines comes pretty close. There's always a teenie tiny bit missing, for instance there are hundreds of videos that make use of raffia in bending big branches, but only a hand full explain how to apply raffia well and most of those videos don't do extreme bends at all.
My best advice is to learn more about plants in general. Once you understand the horticultural and physiological side of things, the rest like design and repotting and wiring and bending and stuff, is all mechanical.

Thanks, just added my location, and gonna dive into the resources recommended, there are really good ones, thanks to helpful community ^^ and yeah my main goal is to keep my tree alive at the first place, probably not gonna touch it for quite some time regarding design aspect…

 

[restlesswanderer]

To add on to all the above information. Learning the watering habit is key, but if you are concerned that the water doesn't penetrate throughout the root ball, bottom up watering my help with this. Ie place the pot in a deep bucket or tub that is filled to almost height of the pot (about a 1cm from the rim of the pot is a good benchmark) and leave until water starts percolating to the top of the soil.

Thanks, I will try that, but I’m probably over-anxious about turning it into a mud ball and getting root rot, I hope its not that easy to happen

 

[HorseloverFat]

Thanks, I will try that, but I’m probably over-anxious about turning it into a mud ball and getting root rot, I hope its not that easy to happen

Learning to water, correctly, as @Wires_Guy_wires said, will help a lot in this field.

The problem is... It's not an easy lesson to learn...

It look me almost three years to learn how to water containerized trees/shrubs/plants efficiently...

And I gardened for YEARS prior to venturing into TinyTrees...

...now my garden is better... Knowledge acts as a liquid.

...and


Taanishi, que tal, and hello!

Pleasure to make your acquaintance!

 

[eugenev2]

Thanks, I will try that, but I’m probably over-anxious about turning it into a mud ball and getting root rot, I hope its not that easy to happen

You can get a moisture meter if you are very anxious, but i wouldn't suggest to skimp on this as the cheaper offerings don't work that well and in my opinion you don't learn to know your tree if you rely on this, but i will help with the anxiety. Using the chopstick trick is a useful tool to learn when to water and you will still learn the signs of when to water.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Using the chopstick trick is a useful tool to learn when to water and you will still learn the signs of when to water.

This one is fool proof. Moisture meters can be off by miles, and they don't work very well in inorganic soils.