Recent retiree new to bonsai

[jimur]

Forced in to early retirement due to health, the wife decided I needed something to tend. You guessed it. I've been complaining of boredom recently so being the loving wife, she came home with a bonsai of sorts for me the the other day. Lesson number one, when your warm and happy
keep your mouth shut. At any rate all I know about this is I suspect it is a quite young juniper of some type, and belongs outside. It was purchased from a street peddler who claimed it was about 2 years old, and it should be placed in a window indoors.
It's really kinda cute and I'd sure hate for it to die so am concerned about the approaching winter.
Here in zone 7b the lows will dip into the teens at times but usually more so in the 20's and 30's, and from time to time single digits for a day or two. I'm also not sure of the soil it's in but am afraid to repot this time of year. I also question the feeding tube inserted into the soil. What am I to do at this point? I'd hate for it to die this winter for there's no telling what the wife would bring home next. Any help would be greatly appreciated. It's about 3 1/2" high to the lateral bend and about 6-7" in width of the top. Here are a couple of quick pics.

 

[coppice]

Jim, I can't be totally confident from your photos. My guess is a juniper its the usual mallsai that sells on impulse. If my guess is right, it is a hearty temperate tree. Keeping it indoors will make it your first casualty.

What'cha got is a rooted cutting in a shallow pot.

Better sharper eyes will correct me if I've missed my guess.

Spend the winter here reading. Check out all the bonsai books at your local library. Read them. Most of what you think you know about gardening (is true) but does not apply to the horticultural needs of trees in shallow pots.

 

[John Ruger]

Welcome to the addiction!

Take the feeding tube out.

Keep the juniper outside; it'll die for sure if left inside. Junipers are tough buggers; I really wouldn't worry about the winter as I leave all my junipers outside. Usually they are kept a couple of inches off the ground and near the side of the house, so they don't get hit bad at all.

The only times I bring them in is to protect them from sleet or freezing rain and when I say "in" I mean a unheated, enclosed porch until the weather clears.

If the soil drains well, then leave it alone until late winter or early spring to re-pot it.

There's a ton of info. on this site on juniper care, etc. Take a look at it and I guarantee you'll find answers there as well.

 

[jimur]

Thanks for the replies and the info John and coppice. I'm afraid what I know about gardening I included in my OP. I was pretty sure it belonged outside so that's where it's been. The shallow container had me a little concerned because of colder/freezing temps. I have now removed the feeder as well and can easily move into an unheated garage on coldest of nights if needed. Reading and searching the posts really adds to my interest in Bonsai, but I suppose that's the general idea, huh? There is sure a ton of info here to sort! If I should manage to get this little cutting through the winter, my wife may have just sparked a new interest for my extra time.

 

[stacy allen muse]

????????????

 

[Martin Sweeney]

Jimur,

Welcome to bonsai. Enjoy the new tree, but please do not link it's survival to your future involvement in bonsai. If this tree lives, great! If not, there are lots of fish in the sea.

When you get a chance, go to Brussels Bonsai Nursery in Olive Branch and take a look around. Find out if there is a local club in Memphis and join up.

Regards,
Martin

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Good advice...hit Brussels ASAP, just for a walk around. It is the largest Bonsai nursery in the US. Hacks Cross south to Goodman road/302...go east, turn left on Center Hill Road, and it's a mile up on the left.

I worked in Memphis, almost weekly for several years, and visited the nursery often.

Memphis does have a club. PM me for a contact. Some dear friends, and the past president of the Alabama club lives there now. They're great people and members.

On the tree...if you really need a hobby, you will want to have a few more to keep you busy. There's only so much to do at a time. This is a juniper, procumbens nana, and will be just fine outside all year in Memphis. Plenty of sun. You can repot it next March.

welcome.
BVF

 

[C.A. Young]

Yes that's a juniper, and if my eyes aren't deceiving me, it's a japanese garden juniper, or juniperus procumbens. This is a zone 4 tree, and if you follow my usual rule of adding two to the zone hardiness for bonsai, you get that this tree will safely survive outdoors in zone 6 and higher. So, no worries there. The problem with these junipers is that they tend to wind burn in winter. A slight bronzing is unavoidable, but you'd be well advised to put it in a location that is sheltered from heavy winds. You're right to be apprehensive about repotting now, wait until March, and be gentle.

My bad, everything useful I just said was said in the previous post. Sorry

 

[jkd2572]

Thank god you discovered this hobby. You will never be bored again. You have what I wish I did. The opportunity o devote your time to a hobby. Good luck and hang around here.

 

[JudyB]

Welcome to the forum, there is a large learning curve to bonsai, but if you have patience and love trees, it is a very fulfilling practice.

 

[jimur]

Wow, thanks for all the info and encouragement! After checking the Brussels web site, I'm eager to check it out in person perhaps as early as this week end. I'll check to see if they're open Saturdays. Maybe I'll get to spend some of the kids' inheritance after all. I want to make a trip to the library as well since my "brown thumb" is beginning to throb a little from the beginning twinges of bonsai interest. In the mean time, I'll check out some more of the posts here. There seems to be such a wealth of info.
Thanks again everyone.

 

[jkd2572]

I have three trees from Brussels. They have great stuff. All mine came through the mail. I only can dream about being there in person. You have a great resource enjoy.

 

[coppice]

Trees in shallow pots need what they need, it-they often do not listen to your encouragement. Likewise they are deaf to our entreaty or epithet.

If you stay with bonsai your gonna learn how to pick yourself back up.

I'm also going to encourage you to read and window shop. Find out where the local arboratums are.

The closer you adhere to starting things in their season the sooner you'll get past killing the beginings of your collection.

The blunt "Don't do that", that the next tree whisperer tells you came at the cost of a lot of dead trees.

If you absolutely gotta start adding to your collection, limit yourself to discarded shrubs and trees on the curb, on trash day.

Um, there are more 'better' trees in photo series here that began as this kind of orphan.

 

[jimur]

Trees in shallow pots need what they need, it-they often do not listen to your encouragement. Likewise they are deaf to our entreaty or epithet.

If you stay with bonsai your gonna learn how to pick yourself back up.

I'm also going to encourage you to read and window shop. Find out where the local arboratums are.

The closer you adhere to starting things in their season the sooner you'll get past killing the beginings of your collection.

The blunt "Don't do that", that the next tree whisperer tells you came at the cost of a lot of dead trees.

If you absolutely gotta start adding to your collection, limit yourself to discarded shrubs and trees on the curb, on trash day.

Um, there are more 'better' trees in photo series here that began as this kind of orphan.

Actually I think I would prefer the discarded shrubs approach along with the possibility of wild collected small and or scrub specimens. Especially in consideration of my lack of knowledge and experience. I have access to a couple hundred acres of woodland with a couple of abandoned home sites which might be good for a "dig your own" venture as well. It would seem now would be a fair time to start such a process. I should be able to dig it, pot it to a larger pot of sorts say up to about 5 gals. and even a little upper pruning over winter to begin shaping. Should I find a really good prospect I could begin prepping it in place for a later move. I may not get anything to work with right away, but hey, I could use the exercise of walking and looking anyway. Not sure how the environmentalists might feel about it, but it seems to make sense to me.

 

[JudyB]

I don't know your area well, but this is the wrong time of year to dig in most places. You should read up over winter, about how and when to collect, and most of all, proper after care. Most trees are collected just before bud break in the spring. No sense in spending all that energy digging up a tree that will just die...
This is a good time to check out nurseries for year end sales, some real bargains there.

 

[jimur]

I don't know your area well, but this is the wrong time of year to dig in most places. You should read up over winter, about how and when to collect, and most of all, proper after care. Most trees are collected just before bud break in the spring. No sense in spending all that energy digging up a tree that will just die...
This is a good time to check out nurseries for year end sales, some real bargains there.

Just goes to show you I'm truthful about not being a gardener. Figured for sure you could dig a tree this time of year as long as the ground wasn't frozen. A case of desires exceeding knowledge. Guess I'll just read all winter. Heck, I was doing that before she brought this thing to me.

 

[coppice]

A pocket full of bright pink yarn pieces to tie onto to trees you *think* aught to be good bonsai candidates; and enough walk-about in your property to use up your yarn pieces. And then a Janurary and Feburary worth of reading.

With a fresh walk about in the spring to re-examine your candidates in March may surprise you.

The more you do this kind of measure twice, and cut once. The better your ride will be.

Besides, you needed the exersise anyway.

 

[jimur]

A pocket full of bright pink yarn pieces to tie onto to trees you *think* aught to be good bonsai candidates; and enough walk-about in your property to use up your yarn pieces. And then a Janurary and Feburary worth of reading.

With a fresh walk about in the spring to re-examine your candidates in March may surprise you.

The more you do this kind of measure twice, and cut once. The better your ride will be.

Besides, you needed the exersise anyway.

This entire venture is really rather comical for me. I'm sure most of my friends would be shocked. It seems, over the years, I've developed more an "image" of being a man's man among them.
Now I must confront the same with artistic little trees, cute miniature containers, and 200 acres of trees banded with pink yarn? Oh the woes of early retirement.

 

[fore]

Wow, thanks for all the info and encouragement! After checking the Brussels web site, I'm eager to check it out in person perhaps as early as this week end. I'll check to see if they're open Saturdays. Maybe I'll get to spend some of the kids' inheritance after all. I want to make a trip to the library as well since my "brown thumb" is beginning to throb a little from the beginning twinges of bonsai interest. In the mean time, I'll check out some more of the posts here. There seems to be such a wealth of info.
Thanks again everyone.

I bought a really gorgeous JBP in a 5 or 10 gal container for $500. So you can obtain some really nice stock for not 'too' much money. Better to save for one of these vs. 5 $100 trees though I agree, maybe you should start on some 'beginners' trees to learn basic care of living plants. Welcome to the journey!

 

[jimur]

I bought a really gorgeous JBP in a 5 or 10 gal container for $500. So you can obtain some really nice stock for not 'too' much money. Better to save for one of these vs. 5 $100 trees though I agree, maybe you should start on some 'beginners' trees to learn basic care of living plants. Welcome to the journey!

Rest assured, I may be overly eager but I'm no idiot. It will be a while before I spend $100 for a beginner bonsai, let alone $500+.