Bonsai Rescued!

[JukeBoxGuy]

So I found this little guy by the curb with the trash and brought the little fellow home.
I think it's a Juniper and seems mostly healthy. I think it's potted entirely in gravel. Right now it's living in my bedroom window which has a western exposure and plenty of sunlight.
Now, I read that this type of bonsai needs to experience the change of seasons and that's a problem here in South Florida. It rarely gets below 70°F and then only for a few days a year.
Any advice on keeping this tree alive? Newbie here!

 

[Srt8madness]

Get it outside asap, this isn't an indoor tree. Amazing someone would just toss that.

 

[Srt8madness]

Scrape some of that graves crap off the top to reveal the dirt underneath. Don't read non bonsai focused blogs on bonsai care (i.e. wikihow, sf gate, random AI how-to", they're almost certainly wrong. Forums, bonsai focused blogs, even reddit to some extent, are good sources of info. Forums being the most personal.

It is a needle juniper.

 

[JukeBoxGuy]

Get it outside asap, this isn't an indoor tree. Amazing someone would just toss that.

Will it be alright out in the 100° heat of the summer?

 

[JukeBoxGuy]

Scrape some of that graves crap off the top to reveal the dirt underneath. Don't read non bonsai focused blogs on bonsai care (i.e. wikihow, sf gate, random AI how-to", they're almost certainly wrong. Forums, bonsai focused blogs, even reddit to some extent, are good sources of info. Forums being the most personal.

It is a needle juniper.

I've tried scraping. One inch down and still gravel...

 

[pablo]

It’s definitely a Juniper. This will need tons of sunlight. As for or the summer, yes it will easily survive 100 degree weather with proper care. In my climate we get 115 degree weather and junipers do just fine, we just have to move them to some shade after getting enough of that sunlight on the first half of the day. Do you have a place to put it outside? It will die indoors for sure.

 

[RKatzin]

Two things in your post that caught my eye. It seems mostly healthy and it's planted in gravel.
Yes it is and it seems to be doing fine. Doesn't look like what I use, which is pumice, looks like aquarium gravel, but the tree looks good. Can't argue with that. I'm not even sure that you can't keep it indoors because indoors in S. Florida is way different than indoors in SW Oregon.
I can't imagine why it was in the trash. Did you pinch it to make sure it's real?

 

[Orion_metalhead]

1. Outside immediately in partial sun. Transition to full sun location over course of a month or so, increasing daily sunlight every two weeks or so.

2. When you water, does water drain out the bottom of the pot. It should.drain freely.

Send close ups of the soil surface.

I may consider a treatment of neem oil as a precaution against pests.

 

[We're all Mad Here...🎩]

Is it one of those glued top rock ordeals? Almost as useful as big box gluing rubber flowers and eyes on cacti...but I agree, don't let it torch in the sun, figure out soil and drainage situation, and keep it alive. Nice rescue.

 

[Shibui]

Many bonsai growers have moved to fully inorganic potting soil. We also find that larger particle size helps reduce the problem of root rot which is associated with wet soil so I'm not surprised that you think it's planted in gravel. As @RKatzin pointed out, the tree is doing well which implies that the soil mix is good. You'll just have to work out how to match watering to the rapid drainage of the 'gravel'
Outside in 100F is no problem for a juniper provided you can maintain water for the roots. That will probably mean thorough watering twice a day through hot weather, maybe a bit less in cooler times.
Junipers don't need the same change of season that deciduous need so it should be OK in Florida.
Outside is a must for juniper. They don't live long as indoor plants.

I can't imagine why it was in the trash. Did you pinch it to make sure it's real?

Maybe the original owner pissed of his/her partner so the tree went to trash in revenge.
Another possibility: Just purchased this great bonsai. Unloaded the car out front and put it down for just a moment while I took the icecream into the freezer. Came back and it's gone!


@JukeBoxGuy Can you take another photo with something for scale please. That trunk looks quite chunky but it's hard to judge just from a photo with nothing to show relative sizes.

 

[rockm]

I'm a little hesitant to ask, but is this tree alive? To me it looks like one of those freeze/dried bonsai that are sold as home decor. The foliage and trunk color are "off" to me. The glued on rocks look impermeable to water and the pot is kind of odd.

Freeze dried bonsai, or "preserved" bonsai look very real because they are real trees, just dead and embalmed by the freeze drying process.

Preserved Bonsai Trees

Bonsai literally means: planted in a container. Bonsai is an ancient Japanese technique of crafting miniature plants in a container identical to larger grown plants, using all its natural elements. Typically a bonsai tree requires years of care and crafting. So naturally, plant lovers and...

www.preservednature.com

 

[Srt8madness]

I'm a little hesitant to ask, but is this tree alive? To me it looks like one of those freeze/dried bonsai that are sold as home decor. The foliage and trunk color are "off" to me. The glued on rocks look impermeable to water and the pot is kind of odd.

Freeze dried bonsai, or "preserved" bonsai look very real because they are real trees, just dead and embalmed by the freeze drying process.

Preserved Bonsai Trees

Bonsai literally means: planted in a container. Bonsai is an ancient Japanese technique of crafting miniature plants in a container identical to larger grown plants, using all its natural elements. Typically a bonsai tree requires years of care and crafting. So naturally, plant lovers and...

www.preservednature.com

Hmm, interesting. How would you know, scratch test?

 

[rockm]

Hmm, interesting. How would you know, scratch test?

That should work, although the process may have preserved the green color of the cambium. I'd try to lift the plant out of the pot and see if there is actual dirt and roots under the glued on rocks.

 

[gooeytek]

I'm a little hesitant to ask, but is this tree alive? To me it looks like one of those freeze/dried bonsai that are sold as home decor. The foliage and trunk color are "off" to me. The glued on rocks look impermeable to water and the pot is kind of odd.

Freeze dried bonsai, or "preserved" bonsai look very real because they are real trees, just dead and embalmed by the freeze drying process.

Preserved Bonsai Trees

Bonsai literally means: planted in a container. Bonsai is an ancient Japanese technique of crafting miniature plants in a container identical to larger grown plants, using all its natural elements. Typically a bonsai tree requires years of care and crafting. So naturally, plant lovers and...

www.preservednature.com

good call!

 

[jradics]

So I found this little guy by the curb with the trash and brought the little fellow home. View attachment 542403
I think it's a Juniper and seems mostly healthy. I think it's potted entirely in gravel. Right now it's living in my bedroom window which has a western exposure and plenty of sunlight.
Now, I read that this type of bonsai needs to experience the change of seasons and that's a problem here in South Florida. It rarely gets below 70°F and then only for a few days a year.
Any advice on keeping this tree alive? Newbie here!

WE ARE ALL DYING TO KNOW....IS IT A LIVE TREE?

 

[Mad Tabby]

I'm a little hesitant to ask, but is this tree alive? To me it looks like one of those freeze/dried bonsai that are sold as home decor. The foliage and trunk color are "off" to me. The glued on rocks look impermeable to water and the pot is kind of odd.

Freeze dried bonsai, or "preserved" bonsai look very real because they are real trees, just dead and embalmed by the freeze drying process.

I have never heard of this. What will they think of next!

 

[Shibui]

And so.....
Is it a tree or an ex-tree?
The former you'll need to water and feed. The latter just needs occasional dusting.

 

[penumbra]

Waiting with baited breath.

 

[We're all Mad Here...🎩]

And so.....
Is it a tree or an ex-tree?
The former you'll need to water and feed. The latter just needs occasional dusting.

OP never came back to the forum after the day they posted.

 

[rockm]

I have never heard of this. What will they think of next!

The process has been around forever. It's just being applied to stuff for the first time (deceased pets are another market for the process, )"Preserved" bonsai are pretty common. Do a search on amazon, ebay, etsy and you can come up with hundreds of examples and companies that sell preserved bonsai mostly to the novelty and home decor markets. Some of the examples are quite good as far as bonsai esthetics go, some are awful, but all are dead.