Green Substance In Juniper Training

[nurvbonsai]

Can anyone tell me what is the green substance starting to grow? I just watered it this morning, daily.

 

[AshleyMammal]

That juniper is a million percent too wet.

Is it kept outside? What soil is it in?

 

[nurvbonsai]

Yes, it’s keep

That juniper is a million percent too wet.

Is it kept outside? What soil is it in it?

That juniper is a million percent too wet.

Is it kept outside? What soil is it in?

it’s kept outside. I just watered it this morning. I’ve gone from every day daily to every other day when it appeared to need watering.

it’s kept outside. I just watered it this morning. I’ve gone from every day daily to every other day when it appeared to need watering in the fall. I procured it earlier this year.

It’s in organic soil right now as that is how it came. Come spring time I was planning to put it in a pond basket with more soil to encourage the trunk to grow and thicken.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Algae can only thrive in wet conditions, and what I'm seeing is algal growth.
That means the soil is wet, not moist or damp, but wet.
Adjust your watering to the point where it's moist or damp most of the times, and it will do just fine in that soil for another 10 years.

The algae should also disappear if the soil is allowed to dry a bit more.
I would get rid of the saucer, it's a wind catcher and your plant doesn't need it. If you want to dunk your pots, that's cool! I'd use a bucket of rain water for that.

 

[nurvbonsai]

Algae can only thrive in wet conditions, and what I'm seeing is algal growth.
That means the soil is wet, not moist or damp, but wet.
Adjust your watering to the point where it's moist or damp most of the times, and it will do just fine in that soil for another 10 years.

The algae should also disappear if the soil is allowed to dry a bit more.
I would get rid of the saucer, it's a wind catcher and your plant doesn't need it. If you want to dunk your pots, that's cool! I'd use a bucket of rain water for that.

I have been dunking in a cooking pot of faucet water as it’s most of what I have access to. For approx 30 seconds, but I can adjust that accordingly. Somewhere I thought I read to pull it out after the bubbles started to dissipate. Thanks for responding.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I keep mine submerged for a bit longer a couple times every summer. About an hour or so. That flushes out the critters sometimes.
But during the fall and winter, I hardly ever do any watering. The rain gets most of my plants what they need.

In the mean time, you could in theory expand the root zone by placing the plant inside a bigger pot with a similar substrate. The fact that the substrate is similar, will help spread out water throughout the soil more easily. Giving gravity more pull (since it's a larger connected body of water) and leaving more space for evaporation. That's a repot, in practice, but the plant shouldn't notice this in a dormant period. Then in spring, you can do the actual work and get it in better soil that better fits your watering.

 

[Shibui]

The green is almost certainly algae which is not harmful in itself but means the others are correct and the soil is staying too wet which can be a problem longer term.
When deciding whether to water it's not just the soil surface you need to consider. The surface can dry out in just a few minutes but there's still plenty of water deeper in the pot. Try checking a little deeper in the soil when looking at soil moisture or try a wood skewer as a soil moisture meter. Leave it poked deep in the soil and pull it out each day to check for deep moisture.

I can see that a lot of soil has been washed out of the pot leaving a lot of small roots exposed. There's no problem topping the soil level up any time if this happens. The extra soil will protect the roots from sun and from drying out too much.
You mention the tree lives outside but how much direct sun does it get each day? Algae don't usually thrive in good sun but tend to take off in shady conditions.

 

[nurvbonsai]

The green is almost certainly algae which is not harmful in itself but means the others are correct and the soil is staying too wet which can be a problem longer term.
When deciding whether to water it's not just the soil surface you need to consider. The surface can dry out in just a few minutes but there's still plenty of water deeper in the pot. Try checking a little deeper in the soil when looking at soil moisture or try a wood skewer as a soil moisture meter. Leave it poked deep in the soil and pull it out each day to check for deep moisture.

I can see that a lot of soil has been washed out of the pot leaving a lot of small roots exposed. There's no problem topping the soil level up any time if this happens. The extra soil will protect the roots from sun and from drying out too much.
You mention the tree lives outside but how much direct sun does it get each day? Algae don't usually thrive in good sun but tend to take off in shady conditions.

My best sun will be around 8a-12 as it passes over my balcony about mid day. It’s why I’ve gotten into the habit of sticking the pot on the other side of the railing as to catch those rays.

Today is the first day that I have to leave all day for the next few several months so I hope it can live there and be happy. I just worry about it falling off or some other kind of animal grabbing it.

 

[rockm]

That green stuff is algae and slime mold. Both indicators you're keeping your tree in a swamp. It will die if that continues. Stop immersion watering--that keeps the soil too saturated. get it out of that tub. Allow the soil to drain. Educate yourself on proper watering (from above WHEN THE TREE NEEDS IT). Watering is the most difficult thing to learn in bonsai. Junipers like things on the drier side. The soil should dry down at least an inch or two into the soil from the top. Look up "chopstick" and watering, which can help gauge the need.

 

[nurvbonsai]

I thought that I had as the inch on the top had been just dry during the summer. Now that it’s the fall I will try and adjust. Thank you.