Would love some advice...

[ConorDash]

@Mooster, that video certainly takes me through the looking glass. I think I have a while yet to go before I attempt "fairy tale style" as depicted in the video.

"Through the looking glass". That wasn't a pun on the fairy tale, Alice Through the Looking Glass?

 

[Moonster]

@Mooster, that video certainly takes me through the looking glass. I think I have a while yet to go before I attempt "fairy tale style" as depicted in the video.

same here, just thought it was good insight and a good reminder that we are trying to make art, and one of the main part of being artist is learning the rules and then learning how to break and ignore the rules

 

[rockm]

I have a follow-on question... I had *hoped* that this little tree could be kept inside (if I supplied the right environment). It will have window access for indirect bright sunlight, along with augmented sunlight from the attached lamp. do you feel that won't be sufficient and that I really should find a spot outside? Unfortunately, I don't have a great patio option... so if having the little guy outside is the only option, I'll need to come up with a plan. It's currently 95-105 F degrees where I live during the day; I know junipers are hearty, but should I still consider the plant delicate given the recent pruning/wiring? Let me know what you think. Thanks again for all the GREAT advice so far!!

View attachment 110326

No, you can't keep it inside. No, indirect light from a window inside augmented with a lamp won't provide nearly enough light for it. No, you can't provide an adequate environment for it inside, unless you invest in a dedicated room, humidifier, halogen lighting fixtures, etc. All that is going to cost 400 x what the tree is worth and you will STILL have issues with it inside.

Yes, you should find a spot for it outside. Definitely come up with a plan to do so. Juniper withstand 100+ temperatures all the time, everyday. Look outside, how many junipers do you see? Pruning, a pot and being owned by someone doesn't transform a juniper into a delicate hothouse plant. It remains a hardy, tough tree, unless it is kept inside with very little light and overwatered and worried over.

Blunt, but there it is.

If you can't keep it inside, but want an "indoor" tree, get a ficus, schefflera or other tropical-origin species to work with. They can better tolerate indoor conditions.

 

[WSting]

Remember also that you are in a cooler summer situation that WSting is in Utah...

that's the rub, JudyB... I live in a VERY dry (generally 5-15% humidity), VERY hot (peak temp per day is usually triple digits for the next 2 months) climate this time of year. I don't want to cook my new tree.

 

[WSting]

Blunt, but there it is.

I don't fear candor/bluntness and I really appreciate the knowledge that this group appears to have. I have already purchased a ficus (see example pic below) and will try to do with it what I had originally planned inside. The juniper will have an outdoor spot soon enough. Having 2 will give me a chance to hone my outdoor and indoor fledgling bonsai skills.

 

[ConorDash]

I don't fear candor/bluntness and I really appreciate the knowledge that this group appears to have. I have already purchased a ficus (see example pic below) and will try to do with it what I had originally planned inside. The juniper will have an outdoor spot soon enough. Having 2 will give me a chance to hone my outdoor and indoor fledgling bonsai skills.

View attachment 110338

"group appears to have" appears, being the key word here...

Im interested to see peoples opinions on that ficus, if that example pics looks the same as the one you bought. As its the same shape as my Chinese Elm is . Accentuated S shape curve trunk.

 

[rockm]

that's the rub, JudyB... I live in a VERY dry (generally 5-15% humidity), VERY hot (peak temp per day is usually triple digits for the next 2 months) climate this time of year. I don't want to cook my new tree.

Any hotter than this? Death valley junipers

 

[WSting]

Any hotter than this? Death valley junipers

touche, rockm

 

[ConorDash]

Any hotter than this? Death valley junipers
View attachment 110339

Its a good point, but isn't a fully grown, very well established, ground planted juniper a lot stronger to resist such temperatures than a fairly young and new tree, such as WSting's?
I know they are all trees, its what they do, survive the temperatures given to them. Having read many of your posts, its certainly a point you hammer home , but is there not a point to be made for younger, potted trees being weaker to the elements than well estalished, older, ground grown trees?

 

[rockm]

Its a good point, but isn't a fully grown, very well established, ground planted juniper a lot stronger to resist such temperatures than a fairly young and new tree, such as WSting's?
I know they are all trees, its what they do, survive the temperatures given to them. Having read many of your posts, its certainly a point you hammer home , but is there not a point to be made for younger, potted trees being weaker to the elements than well estalished, older, ground grown trees?

No. Younger trees, like younger people, are BETTER able to withstand and recover from more adverse conditions.

Of course ground planted trees are more weather resistant, and trees native to extreme climates are acclimated to those locations, but putting any juniper in a pot doesn't take away its genetic capabilities and make it a houseplant. I posted the pic to show that junipers are an extremely tough group of trees--even those from less extreme climates. The lowly ground juniper that you think can't withstand a stiff breeze ;-) is more than capable of being outside in Utah. Junipers, like most conifers, are built to handle extremes. Juniper foliage is narrow and coated with a waxy sheath to prevent moisture loss. They transpire slowly and are conservative in growth and grow in extremely poor soils. They're also drought tolerant and can limit or shut off their growth, in hard times.

Coddling your bonsai gets you a dead tree. FWIW, indoor humidity level with forced air is almost what it is in a desert and light levels inside usually are about equal to a cave. You're doing your trees no favors by keeping them inside. I hammer this point because it is one of the top reasons new bonsaists fail. They then think they're unable to grow bonsai and give up. It's not them, really, it's their assumption--which has roots in some cultural misconception about Asian stuff being delicate.

 

[ConorDash]

No. Younger trees, like younger people, are BETTER able to withstand and recover from more adverse conditions.

Of course ground planted trees are more weather resistant, and trees native to extreme climates are acclimated to those locations, but putting any juniper in a pot doesn't take away its genetic capabilities and make it a houseplant. I posted the pic to show that junipers are an extremely tough group of trees--even those from less extreme climates. The lowly ground juniper that you think can't withstand a stiff breeze ;-) is more than capable of being outside in Utah. Junipers, like most conifers, are built to handle extremes. Juniper foliage is narrow and coated with a waxy sheath to prevent moisture loss. They transpire slowly and are conservative in growth and grow in extremely poor soils. They're also drought tolerant and can limit or shut off their growth, in hard times.

Coddling your bonsai gets you a dead tree. FWIW, indoor humidity level with forced air is almost what it is in a desert and light levels inside usually are about equal to a cave. You're doing your trees no favors by keeping them inside. I hammer this point because it is one of the top reasons new bonsaists fail. They then think they're unable to grow bonsai and give up. It's not them, really, it's their assumption--which has roots in some cultural misconception about Asian stuff being delicate.

Good to know about young trees.
I hope my comment about hammering home didn't come off in bad taste, I completely agree. Well, I agree now after learning to. If thats one thing your posts have taught me, its that! Its a very good point

 

[rockm]

Good to know about young trees.
I hope my comment about hammering home didn't come off in bad taste, I completely agree. Well, I agree now after learning to. If thats one thing your posts have taught me, its that! Its a very good point

No. Not at all.

 

[Adair M]

Junipers love sun.

Partial shade won't kill them.

Full shade, or being indoors, will.

Utah is full of many native junipers that make superior bonsai. Everyone of them live outside, in full sun, 24/7/365.

 

[Daluke]

Junipers love sun.

Partial shade won't kill them.

Full shade, or being indoors, will.

Utah is full of many native junipers that make superior bonsai. Everyone of them live outside, in full sun, 24/7/365.

Who repots them?

 

[Adair M]

Who repots them?

Obviously a rhetorical question...

You're trying to make the point they need protection after a repotting? Right?

No.

Not if you know how to repot properly.

I never put my pines, nor my junipers, in anything other than full sun, ever. Yes, I repot them in the shade, as I work on them, but as soon as I'm done, they go out in the full sun, and then I water them.

 

[jomawa]

Its a good point, but isn't a fully grown, very well established, ground planted juniper a lot stronger to resist such temperatures than a fairly young and new tree, such as WSting's?
I know they are all trees, its what they do, survive the temperatures given to them. Having read many of your posts, its certainly a point you hammer home , but is there not a point to be made for younger, potted trees being weaker to the elements than well estalished, older, ground grown trees?

Thus, seemingly the purpose as mentioned to acclimate the tree to the outdoors.

 

[Daluke]

Obviously a rhetorical question...

You're trying to make the point they need protection after a repotting? Right?

No.

Not if you know how to repot properly.

I never put my pines, nor my junipers, in anything other than full sun, ever. Yes, I repot them in the shade, as I work on them, but as soon as I'm done, they go out in the full sun, and then I water them.

I was trying to be funny. I failed

I put every Juniper and Pine of mine in full sun too. I know a guy that grows his trees on his rooftop - that's how important it is.

Even newly repotted trees.

I also water and feed heavily.

Some trees are in water trays too.

Cuttings of Junipers on the other hand stay in partial shade.

 

[Adair M]

No worries.

 

[WSting]

Just a quick note that I've found a semi-shaded location for my juniper and it's spending its first night outside at my home. Thanks again for all the great advice.

 

[Adair M]

It's ok to be in a semi-shaded place at night.

During the day, it's best in full sun!