Need a little help with this GREENMOUND

[Bearhat9000]

Hey! First time posting on this (or any) bonsai forum. I had a few questions about this greenmound juniper that I bought from a nursery a few months back. When I bought it, the owners had it in a tent to protect it from the frost (I live in Chicago) but by that time it had already warmed up past that point (mid March). I kept the plant outside, and kept it on the same watering regiment I have all my junipers on (water about once a week if it doesn't rain), but as of about a month and a half ago the tips began browning and one of the smaller branches is dying. I've tried to contact the nursery, but with no response, and so I'm wondering what to do from here to keep the tree from dying completely? It gets 6+ hrs of direct sun a day also, and I haven't fertilized it past some slow release ozmocote pellets. Any ideas?

 

[M. Frary]

How tight is the wire holding it to the stake?

 

[Bearhat9000]

not very tight, but I was going to take it off anyway because I don't like the shape of the tree. Do you think it could help?

 

[M. Frary]

Before we go any further we'll need to know where you are located.
It looks like it may have dried out.

 

[Bearhat9000]

chicago, IL

 

[sorce]

What's up feller!

May I ask what nursery?

Seems that thing might be what we call..
Baconized! (Courtesy of Vance Wood)

No worries, I got 4 of those and a couple others.

I think that's why Easter is in Spring,
Bacon and eggs!

If you can make it to the Hidden Gardens, it's worth the trip. Stay with it!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[M. Frary]

Baconized

In other words, dried out.

 

[Bearhat9000]

so just add water?

 

[M. Frary]

I don't know how far gone it is but I would probably water more than once per week. I have pines I collected that are in pure sand. I water those every other day.
It may be too late. Sorry.

 

[Bearhat9000]

Alright, well that's a shame. I cleaned up most of the dried off foliage (some of it was still soft and supple so I'm hopeful). I checked the drainage, and despite being in what appears to be mostly compost the drainage is actually pretty good so I'm going to leave it as is and water every other day to see what happens. So just out of curiosity, what are signs of overwatering in a juniper?

 

[M. Frary]

You need to learn when your plant needs water. Just because someone else says yhey water every day or every third day doesnt mean that your plant should be on the same schedule or any schedule at all for that matter.
Use a chopstick or wooden skewer and poke it down into the soil. Leave there for a while then pull it out. If it is wet don't water. If it is dry ,water the plant.
Over watering looks a lot like under watering. Yellowing of the foliage,dropping leaves.
I said it may have gotten dry when you said you only water once per week. And when you water the water is more than likely running down the inside of the bucket. It can't penetrate the dry soil very easily and takes the easy route.

 

[Eric Group]

I don't recommend watering on a schedule... Until you get real comfortable with the soil you have your trees in and what they can handle. Once repotted into really free draining mixes like Akadama, lava, Pumice... Then you should generally water at least once a day during the summer months probably (which is kind of watering on a schedule, right?). I water most all of my trees every single day from Spring through Fall, and maybe a couple times a week during the winter.. Depending on how dry/ windy it has been.... But most of mine are in some sort of mix that I know will dry out pretty quick and drain fast. (Not all inorganic, but the "potting"soil mixes are mostly peat and perlite which is a very light/ airy mix not weighted down with a lot of bark and compost..)

Additionally, I have found people tend to warn against overwatering to avoid problems with "drowning" a tree/ root rot... Which is perhaps an issue for some trees if they are in too wet of a soil... But I have found it to be more of an issue that people wind up under watering a tree because of this advice. Most species of trees it is much easier to kill them if you UNDER water vs over watering... Especially deciduous trees!

Think of it like this- some trees are more drought TOLERANT than others.. It doesn't necessarily mean they are going to grow BETTER with very little water. These are not cactus we are growing.. They are pine trees, Juniper, Maples... And the more water you give them, the healthier they will be in general- to a point of course, but I always try to error on the side of OVER vs under watering a tree.

 

[Bearhat9000]

alright, good to know. I have my own soil mix that is fairly quick draining (composed mostly of turface with some pumace and compost), should I transplant the tree into that soil to establish a more free draining environment, or is the tree to weak for that and should I just keep watering it more often in the same soil mix and see what happens?