Rescuing a San Jose

[Woodblock77]

Hi All,

I have a San Jose prebonsai which has been struggling for some time. I got it from a nursery just before the winter. When I received the tree it was healthy, but has since declined. Leafminer killed some of the foliage off in early spring and the tree has not improved in health much, nor gotten any worse since. Overall it is a dull green, but some brown spots, but it is not dead. There is some lower and inner foliage that wasn't affected and is vibrant green. How can I improve the health? The tree is getting plenty of sunlight and watering as the soil dries out. The roots are healthy, extremely vigorous, and it could really use a repotting. The soil is loaded with roots and they wrap around the pot, even protruding from the bottom. I think that this may be hindering the tree's recovery, as water will sit on the surface before slowly draining into the pot. Given the tree's health, should i try and repot it in some conifer mix? The tree has very nice trunk movement so I'm hoping for survival one way or another.

 

[keri-wms]

My gut feeling would be dead/soggy roots in the middle of the pot..?

Or insect damage under the soil?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I would slip pot it into a larger pot with a coarse mix. So don't work the roots at all.
I would do this so that the soil can evaporate water from all sides. Right now it does that at the top and the bottom only. After the slip pot, the interior soil and rootball will stay wetter than the rest for a long time, and the roots will not escape that dirt, so adjust your watering habit to that. If possible, use a chopstick to check it the soil is damp.
The aeration/breathing of the soil could improve its health.

If it lives and is healthy, do a proper repot next spring.

But in all honesty, a juniper in this state is hard to patch up in a short period of time. It could take a couple years to get it fully back to health. So I'd take things slow and adjust the decision making to the trees health.

 

[Shibui]

There are always lots of differing opinions in bonsai.
I would do a good root prune now assuming you are in spring. The tree is in poor health - probably due to soil or roots. Best treatment is to fix the problem - repot.

 

[keri-wms]

If it was my own tree I’d shake/rinse the roots clean of compost (pruning if needed) then repot into a coarse perlite/molar mix, put it somewhere semi shady and make sure it’s not overwatered - ideally in a nice humid greenhouse. But that’s just me!

 

[sorce]

I'd remember that my time is worth more than an $8 Walmart juniper, throw it out and start over!

Just kidding, but seriously.

I feel like it's bone dry at the core, been.

Surely don't think slip potting will help, so do it, so you can get on with that next one!


Sorce