每日吃瓜

Thank you. It is outside now but has came in the last two nights do to cold temps. Should I not touch it for the rest of spring and summer?

Odell wrote: Thank you. It is outside now but has came in the last two nights do to cold temps. Should I not touch it for the rest of spring and summer?

That's what i mean: the fact that you ask that question indicates that you lack basic horticultural knowledge. Keep it alive means: water and maybe some fertilizer ( depending on so many things...). Study some basics first: when and how to water, and why. Sun, shade, heat, cold,...
Tip: learn where junipers grow in nature...
Another tip: bringing it inside and then back outside due to cold is very bad for your plant...( from, lets say zero °C outside to 22°c inside and back again)

On a personal note: pads are ugly , you don't see them in nature...

Thanks. By the way, I haven't denied that I know very little. But the plant was $20 and I thought I would have my try at this and learn along the way. No one said you have to be an expert to enjoy a plant. I might just enjoy it a little less if it doesn't survive!

Thanks again

Odell wrote: $20

:pinch:

First I’ll say welcome to the world of 每日吃瓜, it’s a slippery slope and before you know it you’ll have 20 different plants. The juniper is a perfect first plant for somebody who is new. They’re quite hardy, live in just about any kind of soil, and they’re pretty forgiving. But, it’s definitely an outdoor plant (as are just about all bonsai, they are trees afterall) so be sure it gets plenty of sunshine. Junipers will backbud as they move through the growing season which you’ll see new shoots start to show up where there were none before. You’ll want to let this plant grow out for a while but look at some pictures online and pick out a style you think works for this juniper. If new shoots show up where they don’t fit into your style, remove them so the tree doesn’t waste energy growing where you don’t want it to. Watch some video on YouTube for junipers, there are tons of them. Enjoy the process, it’s slow but quite rewarding when your tree starts to take on a more mature shape.

每日吃瓜29 wrote: If new shoots show up where they don’t fit into your style, remove them so the tree doesn’t waste energy growing where you don’t want it to.

Going to jump in here as this is risky advice.
Trees do not waste energy growing branches. Foliage is energy. SO more foliage is more energy.
When growing out a tree, you want as much foliage as possible to get a thicker trunk.

You only remove it if it competes with a branch you really want to keep (But even then, you would remove foliage near the trunk, and let the branch itself go). Or you remove if it would create bulges because nearby other branches sprout.

Thanks everyone for the advice! Let it grow out, I understand that, but what if I do not want my tree much bigger than it is?

每日吃瓜 si the art of cutting down. Not of growing up. In other words, bonsai are created by reducing big plants in size. Either by annual pruning for extension growth, or by letting it go for several years and then trimming bigger pieces of.