每日吃瓜

I'm new here and new to bonsai. I saw a tree at Walmart and picked it up. I'm not sure if it's any good but I wanted to take a Crack at it. Can anyone help me with at least what it is? And if it's any good?

Your plant is a Juniper. I hope you only took it in to take the picture.

Definitely a juniper. Hopefully the Walmart you bought it from kept it outside, otherwise, you may have purchased a dead tree. I'm not that great with junipers, but I've managed to keep 2 out of my 3 trees alive. The third one died from a bad house sitter.

Anyway, junipers do this thing where they die from the bottom-up. Most trees will wilt, turn brown, and then die. In my experience, junipers will be dead long before they turn brown. So don't be discouraged if the tree dies on you. You may have had nothing to do with it.

For now, keep it outside, don't go crazy watering it, and be patient.

Good luck. Google some juniper care guides, and again, don't get discouraged if it dies.

el_cheezer wrote: Definitely a juniper. Hopefully the Walmart you bought it from kept it outside, otherwise, you may have purchased a dead tree.

I really do not see any sign indicating this plant isn't healthy ?

It's May, and while I know that a lot of places are only starting to warm up, I would think that there would be more new growth on the tips of the tree, and there isn't. Not only that, but I've seen a lot of Walmart junipers that look really green, but are brittle and dry to the touch. There really is no definite way of me knowing by just looking at those two pictures, and while he may have picked a winner, I've also seen the piles of dead trees that my local Walmart throws out.

I guess I'm trying to keep him encouraged, but also let him know that the odds may be against him on that one. Besides, I'd hate to see someone miss out on bonsai, all because they got a bum juniper from walmart as their first tree.

el_cheezer wrote: It's May, and while I know that a lot of places are only starting to warm up, I would think that there would be more new growth on the tips of the tree, and there isn't.

It's a small plant.

I do see fresh buds, correct color, no sign of them drying out.
A sick or dead juniper can stay green for a long period - but the foliage does look different, a more dull green, buds shrivelling, branches becoming brittle... I don't see any signs of that.

I'll defer to your opinion. I am not that well versed in junipers, as I initially mentioned. Hopefully they'll make a great little tree out of it, and we'll add one more to the fold.

I have read on many places to keep junipers outside, but I have a question for my climate. During the summer which is basically here, our temps reach as high as 107 at times. I live in southern GA not but 2hrs away from FL. Winters here only reaches below freezing about 2 weeks out of the entire winter season. And the temps range from 36 to 45 during winter. Should I keep my tree, assuming it hasnt already died outside this summer or bring it in on really hot days?

Also it in a small deep pot about the size of a small drinking glass. Is this okay?

I have also only had it about 2 days and the tree looks okay and I even see a small area where new growth is visible.

I do not think that would be too extreme. My junipers stay in full sun over summer. Peak temps reach 35-ish here. And in winter they stay outdoors, peak about -20.

I would guess that bringing them indoors is going to do more damage.

W0LF wrote: I have read on many places to keep junipers outside, but I have a question for my climate. During the summer which is basically here, our temps reach as high as 107 at times. I live in southern GA not but 2hrs away from FL. Winters here only reaches below freezing about 2 weeks out of the entire winter season. And the temps range from 36 to 45 during winter. Should I keep my tree, assuming it hasnt already died outside this summer or bring it in on really hot days?

I'm in Arizona, and a juniper can take the heat, no problem. Let it get morning sun until the temp for the day hits 95-100, then, put it somewhere shady, like a porch, but still outside. My porch faces east, so from by noon, my plants have gotten about 6 hours of sun and are shaded from the hottest parts of the day.

Don't let it dry out too much, but don't keep it too wet either. If you over water it, the heat will cook the roots in the pot. Watering is one of the hardest things to get the hang of. If you have a friend or family member that keeps plants, they may be able to give you some advice on how often you'll need to water in Geotrgia, but take the advice with a grain of salt, due to the pot sizes that we work with. They usually make people want to over water.