Expert: BonsaiOutlet.com - 6/6/2010

Question
I have a juniper bonsai that I have kept for about three months. It started out as a bonsai that had two leaves. Not much. Soon those leaves fell off. Little green leaves came out but soon turned brown and fell off.This cycle has continued several times and then they turned brown and stayed. I wondered if I was over watering it. So I started using the chopstick method. The first day I used this method I watered it and came back the next day. The soil was completly dry. Does this mean it still is alive? What can I do to put leaves on it?

Thanks,
Ethan

Answer
Hi Ethan,

Is your Juniper indoors or outdoors. Junipers are outdoor trees and need plenty of light. Depending on the weather elements, it possible that you need to water your tree more often than once a day (wind, sun, etc...).

When junipers lose all of their needles, its usually not a good sign. Go to http://www.Learning2Bonsai.com and download the Juniper care guide. this will give you some watering, fertilizing, etc... ideas.

Hope this helps a little.