Bonsai is almost all Brown Help please?!?

Question

I don't know anything about bonsai trees except what I have seen online. My boyfriend has a Juniper Bonsai tree and the tree is almost brown. He has been fertilizing it and it is in a sunny area. He waters it when it needs watering. Now it's just getting to the point were I think it might be dead. How can I help fix the poor tree? I don't want to see it die. Plus we live in Nevada.

Answer 1

Bonsai are very delicate, I have 14 but I take very good care of them, according with your statement I believe your bonsai is dead already, once this happens you can't save it, all you can do now is to buy another one and don't let it freeze..☺

Answer 2

Bonsai do kamakazi. Sounds like you burned it up with the fertilizer. The thing about bonsai is, even though they are minitures, you need to treat them just like the big guys. Do you constantly fertilize your outdoor trees? I hope not or you can kiss them good bye too. Just a little fertilizer, diluted to one quarter strength in the spring should be more than enough. Also make sure the container has drainage holes. Surprise him with a new one for Christmas.

Answer 3

Post a picture at bonsaitalk and you can get bonsai experts to diagnose the problem.

Could be various things -over-fertilizing, underwatering, poor site location, over-agressive pruning etc

A picture can help them see what the issue really is

Answer 4

Often brown tips on junipers is simply caused by pinching. We have always been taught to pinch out new growth, first with fingernails, then more recently using our fingertips. Both of these methods will leave little brown tips and should be avoided. Junipers should be thinned and pruned with scissors, not fingers.

Trees grow up, branches grow up, It is unnatural for them to grow down and harder for them to move nurishment down. By tipping the pot over when not watering the branch on a semi cascade (hard to do with full cascade) can be leveled out or raised above the root system, in some cases, helping the tree to recover. It will also help to wire branches on a failing tree straight up for a few months until it regains strength. On black pine if you want a branch to increase vigor, wire tips UP while wiring other braches level or OUT to slow them down.
This is part of balancing the overall health of the tree.

Don't worry about it, you aren't harming your tree, only making it a little unsightly. The key with shimpaku and other junipers is to never cut or pinch the green material. Look at your branch: you have foliage out at the very tips of the branches, and if it's healthy and vigorous, you have suckers growing farther back. When your tree is overgrown, then you can work on it. In other words, feed heavily for the rest of this season. In spring you should see new shoots extending out beyond the old silhouette. When they get strong it is time to cut back your tree. You will remove the suckers and weak little bits inside that will never be a branch, but leave some healthy-looking material inside. With your scissors, cut the branch back, only cutting brown places (lignified branches) not the green. Work to make your branch send out alternating shoots, and when you have cut back the new growth (the tree will look sparse), the growth hormones will be redirected to make new growth inside. Wire your tree at this time to set the shape, and when your tree has put on a lot of new growth again, you can cut it back less harshly and arrange the new growth. You should be able to leave wire on a juniper for up to a year, if you have wired correctly.

So the plan is, get your tree healthy and vigorous. Cut back fairly hard, wait for a lot of new growth, trim it up and arrange the branches. Never shear your tree or pinch green material. In just a couple of years you should have a nice tree.