A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 A dried out juniper bonsai

Hi! We have a new juniper bonsai plant that we let get too dry. I have cut back all the dried parts to where there is green in the branches. It looks quite scraggly now. It it worth trying to revive or should I just toss it and start over? Thanks for any advice. Diana Vance

Ironicaaly, the same thing happened to me a year or so ago.except mine was crispy,crunchy!!
My husband(who bought the plant) was very upset.
I tried to revive it with no luck at all!

i agree to get a new one but dont toss it. plants are amazing and with a little nourishment it might be right as rain!

Hi Diana,

If you were planning on keeping your Juniper bonsai indoors, it was doomed to fail. Juniper is not a tropical plant and it requires cold winter temperatures that it would never get indoors. That is why so many Bonsais fail.

If you are interested in an indoor Bonsai, get one that is a tropical plant, such as Ponytail palm or Ficus benjamina. These plants can adapt to all year round warm temps. Junipers cannot.

You should get a fig bonsai i used to have one of them and theyre really pretty.

I agree with Will. This is an OUTDOOR plant and needs dormancy. Try a TROPICAL type bonsai next.

Tom

How about any advice on what was suppose to be an indoor? Ligustrum Lucidum bonsai... any one know about these?

Ligustrum lucidum (privet) is another non-tropical plant that is unlikely to survive warm winters indoors. Sorry, I don't have better news.