名媛直播

Got this for on 29th May should be the 3rd week now and I supposed it is Itoigawa Shimpaku (juniper) , please correct me if wrong.
I had it at semi shade area and 5 hours of direct sun in the evening, watering it twice a day using the chopstick method with the soil seems just very slight damp each time.
I encountered spider mites on the 3rd day crawling in the soil after watering as I misplaced the Juniper with other herb plant which later isolated entirely.
I followed advise of local gardener using some sort of organic chilli water which seems to work with no visible spider mites for the following week however I started to see few burning tips and minor foliage lost. The condition weren't severe and I noticed few small shoots growing out so I presumed it is general growth cycle of the juniper and 10 pieces of slow releasing were spread evenly.
Until yesterday morning I found 2 spider mite crawling again after watering so the same chilli water were used and afterward later in the evening I check again the soil is still wet even under hot 34 degree day. This morning I've checked again the soil still wet and I did not continue to water it anymore only misting the foliage, finally in the evening it seems the soil finally becomes slight dried. I worried that the chilli water had effect to the juniper so I soaked the pot into water for 30 minutes and take out.
After all the cycle I'm not sure if it would survive, it seems to lost its green compared to day one and foliage of some area is really dried to touch.
I'd appreciate any advice from you all, Thanks!

The 3rd Day



Yesterday Day

New to 名媛直播 and bought such a nice Juniper? You should learn with younger plants first! I really hope your tree survives, as it has a lot of potential. Spider mites is not a good sign, I've never heard of the chili water method. Inspect the underside of the leaves, do you see any small spider webs?. Put a white paper under the tree and shake the foliage, see if spider mites fall on the paper. The tree is outdoors right? if you have it indoors it will die.

Why did you soak the pot into water for 30 minutes?

It is placed at the balcony and there weren't any spider mites falle from foliage, I only saw two crawling in the soil.

Chilli water is what commonly recommend in Taiwan for general pest control including spider mites, however I don't see it working effectively with the second occurrence. I soaked the pot hoping to washed out the remaining chili water if it is not really working and see if it restore the root and water dissipation. I find the plant don't seems to consume water like the past weeks after this chili water treatment.

Ray-chua wrote: It is placed at the balcony and there weren't any spider mites falle from foliage, I only saw two crawling in the soil.

Chilli water is what commonly recommend in Taiwan for general pest control including spider mites, however I don't see it working effectively with the second occurrence. I soaked the pot hoping to washed out the remaining chili water if it is not really working and see if it restore the root and water dissipation. I find the plant don't seems to consume water like the past weeks after this chili water treatment.

I am sorry to hear that. I hope someone with more experience will promptly help you with this, there are very experience bonsai enthusiasts in this forum. It looks like a Yamadori, a plant that was collected from the outdoors. I would hate to see a tree that lived in nature die in a pot . Do the white paper test, it will show if there is any sign of spider mites. All advice I can give is, put the tree outdoors obviously, on a shady area protected from wind, don't fertilize until it recovers, mist the leaves twice or three times a day (this is very important).

The balcony might not be the best place for it. How much sun does it get? The soil looks very wet too, Junipers like dry fast draining soil. That might be just the top soil, but if the soil stays wet for too long then you don't have good soil mixture. Do not overwater, let the top soil and half and inch to an inch below it dry before waterings.

It seems to be in a very organic soil mix, which hold lots of moisture. You may let it dry out some more between waterings.

If you saw something crawling in / on the soil, it was probably not spide mites. Personally, i think people overreact when they see lif in their pots. They are plants.

This plant was field-grown, man-made. Not yamadori.

Give it some rest. Leave it alone. Water only when needed. It should be fine.

leatherback wrote: If you saw something crawling in / on the soil, it was probably not spide mites. Personally, i think people overreact when they see lif in their pots. They are plants.

This plant was field-grown, man-made. Not yamadori.

Give it some rest. Leave it alone. Water only when needed. It should be fine.

Forgive the untrained eye . How do you know is not yamadori?

The curly yins are way to round, perfectly curved and in e arow.Typical for a field grown juniper where the sacrifice branches were twisted

leatherback wrote: The curly yins are way to round, perfectly curved and in e arow.Typical for a field grown juniper where the sacrifice branches were twisted

ah, I see now. thanks!

Thank you guys for all your feedback, I would leave it in the shade and let the soil dry more before the next watering.
By the way, I found this crawling in the soil and pick it up carefully to take photo of it.