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Hi everyone! Total noob here. Same old story. Got a juniper bonsai as a gift and proceeded to kill it with kindness. Long story short it is getting browner by the day and I don't know what to do. When I first got it it was very green but very dry and would shed profusely at the slightest touch. Its bristles felt like cactus needles. Now it is soft to the touch and has completely stopped shedding but keeps getting browner and browner.

Here's the long story: When I first got the juniper as a gift it was very green and very dry. For the first week or so I kept in on the desk in my office which gets very little natural light. The card it came with said to water it once a week so that's what I did. After a couple weeks I happened upon the bonsai kiosk at the mall. This guys trees looked so healthy and I had no reason to question his advice. He said that the dryness and shedding of my tree was not healthy and if I wanted it to survive I needed to completely submerge the pot once a week. So I went straight home and dutifully plunged it in a sink full of water. I did this again one week later. It didn't make things better but it didn't seem to make matters any worse either.

After a bit of reading I realized my tree was starving for sunlight. I slowly began to introduce it to natural light a few hours a day. I also read that the submersion thing is not a good idea so began watering as needed and misting the foliage every few days instead of dunking it once a week. On about the fourth day of showing it the sun I left it outside overnight and then forgot to bring it in before I left for the day. That night the temp dipped down to about 60f and the next day it was full sun and in the high 80s. That's When I first noticed it turning brown.

More reading on line turned up conflicting advice ranging from "oh my God you sunburnt it! It's dead!" to "Junipers don't get sunburn. It'll be fine." So I've been continuing to keep it outside, moving it around so it gets plenty of sun without baking at high noon and watering and misting when I think it needs it.

In some respects it seems healthier because it no longer sheds and it's bristles have become soft to the touch like the ones at the mall BUT it keeps getting browner and browner. I'm not sure if I've saved it or killed it for good.

One last note is that I did remove it from the pot to inspect the roots and soil composition. The roots look like they have plenty of room. Not bound up at all. The soil looks like it was potted with some care whether correct or not. It appears to have been done in layers. The deepest layer looks like big chunks of bark or wood chips mixed with peat. The upper layer , where the roots are, seems to be a mixture of very course sand and finer soil. I would have called this course grit but I have seen photos on line of what people call course grit and to me that looks like gravel. This is more like sandy dirt. The very top layer is some sort of green moss. When I first got it this layer of moss was so dry that water would bead up and roll off it. Now it remains moist most of the time. When it gets dry I test the soil beneath it with my finger and when that starts feeling dry I give more water. So what do you folks think?

You probably have killed it by keeping it inside with no light. The soil sounds awful. Submerging the pot is not the way to water, I use a can and rose , and I am watering at the moment every day. But then my trees are where they should be, in the garden.

Squalyboy wrote: So what do you folks think?

I think we need a picture. Also I think you have summed up nicely all the things that kill junipers.

Auk wrote: ... I think you have summed up nicely all the things that kill junipers.

Ha! Yeah, I guess so!Thanks! I did try to upload a few photos but can't seem to find a setting on my phone that doesn't give me a "file too large" error. I think it's safe to say she's a goner. If I don't see any signs of life in the next week or so I'll plant her in the yard and see if she comes back.This probably won't be my last attempt and, sadly, probably won't be the last tree I kill.

Update and a couple of follow on questions:
First of all, yeah shes dead. Turned completely brown with no lingering signs of life. I'll plant her in the garden and see if spring shows any signs of life but I'm pretty sure that's all she wrote.
So, on to the learning experience... (and I did try to search for these answers before asking)
1) What is considered healthy for a juniper? Should the foliage feel soft and resilient or is it normal for it to feel "pinchy" and shed at the slightest touch?
2) When acquiring a new potted bonsai (assuming that the commercial potting is garbage) is it proper to re-pot it right away? Wait for spring and do it then? Wait until it "needs" re-potting? The obvious answer is to buy it from someone who knows what they're doing so it gets potted correctly in the first place but let's assume it was a gift bought at the mall.
3) Do junipers suffer from sunburn or not? I seem to find conflicting answers to this one. Is there a definitive guideline to how much sun is enough vs too much?
4) Is it necessary to harden a mall-bought bonsai before keeping it outside for good? (i.e. introducing it to the elements a little at a time like you do with nursery grown vegetable plants)
5) Anything else I should have known,/ could have done differently?
Thanks again for the answers and support. I'd really like to make this a viable hobby without becoming a serial killer.

Squalyboy wrote: Update and a couple of follow on questions

If it it all brown it is dead. Actually, it has been dead for quite some time. Planting it in the garden will not revive it,

1) What is considered healthy for a juniper? Should the foliage feel soft and resilient or is it normal for it to feel "pinchy" and shed at the slightest touch?

Depends on the variety.

2) When acquiring a new potted bonsai (assuming that the commercial potting is garbage) is it proper to re-pot it right away? Wait for spring and do it then? Wait until it "needs" re-potting? The obvious answer is to buy it from someone who knows what they're doing so it gets potted correctly in the first place but let's assume it was a gift bought at the mall.

Depends on what you're buying, where you're buying it, and what the stage of development of thre tree is.

3) Do junipers suffer from sunburn or not? I seem to find conflicting answers to this one. Is there a definitive guideline to how much sun is enough vs too much?

Depends on the amount of sun, shadow and water.

4) Is it necessary to harden a mall-bought bonsai before keeping it outside for good? (i.e. introducing it to the elements a little at a time like you do with nursery grown vegetable plants)

Depends on the species and whether it has been grown outside.

5) Anything else I should have known,/ could have done differently?

About everything you described in your first post.

While I honestly do appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions your answers come across as arrogant and condescending and are not helpful whatsoever. If answering questions from a curious beginner irritates you I suggest that you simply don't bother. I will continue to research and learn but I certainly won't be looking for any more "answers" here. There are plenty of other forums to choose from.

Squalyboy wrote: While I honestly do appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions

You're welcome. What I tried to make clear is that it is hardly possible to give specific answers to such general questions.

Junipersbare soft and do not shed, but might be pointy. They do suffer sunburn whrn the transition is too big. Repot when needed and in the right season. Adjust watering and repot at the right time before you repot.
Harden plants in winter, adjust slow to full sun in summer.

All plants are alive. None like big sudden changes.

Fine. Let's try a longer version.

1) What is considered healthy for a juniper? Should the foliage feel soft and resilient or is it normal for it to feel "pinchy" and shed at the slightest touch?

Depends on the variety. Scale type junipers are usually soft, needle type junipers are harder. Some needle junipers like Juniperus Communis can be stingy.
So, the question cannot be answered without knowing the specific variety.

2) When acquiring a new potted bonsai (assuming that the commercial potting is garbage) is it proper to re-pot it right away? Wait for spring and do it then? Wait until it "needs" re-potting? The obvious answer is to buy it from someone who knows what they're doing so it gets potted correctly in the first place but let's assume it was a gift bought at the mall.

Depends on what you're buying, where you're buying it, and what the stage of development of thre tree is.
Not all mallsai are in bad soil. Not all commercial potting is garbage. If you need to repot depends on many things. When to repot also depends on things like the status/health of the tree, the soil, the roots, the size of the pot, the season. The question cannot be answerd without knowing more details.

3) Do junipers suffer from sunburn or not? I seem to find conflicting answers to this one. Is there a definitive guideline to how much sun is enough vs too much?

Depends on the amount of sun, shadow and water. It's not really sunburn though, not like humans. Whether a juniper gets scorched depends on the heat of the sun, the wind, shadow, soil, amount of water. We don't even know your location or climate, what kind of juniper you are going to acquire,so I cannot tell you if this is going to be an issue.

4) Is it necessary to harden a mall-bought bonsai before keeping it outside for good? (i.e. introducing it to the elements a little at a time like you do with nursery grown vegetable plants)

Depends on the species and whether it has been grown outside.
I think there's not much I can add to that.

5) Anything else I should have known,/ could have done differently?

Don't keep junipers indoors
Don't mist it, just water it normally
Do not submerge it
Do not fiddle with, moving it indoors, outdoors, to different positions
Check the soil and make sure it drains, asap after buying it (or even sooner)
Etc..
Don't buy bonsai at wholesale stores, car boot sales or from the stall of that friendly chinese man