Beginner--New Mallsai (gifted :P )

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Hello all! Just made this account. My story goes that I was slow playing starting the path to bonsai (with a trident maple as my choice), when my sister, and mom had to get me a mallsai (even after I explained the situation of mallsai). It looked like a Juniper so I knew I was in trouble as I live in an apartment, but I will just have to work with that as I go. It had all the markings of a mallsai including the glued stones. After I got the glued stones off the soil was really compacted (albeit somewhat moist), and the root ball was nice and dense. I decided to re-pot (hoping that wasn't a mistake). As I had been researching and preping in the past I already had most of the materials I needed.

I used Marble nuggets 20%, Pavers Sand 30%, and Miracle Grow Potting Soil 50% to create the soil.

After I did this I punched out the drainage holes on the bottom of the cheap plastic pot I had bought previously, and then dug up the tree from the old container. I tried to get as much dirt out of the root ball as I could, and then ran water through the root ball to get the rest I couldn't. I still could not get to the center of the root ball right beneath the tree for fear of doing too much damage. I then packed it in the new soil I made in the new pot and watered it, and it drained off really well.

There were a few really small limbs that were very weak and did not hold themselves up at all so I pinched them off from the tree (they were on the lower part and really were useless)

Just curious if anyone could give me an idea if this tree has any potential in the future, and if you see anything I need to do, could do better, or have done wrong.


Thanks!

It is very hard to tell a tree's potential from photos taken from overhead, but your tree is VERY young, so it probably does not matter.

It is undoubtedly better off without the rocks and the old compacted soil, but you will need to do some research on bonsai soil for next year as the mix you describe is not ideal for a juniper, either. Your pot is too deep, also, but if you are very, very careful with your watering you should be OK this year.

Keep a wooden chopstick jammed deep into the soil. Withdraw it daily and feel the dirty end. If it feels damp (cool to the touch) do NOT water. When it feels dry throughout, water. Let the water run out the bottom of the pot. I hope you have a porch or a deck, or a sunny windowsill whose window you can keep open because your juniper will not be happy indoors. It needs sunlight and fresh air.

Fertilize every week or two with a commercial houseplant fertilizer. I'd recommend that you simply let it grow this year and hold off any styling until you have it in better soil and a shallower pot next year.

Good luck.