Soil
The soil into which you will
plant your juniper should be of a
type generally used for bonsai. To
the newcomer, most bonsai potting
mixes resemble a composite of rock
and gravel with very little organic
material. Such a loose composition
is critical to the development of fne
feeder roots necessary to insure the
plant’s survival in the limited space of
a bonsai container. You may obtain
ready made bonsai soil from deal-
ers or you may choose to do a little
research and prepare a mix of your
own choosing. In no case should
you repot it using the growers mix
or with the heavy black soils sold by
most nursery outlets. The correct
mix should be very granular and well
draining with particle size ranging
from one quarter to one eighth inch
in diameter.
Place several scoops of bonsai
soil into the container, mounding it in
a pile near the center. Next take your
freshly root pruned juniper, comb out
the roots a little, shake off any loose
soil chunks that are clinging to it and
place it on top of the soil mound in
the pot.
It is best, for artistic reasons,
to plant the tree slightly off of center.
Rotate the soil mass left and right
and press downward. As you do this,
it will force soil up and into the under-