Hey guys I’m new to all of this! I recently purchased this Black Pine off Ebay. The pictures looked nothing close to this bad. The soil looks like an organic mix with some type of bark. What could be going on here and what should I do moving forward to make sure this tree becomes and stays healthy. Thanks in advance.
It may be possible that there are some issues going on with the needles or the tree just needs some TLC.
If it were my tree, I would repot it with proper bonsai soil, using the size and ratio recommended by Ryan for JBPs. I have had some neglected trees respond very favorably to being put in fresh soil. Watch the repotting lecture on this website if you are able before doing it to make sure you are going about it in the right way.
Right now is a good time to repot JBPs. Good luck!
Thanks for the reply. Just ordered some adequate soil and will be repotting soon.
Welcome.
Take some time and look at some of the repotting videos before diving in. A root mass this small (presumably from the pictures of the tree) still is still not trivial. Observe the principles of working on roots.