Hi - your tree may be gone from all that watering. Tags are notoriously one size fits all and they should be thrown away (whatever the plant name printed on them). You haven't said if there's a layer of glued on rocks on top of the soil (it should have been pried off day one), or if the mix is obviously mostly grit, or more regular looking brown soil (which is the other half of the mistake with most inexpensive store bought bonsai), because it's usually 'potting soil' and full of water holding peat, guaranteed to rot roots. You should (though had no way of knowing - which is why bonsai should never be gifts unless the giftee is already knowledgable) have repotted into an almost completely grit mix with some pine or fir bark mulch but no potting soil, which would let water run right through the mix without damaging anything, only allowing a 'drink' to all roots - and always water from on top with any trees - they're NOT African violets! Plus regular house plant fertilizer can be used, regular strength, except from late summer through fall, when a very low nitrogen type is needed. Anyhow, once a juniper's foliage is mostly brittle (and brown) it's usually long gone - different from if only one branch is a problem, so you'll have to judge that.

Thank you Bright! On the Thanks Giving post.......click at the end of the post where it says "# of comments" and just say "Hi" :D I don't have very many entries yet...tell everyone to enter! And thanks, I've been waiting a long time to work on this tea set and I think it's gonna be extra pretty...I bought a nice bag of vintage jewelry to decorate the lids with.

I don't know of any place to recommend, but here's a link to Garden Watchdog which is a site that lets people rate mailorder nurseries. One nursery showed up when I searched on "Plants: Wildflowers/Natives", and then specified Colorado. (These drop-down menus are towards the bottom of the page. There are probably additional nurseries for nearby states which I suspect would have some plants also native to your mother's area). If nobody gives you specific recommendations, this might be your best bet. Here is a link that might be useful: The Garden Watchdog Guide to Gardening by Mail

I have one of those can openers that removes the whole top of a can and I make tons of gifts in cans, such as snowman soup. I simply remove the tops, wash and dry the pieces very well, then once I put everything inside I use dots of rubber cement in the rim of the top/lid and reseal it. This holds well but will allow people to remove the top by simply pulling on it. Hope this all makes sense!!! Good luck, Jude! PS: Almost forgot, I just set cans of veggies on top to hold the lids until the glue sets up. You might want to check out one of these can openers, they cost about $10.00 at Walmart