phoenix graft juniper

[Jamie]

hey guys, im a bit worried about posting this as the photos arent great, i promise to get better photos as soon as i get the camera back off the mother in law.
i got this piece of drift wood from my parents place, thought it had great potential for a phoenix graft, i started out by sizeing up the drift wood and seeing which way it would look more dynamic, there was a few options. then there was finding the right juniper for the drift wood, with the right movement and age, had to be reasonably young, i finally found it!
after marking out where the trunk was going to be inserted i carved a groove to suit. stainless or brass screws weren't an option here as the trunk is too thin... 6-8mm where it needs to be attached. zip ties are the answer for now.
the drift wood is going to need extensive carving, especially the flat cut spot on top, that will be taken to a torn sheared point with foliage growing around it eventually. but i am going to let the tree settle in the grow pot and establish itself. the foliage was trimmed to suit where i want the overall design to go.
minimal wiring has been done just to get certain branchlets to set in position. like the main one on the left. these shouldnt take to long to set as they are quite young. i dont think the sappling was that old at all. maybe 3-4 years. it was well established in the root system so this will help as i just raked them out and repotted them out of the muk that the tree was in.

a few posts have recently been done on this and it is what inspired me to do this.


any comments or advice are welcome as always!!

regards jamie

[Jamie]

like i said sorry bout the photos guys, was worried bout the quality, will fix this asap.
get the camera back and get some better shots

[alpineart]

Hi Jamie , well done for giving it a go .For future reference try to carve the majority of the trunk being used to a pleasing shape then shape the trainer around your carving .Much much easier . 10/10 for your effort and enthusiasm .Cheers

[Jamie]

thanks alpine!!

i was thinking that the carving would of been easier before hand to, but my excitement of a new tree got the better of me, fathers day pressie was to go to the nurseries and pick some stuff that i wanted.

i picked up a couple more juni's that i havent decided on what to do with yet.

(I dont often get to buy trees, seedlings or other such stuff with my budget)

thanks for the positive response.

regards jamie

ps. still feel bad about the bad quality photos

[Jamie]

i decided to do a virt with the really bad photo i have just to give an idea of where i am looking to go with this one

[Jamie]

as promised a better picture, hope this helps with getting some comments and where i should go with this one!

[bodhidharma]

Hey Jamie, i was wondering if you have done anything to the wood as to preservation. Once they are in the pot and you start your watering regime rot will set in. Hate to see all that good work and effort go to waste

[Jamie]

Hey Jamie, i was wondering if you have done anything to the wood as to preservation. Once they are in the pot and you start your watering regime rot will set in. Hate to see all that good work and effort go to waste

not as yet. i got too exited with this one, i didnt do any root pruning so it wont be long before it needs lifting again for that. i will be preserving it then. lime sulphur will be used to get the wood an little whiter as well. but i dont want it to go super white. i want this to have some grey tinges to it.
my plan was to let it settle. do the carving then using the preservers and hardeners to look after the wood.
it is quite hard wood as it is. i tried a little bit of carving in certain spots and it was so hard to put a dint in it. i couldnt tell you what sort of wood it is.

the dead wood i actually got from my parents that was used for an "australian themed trinket" as such. so i think it has had some treatment to it.
it originally had a couple of small birds glued to it as an ornament. so i would say it has had some preservations done but i couldnt tell ya any details

and i dont want it to go to waste either so it will definately be done. i will be trying to find small as possible brass screws when i get the chance to get rid of the zip ties. just finding them is the problem. the right size anyway