AusBonsai

Hey peeps!

Just purchased a Juniper and I was wondering if it's a fairly easy task to root over rock one of these? The one I bought is currently leaning HEAVILY to one side (including trunk) and really doesn't look impressive at all.

Pictures soon!

I would like to know this for future purposes

Can we send him/her to the naughty corner for posting, then bumping within an hour?

Cheers,
Mojo

It's he. And I would really like to know this too.

Junipers will work as root over rock. Not as well as Tridents or Figs, but they will work. What Juniper is it MoGanic? Some are great for bonsai. Some you could for instance tie to a rock and throw into a cement mixer, providing someone hadn't already filled it up with myki cards, GWS Giants memberships or One Direction CDs.

Lame jokes aside, post some pics, we might be able to make some useful design suggestions.

Cheers,
Mojo

P.S. I think there is an unwritten BUMP etiquette thing on this forum, best be patient and give the folks time to answer.

LOL ahh the impatience of youth I remember that a looong time ago

Yeah Juniper can make nice root over rock, but the roots are reasonable slow to grow and thicken so it can take a while longer than the usual suspects. What is more common, is to plant the Juniper ( or pine) into a hollow in the rock and then style it there or style it first to suit then plant in the rock.

Ken

Hey all!

Pics below of the Juniper! Any styling suggestions? Kinda stumped on this one...

Advice from someone I highly respect in the Bonsai community - Tie this tree to the rock as I want it, then bury the whole rock . Slowly uncover the rock over time to acheive the look desired . Thoughts? (most likely will be following this method after I show him the actual plant and get the go ahead in terms of survivability).

On a side note.... I didn't bump my own post :S am I missing something here? I just posted and have patiently waited until now... NOW I TELLS YOU!

Cheers guys,

Mo

Hey Mo,

If I was growing this as a root over rock I would have the growth hang down rather than pointing up.

Dont worry about the bump stuff, some dont seem to be able to tell the diff between user names to them....

Matt

MattA wrote:Hey Mo,

If I was growing this as a root over rock I would have the growth hang down rather than pointing up.

Dont worry about the bump stuff, some dont seem to be able to tell the diff between user names to them....

Matt

Hang down... suddenly the world makes sense!

Cheers mate!

They do grow over rocks but it does take time to establish them. This one is one that was donated to our club from a very old member who has not been able to care for her trees.

So this was given to get it back to health, then a little bit of tweaking here and there. A bit more to go but here it is as it is now.

It is a Juniper shimpaku. Not sure how long it has been on the rock, which is limestone.

Cheers Pup

Haha, that is one happy bug! I'm going to try find an interesting rock to start this process on, any suggestions? Bunnings and landscape centers generally have very uniform rocks... unfortunately.

MoGanic wrote:I'm going to try find an interesting rock to start this process on, any suggestions?

Just nothing too heavy ... could try an aquarium, they usually stock lighter/interesting rocks (you'll pay a premium though).

cre8ivbonsai wrote:

MoGanic wrote:I'm going to try find an interesting rock to start this process on, any suggestions?

Just nothing too heavy ... could try an aquarium, they usually stock lighter/interesting rocks (you'll pay a premium though).

I shall check one out, but.... not too keen on pricey rocks haha! Might see if I can chisel a nice shape out of one if not!

MoGanic wrote: not too keen on pricey rocks haha!

Got a garden? Or a dirt track nearby? Builder's rubble* even?

* check when they are clearing /digging sites - don't use concrete/motar unless you have a lime fanatic!!!! (And brick is a little po-mo for bonsai)

Found some great rocks, and went ahead and took the Juniper out of the bonsai pot it was in expecting it to be root bound or at least have SOME roots. Just saw some black roots and one or two thicker ones, all in a little flat pack up close to the trunk. Noticed the "soil" used offered no drainage or airation, and was actually reallllyyyy clumpy and firm.

Just placed it in a slightly larger pot and put it in some GOOD soil and trimmed it back a little bit. It looks to be doing all right but definitely not touching it again for a while. Giving it seasol once a week and watering regularly. Guess the rock will have to lay bare for a while.