AusBonsai

All ,

I have recently decided to take up an offer to dig these 2 Junipers.I am unsure of the species. They are healthy and growing strong, the ground is WA black sand.I have not dug around the bases yet but i think they are nice. The inside of the tree has some backbudding but due to dense foliage it does not receive alot of light. As there's no rush to get them out and as I never dug Junipers this size, thought I would seek some guidance from those that have. I am well versed with the info on the site but would appreciate your thoughs please.
An ID would be great aswell if anyone has an idea from the pics, please let me know what you think.
Thanks

I think they are Juniper Subina and do make good bonsai (even though some think the foliage is a bit course).

Lucky man! They are excellent!

Hi ya Craig if they smell like cats P!$$ then they are Sabina, but I think they a hybrid called Juniperus virginiana silver spreader going by the colour and growth. They were sold in quite a lot of the Nurseries around Perth around the late 80s early 90s as suitable for rockeries and waterfalls.

I have seen some impressive trees from them in photographs.

Cheers Pup

Thankyou Guys

Craig,
I have lifted junipers at this time of year. Not always successful but about 90% ok. I suspect that transplant later in spring might also be ok but have not yet confirmed this.
I always make sure to leave some foliage on any trunks I want to live, even if it is way linger than you need. They will bud on bare wood sometimes but I think growth will help roots to grow and it is likely that branches with no leaves will die while the tree readjusts and gets roots under way. You can get back budding after it has reestablished if necessary.
You may not know whether you are successful for 6 months or more. Bigger junipers are notorious for shooting and putting out new growth with stored energy - without putting out new roots - but eventually, of course, they just collapse and turn brown.

Good luck with the transplant.

I coilected one last year that i autlined here viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9530 .
sorry to say that this did not survive

Shot out all over then browned off over 6 months.
It was cared for well and Kept under other treesforprotection.Seasol weekly and wartered daily but no good.
Should not have bare rooted?
that is the only thing I can think of

Ken

Ken,
i don't think bare root is the problem. We virtually bare root the shimpakus here when we dig them and cut roots back pretty hard and most survive and power away but some, like yours, shoot well then brown off a few months later. Autopsy reveals no new roots but I have not worked out why yet. They are all put side by side in the same place on the tables (in full sun) after potting up so conditions re the same for all. Survival is much better when potted up and in the nursery compared to planted back in the grow beds where moisture can be variable.

Hi Shibui ,mate thanks for the reply.

If I had one question it would be; Would a soil medium with only enough fines to keep moist throughout the day until watering time be best or would more fines in the mix be better ? From my understanding the free'er the draining the mix the better. thanks mate


cheers Ken for the link, The main problem I have with bare rooting something like that junipers rootball is that with all soil removed and "even washed clean" , when an attempt is made to repot ever so much care needs to be taken to ensure new soil medium is packed around the collected roots. With such an amount of fine roots and quite a nice rootball as show, the new mix becomes very difficult to work in between the roots to take up ALL the air pockets. Most people tend to be a little cautious of damaging the existing roots while forgetting the real need to surround them with fresh medium as soon as possible.
When new roots are exposed to "AIR" they DIE. When a tree planted on a slab grows, it's roots extend outwards and when they reach the outer edge the cannot travel anyfurther and die(or if able turn around).It's is for this reason also that I am weary when i see people pulling trees from pots and exposing the roots to AIR. It's common practise but not for me.
I hope this makes sense . Anyway that's my thoughts. Cheers also mate

You migh be onto something there Craig.
It makes sense, and the only thing I can think of as well.
I pot up into Diatomite and usually shake and vibrate it into the spaces. but maybe need a smaller grade mix?
Maybe need to add Peat moss or something as well?

Ken

hi Ken,

I get the shaking it into place, but vibrating? please explain..........

I do not agree with this 'roots die in air pockets' theory. I have been in caves where roots grow through the ceiling and on many occasions have dug up roots that have grown through quite large pockets of air in the soil eg rabbit burrows.
Yes, roots that get to the edge of a pot or rock planting stop growing but I believe this is lack of humidity, not air as such. Most roots can grow through air as long as humidity is right. voids in a pot should not matter as long as they don't get dry. My shimapku often grow aerial roots from the trunk close to the ground when foliage is dense (maintains humidity) in the growing beds.

re mix, I do not have confirmed testing but I feel that an open mix is better provided it does not dry out which may kill off new roots (see above). I think fungal infection can pose as big a problem as dry. All those freshly cut vessels exposed to constant wet must give wonderful entry to all sorts of nasty organisms and we tend to mollycoddle freshly repotted plants and keep them quite wet.

Hmmmm, I guess that explains figs getting aerial roots too then!

Gareth wrote:hi Ken,

I get the shaking it into place, but vibrating? please explain..........

Very Gently Shake so as not to break the roots
Usually just tap the pot with something to vibrate al the particles ito the root ball
Ken