Alpineart's Blog

This has been my greatest challenge ever , collecting these Junipers before they were ripped out by the local council . A tip off from a friend in the Parks and Gardens presented me with a huge challenge and a battle of whits in a matter of  10 minutes  . These were to be ripped out by the council and run through a chipper . I received a call at 6.30 am stating if i wanted to save these junipers i had to at my expense remove them in 6 hours , by 7.00 am i was on my way with a hired mini excavator from a local operator and the challenge was on , all other safety requirements were met . Unfortunately i didn’t have my 4×4 so a trip to Bright to swap vehicles with the Wife and return to pick up the trailers .I was behind the 8 ball on this one and by the time i arrived 3 of the junipers were damaged , so i whipped out the chainsaw and exposed the trunk line on the remaining tree’s  . Under my instruction the operator work a little more gently on the remaining trunks, 3 trailer loads were recovered or be it saved from certain destruction .The cost was not cheap but worth every penny to have stock like this to work on in the years to come , providing they survive .Its a good time to re-pot Junipers now so i have the timing right , all i need is some cooler weather , 30 degree’s Celsius is mighty warm to rip big material like this out of the ground .With all the 8 tree’s i could gather and 15 or so  ground layered branches safely home they were hosed down continually during the heat of the day .I managed to get 3 trunks and 10 layers cleaned up on the first day with the remaining plants worked over and planted the following day . The 1.5 tonne excavator struggled lifting these out of the ground a 5 tonne machine would have been a better option . I struggled a little myself still recovering with a broken leg that refuses to heal and knit together . This was a 24 hour 2 day test of my stamina , running on adrenalin one would have to say . Now safely in wet grow beds they should recover from their ordeal and grow on to be some of the best collected Juniper material in Australia . These plant’s were over 1 metre high and 3 metre’s in diameter, the root mass on average was 1-1.2 metre in diameter , just a little too big to dig with a  pick and shovel .They were trimmed down to around 1.2-1.5 metre’s on collection and reduced to the minimum and pre styled as huge basic trainers . The bases on these rippers this one was 180mm x300mm most are around  around 300mm plus and most have multi trunks , giving plenty of options if i need to split them into 2 tree’s . I don’t think i want to top this exercise for quite a while .

Cheers Alpineart

This has grow very well over the last season so i have decided to give it a hard work over and a full wiring job . With such a healthy tree i have no hesitation in removing unwanted branches , candles , needle plucking and trimming all at the same time . This particular tree has a habit of congesting in the foliage pads so it time to thin it out . I start by cutting the needles back to 15-18mm maximum to open up the branch structure in order to thin out the unwanted candles. starting at the bottom and working my way up the trunk selectively removing the unwanted branches at the same time . With the trimming taken care of i thinned the candles and pinched the new shoots in order to divert the energy to where it is needed most. The shari at the apex has had a minor work over and extended lower down the main trunk . Anew leader has finally bee established , this was grooved into the shari like a phoenix graft and wired into position . This particular tree has powerful lower branches however i still need more energy down low to extend these outer most . I wired the main branches and secondaries then shaped to the required direction .  The stubs had a minor adjustment then the wiring completed . This would have to be its first major work over , last year was very basic . Now it can grow on for another season with a root prune and  re-pot in early Winter into a smaller pot hopefully slowing the overall growth down as the trunk itself is large enough so the foliage need the work . A quick paint with lime sulphur and its off to the bench

Cheers Alpineart

This has been a 5 day project to design and construct a Phoenix Grafted Savin Juniper along with a custom made rock .The materials used were not exactly quality but more reject stock . I collect o lot of unusual pieces of wood for these grafts and other works , due to a long recovery since a motorcycle accident i have taken time out to play ball with one of these  pieces .Choosing the red gum root for its dragon like appearance was the first step . The junipers were basically shocking leggy plants that have been neglected from the time they were taken as cuttings a few years ago from a 20 yo garden plant i had here which was used as another Phoenix graft .After initially marking the best position to carve the root out to fit the trunks into i set about designing a rock to be made from reinforced aerated concrete . Capturing an image of a dragon in mind i carved the wood using an angle grinder with a tungsten tipped saw blade fitted . This was used to rough out the wood then with a router and cutter i further carved it until the fitting of the trunk was snug .The head of the dragon requires more work but that can be done at a later stage . In most cases i use stainless steel screws to attach the live trunks to the dead wood however in the past i have found with old stock it tends to split even with a pilot hole pre drilled for the screws. I have used metal plates , even an old brass butt hinge to hold the very rigid trunks in place . with the junipers secured to the deadwood , i have used coated electrical wire to basically shape the plants .Next  i move onto the construction of the rock . Basically working without a drawing i have simply cut and glued the Hebel Panels into a basic shape to suit the finished dragon . This was allowed to dry over night then the design was pen onto the face and its ready to begin the carving process. Using a sabre saw and the old fashioned hammer and chisel i begin working by slice off the excess until a basic shape begins to appear .Then carving with the chisel until a happy medium is found . With one side roughed out the other was tackled until both side were completed .Then the center of the rock was worked over and carved . Creating a 3 D rock has its hassles in this medium , breakages are to be expected and i had a few . After the front was carved the sides complete the rear got the work over .Then 2 small pot holes were carved into the side to locate some smaller junipers adding depth and scope to the rock . Prior to carving the panels it weighed in at over 35 kg , i have reduced it down to around 18kg . With the carving finished i applied 2 coated of waterproofing was sprayed on  and allowed it to dry over night . The next day a base render coat was applied , this is an Acrylic render with an added waterproofing agent for speeding up the drying process . This was followed up by 5 coats of cement render again with a waterproofing bonding additive , this render was dabbed into the surface in double quick time as i had to blend 5 different colour coats together before the hardened off . Using a small stiff brush these were rubbed in and blended until a uniform mottled colour was obtained , then allowed to dry . After the renders had cured 2 more waterproofing coats were sprayed on and then left to cure over night . With the rock finished and the dragon dressed its a matter of fitting the junipers into the pot at the top . A quick check on the design and yes some fine tuning was required and expected . With a few minor adjustments to accommodate the trunk and a quick repair job on the render coats . The juniper was slip potted into the top of the rock and then i set about adding the rest of the smaller plants . The 2 cascade junipers in the front will grow in the purpose built crevices , if any issues arise i will simple drill out small pot hole and reset them . For now this has been a rewarding 5 day project and i’m sure in time i will only improve .

Cheers Alpineart