collecting junipers

[Mbunro]

weathers supposed to be below 30 for most of next week so going to have a go at digging this lil guy on Sunday.
going to go past again this afternoon to have a poke and prod around the root ball and to try convince the owner to keep the ground moist for the next few days.
will try and get under the canopy and get a photo of the trunk' which i haven't yet seen, also

after looking at other posts im thinking its probably a bit early in the year to collect but it has to go, so if anyone can give me any pointers that would be much appreciated.

what i know to do so far:
get the soil around the rootball saturated prior to the dig.
get as many fine roots as possible.
regular misting of seasol over all foliage during the dig.
into a bath of seasol solution for the first week (drain and replace the solution every 24 hours).
then into a large grow box with good soil and seasol twice a week until i see signs of survival.

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[Max]

pity you don't have the time for a few air layers as well

[CraigM]

You might consider planting into the grow box and then soaking, or regular Seasol watering if too big. Have had issues in the past when soaking trees after collecting where the original soil fell away when lifted after a couple days soaking. Don't mess around with roots too much, tidy in a couple years once growing and acclimatised to growing in a container.

Interested in comments from others.

[Mbunro]

thanks craigm
i hadnt really considered that...

anyway im goin to take away as much of the existing soil as possible, even if it means coming back later in the day with a trailer load of sand to fill the hole

[shibui]

I always try to remove the garden soil from the roots when collecting. Only leave what won't come off easily.
Many here are also aware that I do not use seasol when collecting plants. I know it does not hurt the plant but I have very few losses without it so I don't see the point.
Garden soil on a pot will cause more problems later.

[Watto]

There is no advice, but just my very best wishes for the success of this operation.

[peterb]

Mist the foliage as often as you can, for the first month or 2. Junipers can absorb water through their foliage ( I'm not meaning replace watering with misting . I'm meaning mist on top of your watering schedule ). Good Luck
cheers
peterb

[Jag001]

Good Luck,

with the weather Perth is having today and in the near future I think your going to need it.

cheers,
jeff

[Max]

Would you have to let it recover in part shade or just straight out in full sun?

[shibui]

Good light is essential for the leaves to help regrow roots but excessive heat and dry will kill the tree so it can be a balancing act to manage both successfully. I tend to put recently collected trees in slightly protected area for a few weeks with part shade, especially if it is very hot. Trees collected in winter can go straight out into full sun but you will need to manage watering so they do not dry out.

Evergreens are frustrating. They stay green and look healthy for many months after collection but may not have grown any new roots. Eventually turn yellow then brown but they have probably been dead for some weeks by that time.

This year I think all the junipers I lifted from the grow beds in winter have survived One looked a little sad for a while but now has fresh growth and new roots showing in drainage holes in the pot so should be OK now.

[Pup]

Here in the southern suburbs where I live it is 42 now I would certainly not be doing any thing other watering it.
Happy Straya day peeps

[Mbunro]

Thanks for the replies and happy straya day folks...

I absolutely realidr that now isn't the best time for it, but when it's gotta go it's gotta go , so I'm willing to take the risk..

I've still got misters set on a timer from my time away though so shouldn't be an issue keeping her moist, for the next few months

[Mbunro]

didnt get a chance to have a look until over the weekend.
Lots of rain forecast for today/tomorrow so i decided to leave it for a few days to soak up some extra moisture.

unfortunately the owner had cut off allot of the really long branches since i last saw it back in October, but it still looks quite healthy so fingers crossed it will be ok.
the upside though was i that i was now able to view the trunk. quite a large forking branch just after it exits the ground, but at the base i couldnt even get both hands around it.
currently have no phone so this is the best pic i could get using the ipad.

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got some buddies coming to help with the lift Wednesday afternoon.

[Mbunro]

last night i got busy.
2 people, 2 shovels, 2 hours, and 2 sore backs, but managed to get it home.
its pretty massive... blue shell is completely filled with feeder roots..

have just filled it up with seasol solution until i get home from work this afternoon, and figure out what on earth im going to plant it in..
think iv bitten off a bit more than i can chew to be honest.

[Jarad]

Nice work mate!

I like the training pot, is it one of those big fancy plastic chinese ones?