Large juniper, need advice PLEASE

[Raymond]

So... This is my "Pride of the Fleet". I would like to put it into a grow bed to get some girth happening. As it was a gift, I do not want to kill it, which I have been known to do from time to time. I have a couple of questions,
When should I put it in the ground?
Once I have grown the necessary genitalia to go ahead with it, what sort of care will it need?

[Boics]

I like this tree.
Not sure about all the rocks.
I do like the tree and in particular the trunk.
A bit more girth and a bit of a compact and new leader and this will look ace.

Re. Ground growing.
Really u reckon you can upsize ll to the ground at almost any time.
I daresay though that you may wish to do a little root work at the same time so perhaps next spring?

Be careful listen to others advise.
There is plenty of time!

Thanks for posting.

[shibui]

Does this one really need more girth? Tall and graceful can be good. I think it is quite healthy and acceptable as it is. Maybe a bit more feed to get a bit more foliage on it though
The fig next to it is another thing altogether Looks like it needs a good feed and some water. Figs should be growing like mad at this time of year Have you been feeding your trees regularly?

If you still want to plant your juniper out just dig a hole in the best soil you can find and plant it - maybe just slightly deeper than it is in the pot. You could plant it in the ground now - just lift out of the pot it is in and dig a hole big enough to take the whole rootball. Because it has such a shallow root system it will need regular watering over summer until the roots start to get down into the subsoil a bit.
Because it is a conifer you will need to keep the foliage pruned a bit while it is in the ground or all the inner shoots will disappear.

[Guy]

great height and elegance---can't really work out what the first rh branch is doing--is it being used to fill in the right hand space--looks weird

[klaery]

Just wanted to say that I love the trunk as it is Others have already given you the advice you need if you want to put it in the ground.

[Raymond]

The photo is quite recent. I am thinking of restyling this tree. Wire, raffia, all that really intricate stuff. My only hesitation is: This tree is 20yrs old, at least. It is flexible in some areas and stiff as a board in others. It was given to me in a large garden pot and Peter at Bonsai Emporium helped me with the repot and styling about 5 years ago. Is this an undertaking I should endeavour on my own, or should I seek assistance?

[treeman]

The pot is all wrong, but the tree can be made into an elegant one by a little restyling. I would use a round drum pot or similar (a small one). This will make a HUGE difference to how you perceive the tree.

[Raymond]

Thanks Treeman. I picked that tray. Peter gave me 3 or 4 different pot choices and I went for the tray. Inexperience I guess. New pot is definitely on the list

[Guy]

any chance of a recent left and right photo showing what the lower branches are doing----a pot a quarter the size would look good with that height

[GavinG]

You can sometimes make the trunk look relatively thicker by cutting a lot of the length off the side branches, to make a tall narrow tree. This is difficult to reverse if you change your mind, so be certain. Maybe cover up the outside 2/3 of each branch with cloth or paper, so you get to see the effect before you commit. It's a nice old trunk, and I think you could make a very elegant tall slender tree from it. You'd bring the root ball down by about 2/3 too, over a couple of seasons.

Best of luck, keep posting.

Gavin

[Pup]

This tree is TALL not big, having said that Gavin has given some good advice.

A tall slender tree like those growing in the first tree line in the foot hills. A young tree will have longer branches up the tree than the lower ones, this is how immature trees grow. The lower ones get longer as the tree matures searching for the sun, all branches need to be downward in movement, the trunk is straight so the branches must follow this line also. It could also make a nice Bunjingii ( Literati).

Just my for what it is worth.
Cheers Pup

[marleey73]

I like the pot and also the tree. Very nice.

[PaulC]

Hi Raymond,


I like the look of your tree as well, and in fact I am hoping to take possesion of a juniper
very similar to yours as part of my collection very soon !

Much like yours, my future tree has a very similar upward growth habit, that will need some attention.

Just a quick idea of what it may look with a bit of styling.



Regards,



Paul

[thoglette]

I would like to put it into a grow bed to get some girth happening.

First, nice trunk - especially the lower half. Ironically it's nicely styled as an Australian native style. (generally upward moving branches, nice random movement) An alternative, more traditional arrangement is shown in the Art of Bonsai Juniper gallery (below).


The danger
The danger that you have is, for development, you have a lot of greenery at the top, which is what drives juniper growth.
The danger is that with this the top of the tree will thicken up, not the bottom - so you'll loose the taper you have.

When should I put it in the ground?

Whenever there's no frost or 30+C and windy.
But you don't need to put it in the ground - a large pot/box will do quite nicely and will, if filled with proper mix, result in faster growth than the ground. Especially if your ground has a tendency to stay wet - junipers don't like wet feet.

Once I have grown the necessary genitalia to go ahead with it, what sort of care will it need?

Less than it needs now. Make sure you stick a plate/CD/piece of crock directly under the tree so that you don't get roots heading straight down.

Junipers in general

Every group of trees we use (maples, pines, junipers, plums) have different needs - fortunately there is a bucket load of information out there - especially now that there have been several waves of westerners doing apprenticeships in Japan and blogging about it.

There's lots out there to read about:
Itoigawa Workshop: Start to Finish
Never Pinch Junipers!
Shimpaku Clean Up and Styling

[Raymond]

So with this shitty weather were having this w/e, I have decided to start on this. I have a new drum pot waiting, and was wondering what is the best method to bend some of these branches. They are old, and very brittle. I have raffia on standby but was wondering if there are other methods I could consider.
I did see this...http://www.bonsai4me.com/AdvTech/ATBend ... sThree.htm