ID Please

[Drew2]

Can anyone narrow down these trees please? Junipers?
Cheers

[Keels]

It sure does look like a juniper someone will surely be able to pin point what type. Maybe some better pics of the foliage might help

[shibui]

It is going to be difficult to get an absolute ID. There are so many juniper varieties used for landscape and many of them look superficially similar. Some varieties also look way different from the original species.
Both appear to be junipers. That's probably enough to go on as all the juniper species I know are treated similar.

[Drew2]

Thanks for the input people. We’ll run with that.

[tgward]

should be something useful in amongst that lot

[shibui]

should be something useful in amongst that lot

Don't count your junipers before they are potted.
Generally larger prostrate landscape junipers have long, bare branches with foliage at the ends. Juniper rarely survive with no foliage so to transplant you must keep long branches to maintain enough foliage to keep the plant alive. That makes these difficult to dig up and even more difficult to pot up. Then you need to keep high humidity around the remaining foliage until the new roots get established which can take a full season at least, sometimes a full year.
Transplanting junipers is difficult enough. Finding one that is worth the effort is even more difficult.

[tgward]

do it anyway

[PWC]

If there is some interesting movement closer to the foliage mass it could be a candidate for an air layer in spring. Assuming it is yours or you have permission.

[Drew2]

Hearing all the above. I’m fortunate they are in my yard. However I don’t necessarily have permission to dig from the Minister of War & Finance ( The Bride ). I think a case can be made for the smaller ball shaped one as it’s a fifteen point turn to mow around it on the ride on. Until recently I’ve always wanted to run over it. Glad I didn’t.
At least I can do some pre dig prep ie: Seasol, dig half way round, sphagnum moss, root stimulates close to trunk. Any thoughts?
Time is not a factor.
If nothing else I may learn something in the process.
Any experiences to share/ links?
;D

[shibui]

My thoughts on trenching to get roots close to the trunk is that no-one ever digs close enough to the trunk. New roots grow almost exclusively at the cut ends so when you trench 40 cm from the trunk any new roots will be 40+ cm when you dig. That means you'll need a 1m diam pot to put the collected tree in assuming you cut a similar distance on the opposite side when digging.
Most people realise the error when they dig and end up cutting all the roots back harder which leaves the tree wit no feeder roots and you have just wasted 6 months or a year.
Trenching does work to produce new roots BUT you need to be aware of what you are doing and where you do it.
Seasol may have some benefit. Personally I have never seen any positive affect on collected trees. Most grow despite the seasol. use it if it makes you feel good.
Sphagnum in the ground could hold too much water and do more harm than good. Good potting mix or sandy soil is a better bet to backfill the trench IMHO.
There are a number of substances that are reported to stimulate root formation. None I am aware of with proper trials and proof. I saw a report that root hormones used for cuttings have little of no effect on roots. Most roots are able to grow new feeders without any help except good conditions. good watering is a far better approach.

Before getting carried away with the collecting you should critically appraise the trunk of the plant. You will need a good shape. Some taper or enough forks and branches to create taper by pruning and carving. You will need some foliage in reasonable distance from the trunk to be able to grow a canopy or be able to graft new shoots onto the trunk.
Most landscape junipers do not have all of these. Many have none of those things.
In my experience very few collected trees are actually worth the time and effort to dig out and pot up. A few look reasonable when you get them out of the ground but by the time you have potted them and had another good look more than half will have you wondering what you were thinking when you decided to keep them.
Good for the exercise. Good for the practice and learning about collecting trees but very few ever make it to a bonsai show.

[Drew2]

LOTS to think about there shibui.
I think I’ll put it all down to a sharp horticultural learning curve. A curve I don’t want to flatten.
I’ve done some transplants in years past but nothing relating to bonsai -except they were trees.
Trying grafting quips my interest. Sometimes ya just gotta have a go! Make mistakes and learn what not to do.
Cheers ;D