Juniper styling advice please

[bodhidharma]

Perseverance always brings rewards.

[Andrew Legg]

Looking good Sam! You're getting there. Remember that when you do decide to chop back the lower branches, they could potentially make nice jins, so don't be too quick to chop 'em off completely (I'd keep 'em on for a while yet!). I think your next step is to try to get back-budding on the upper pads. You want to try to get those bare branches to bud. I would do this by waiting until they start to grow strongly and then pinch out the branch and prune for structure. With a bit of luck you may get some back-budding. Can anyone else confirm whether this will work, or if there are better options.

Cheers,

Andrew

[Ray M]

Hi Andrew,
I would like to share what I have been doing for some time now and get very good growth from Junipers. I have also shared this idea with a number of students at the School of Bonsai and they to have had great results.

I foliage feed my Junipers almost every time I water them. I use Miracle-Gro MaxFeed for Azalea, Camellia and Rhododendron. In the package there is a spoon supplied. It has a large spoon and a small spoon. Mix one small spoon to 500ml of water. As I water my trees I wet the foliage and then spray the foliage with the MaxFeed. I and others I have shown this method to have very good foliage growth and some back budding.

NOTE: If you purchase some MaxFeed take it out of the package and place it in a sealed plastic bottle. It is very viscous and will absorb water very quickly. Because you use so little it will last for quite some time.

Hope this will help.

Regards Ray

[Samegyed]

Thx Andrew,

I hadn't considered jining the lower branches until you mentioned it. cheers!
I'm planning on keeping the lower branches on, and untrimmed, at least for one more growing season, maybe even 2 or 3 depending how quick the trunk base thickens. That sounds like good advise to work on getting the top branches to back bud before it's to late.
Would it be necessary to slip re-pot into a larger growing pot before this summer or do you think there's plenty of room in this one for another year.

Cheers,
Sam

[Samegyed]

Hi Ray,

I'll be sure to try the foliage feeding, sounds like a winner.
Do you continue this all year round or just when its growing vigorously ?

Cheers,
Sam

[Ray M]

Hi Sam,
With Junipers I do this all year round.

VERY IMPORTANT
I didn't mention in my last post about temperature. DO NOT FEED ABOVE 30deg During the summer I don't foliage feed on very hot days. I notice you live in Brisbane and I realise you could have some fairly hot days in summer. One good thing with the MaxFeed is that the plants take up the nutrients fairly quickly. On very hot days you could wait until the evening when the temperature drops below 30deg and feed them then.

Regards Ray

[Samegyed]

Thx Ray that sounds like good advise. I didn't know about the risk with high temperatures.

Cheers,
Sam

[Samegyed]

Has any one experimented with foliage feeding using worm juice ? This is what i mainly use as my firts/ soil conditioner during summer.

Sam

[Andrew Legg]

Thx Ray that sounds like good advise. I didn't know about the risk with high temperatures.

Cheers,
Sam

Sam,

The following is my understanding of this, and I'll happily ask to be corrected by those who see any mistakes.

Most plants, it not all have survival mechanisms that allow them to grow efficiently. Examples of these are leaves closing at night, dropping leaves in winter, times of good growth and dormancy. One of these mechanisms is that plants tend to take up nutrients under conditions that are best for this process, and usually this is dependant on the amount of daylight and temperatures. When it gets too hot, you can feed until you are blue in the face, but the plant is in a mode where is protects it's self from moisture loss, so transfer of water from inside to outside is significantly reduced. Because of this barrier to moisture transfer, the plants will also not take up nutrients sprayed onto their leaves. Water is the solvent that allow the transfer of these nutrients, so the blocked passage of water limits this. The result of this is that when it gets too hot, the trees do not efficiently take up food, and with deciduous trees, the same applies in their period of dormancy, but through a different mechanism.

I think Ray is giving you good advice, and another thing I can add is that should temperatures get too high, relocating a plant into a cooler position can help to keep it active.

I think you probably have more than enough room for growth in that pot, but if you want to start working on root structure, you may want to plant the tree into a flatter and wider pot. Same soil volume, but just flatter so that when it comes to putting it into a bonsai pot, the basic root shape is shallower. Wait till it warms up a bit before you do this though. Chat to locals to find out the best time of year for repotting junis in your area.

Cheers,

Andrew

[Samegyed]

I think ill make a timber growing box that's shallower and wider then the pot it's in. When i re pot ill rake out the nabari.
I'm gonna check out a local club that holds their meetings just down the road from my house. Should be able to get some local knowledge.

Cheers Andrew,

Sam

[Samegyed]

Any one from South East Qld who has some experience in re pot times for Junipers ?
Any advise would be great,

Cheers,
Sam