Sabina x Shimpaku

[alpineart]

This is the smaller trunk i split off yesterday .

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After seeing a needle juniper Shibui had in the process at an Albury/Wodonga Bonsai Meeting a few months ago i made the decision then i would give it a shot . I just needed a decent trunk ,

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well this is good enough at around 150mm at the base and 400mm high it should be an impressive Shimpaku . I purchased several Shimpaku plants

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off Neil at Shibui's Nursery on Monday Night and inarched them onto this trunk today .

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I was blessed Karen had the day off work as i needed a couple of pairs of hands to ensure the fit was snug and secure . I used 2 plants utilizing 6 branches on the Shimps to create a good start for the conversion

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.I repotted the donors into bigger pots for plenty of root run prior to set the grafts . I also used 2 pieces of timber to support the pots

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and wired them to the stubs to prevent any accidental hits dislodging them

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. Give this a few footy seasons and i should have a half decent Shimpaku Juniper trainer to work on . Not a bad effort for a man of leisure

Cheers Alpineart

[bodhidharma]

I feel myself getting more and more envious of those superb Juni's Alpine. Your laid up so i am gonna have to come and visit and perve on these trunks in the flesh. Pup first and then come and visit.

[alpineart]

Hi Bodhi , mate they are nicer in the flesh and in time after a clean up even better looking than now . I think i will be grafting a few Shimps onto the layers as well , they are very lanky so they need some foliage added lower down and layer the tops off increasing the stack again . More material than i dreamed of , just a little work and a few years of healthy growing . Look forward to catching up .

Cheers Alpine

[anttal63]

Hi Bodhi , mate they are nicer in the flesh and in time after a clean up even better looking than now . I think i will be grafting a few Shimps onto the layers as well , they are very lanky so they need some foliage added lower down and layer the tops off increasing the stack again . More material than i dreamed of , just a little work and a few years of healthy growing . Look forward to catching up .

Cheers Alpine

No doubt about ya Alpine your on to it good work !!!

[alpineart]

Hi Anttal63 , mate this was a good rainy day project thats for sure . I have had enough of digging tridents , crabapples and hornbeams out and root pruning .I need a few more weeks around here to tidy up the place .It over run with weeds , got some serious catching up to do .I will get my priorities in order soon .

Cheers Alpine

[alpineart]

This is it today in better light

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Cheers Alpine

[Brian]

Gosh Ian, you are turning into a Mr Kimura doing work like that. Excellent stuff.

[alpineart]

Hi Brian , Masahiko Kimura is the Master in my book , i'm just an amateur learning as i go . It would have been a good thing to know this cross grafting of junipers was possible years ago .I have recently read John Naka's books Bonsai Techniques 1 & 2 and he does elaborate on this subject , however Shibui was the motivation for this exercise , seeing is believing that for sure .

Cheers Ian

[Craig]

Alpine, I think this may be your most Inspirational post to date,thanks and good luck mate.

[mwkoi]

Nice work Alpine.

I am in the process of doing the exact same thing on a couple of big junipers I dug two years ago.

Don't waste a single branch, I took 6 layers off one big juniper last year and they are all doing great.

Have fun!

Cheers
Mark

[alpineart]

Hi Criag , the inspiration came from Shibui's Needle Juniper , i just got motivated to try it .

Hi mwkoi , i have about a dozen of more ground layer from these trunks , the apex will eventually be layered off as well . My biggest problem now is a curl grub infestation again which i have found in pots 2.0m off the ground .They would have a picnic in these pots .

Cheers Guys . Alpine

[Hackimoto]

I know this a bit late for this tree but maybe be a hint for future projects. I find that if I leave the stock tree or branch in tact,( as in not cut off,) that the graft takes a lot better. The branch is still growing and there is sap flow which heals the wound over the scion better and faster. Once it has taken and is growing, then I cut it off and all the growth then goes into the scion. I do this with all types of grafts in the warmer months when growth is at a maximum. Winter/dormant grafts have never been much of a success for me in this sub-tropical climate.

[shibui]

Well pointed out Hackimoto.

I find that if I leave the stock tree or branch in tact,( as in not cut off,) that the graft takes a lot better. The branch is still growing and there is sap flow which heals the wound over the scion better and faster. Once it has taken and is growing, then I cut it off and all the growth then goes into the scion. I do this with all types of grafts in the warmer months when growth is at a maximum.

and I agree completely. We discussed this when Alpine was here but these branches had already been cut. Cambium is still green so hoping it still has some chance of success. If not, another change of plans.

[alpineart]

Hi Hackimoto , mate these were 5 meters wide and very little time to remove them . I was under the pump with a stuffed leg so i was swinging the chainsaw one handed and holding the crutches with the other . Trying to keep up with a excavator operator and limiting the damaged was a huge ask . If i was to collect a garden specimen i would most certainly reduce the foliage over time , then remove . The Juniper Chinensis Pfizer's are back budding well , so juniper chinensis Shinpaku will no doubt have a better chance of survival then the Sabina's although i thing i could swing a few longer branches around and graft them back ont itself it may just aid the sap flow. I could then graft the Shimpaku on close to the trunk .

It's a test and trial as with most things here , blessed to have been at the meeting when Shibui show off his Needle Juniper grafted with Shimpaku . Last week i took another look the same tree and discussed the situation again , i then grabbed a few trainers and took the plunge into the unknown for me . They had grown 100mm since removal , i trimmed them and they have grown another 80-100mm so i don;t think its residual energy , here's hoping . My biggest worry is curl grubs now .

Cheers Alpine

[Hackimoto]

Sorry, had to have a chuckle at your description of the dig. I know, desperate people do desperate things. I hope the grafts work as it looks like it will be a great tree if they do. Is there a pic of the needle juniper graft of Shibui's on the site? I love to see it.