When is prime time to repot my juni ?

[Paulneill]

When is prime time to repot my juni ?
I have a large field grown juniper squmata prostrata that is still growing in old field soil .
I would like to loosen UP the root ball and try and get some diatomite in there without killing it .
Because this is not just a straight forward repot i want to give the tree its best chance .
any other tips would be great.

[Andrew E]

Best time to repot Juni's is in September as the tree starts to grow. With regards to the repot of the tree, when was it pulled out of the ground? You may want to replace the old soil gradually over a series of repots. Some take all of the soil off in one go especially if it is a heavy clay based soil, however generally you should leave soil on conifers when you repot.
I tend to err on the side of caution and replace some at each repot. Its all about leaving some old soil to retain the beneficial bacteria (mycorrhiza) that lives in a symbiotic relationship with the tree. Over each repot take more of the old soil until eventually there will be none left.
Misting of the foilage post repot will help to reduce transpiration and retain moisture giving the tree a good chance of survival.
Good luck with it

Andrew

[Paulneill]

Thanks andrew . yea i dont plan on totaly bare rooting it but i do want to get in there and loosen it right up i will be sure to leave some soil in there . then maybe next repot i could remove the rest but does that mean i can bare root it next time because the diatomite will just fall off . I dont see any other way to do it without all the media just falling away ? If you know what i mean.?

[kcpoole]

late winter or early spring
https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... hould_I%3F

Ken