repotting a juniper squamata

[Nickbonsai23]

Hey guys,

got myself a decent sized bush of a Squamata in a dodgy nursery stockpot that i got from gardenworld, now im wondering if im safe to got ahead and repot him at the moment, is it late enough in summer? provided i dont take more that a "third off the rootball in any one year" (one of the millions of google searches told me) Any tips on Juniperus Squamata would be GREATLY appreciated. and i will post pics.

[Tony Bebb]

I would say go for it Nick.

No specifics on where you are, but unless you are expecting really hot weather still, now is a good time. I have certainly cut more than a third off at a time when potting on occasion. As long as the foliage reduction matches the root reduction and there is still plenty of fibrous roots that should not be a problem. Aftercare as always is very important, especially with heavy root pruning.

Show us some pics.

Tony

[Nickbonsai23]

juniper SQ.jpg

sorry Tony, I'm in melbourne if that alters your tips whatsoever, i have uploaded a pic of the plant / and its new pot

[Tony Bebb]

Hey Nick

I would still say go for it mate. It is a young tree and the pot will accomodate the roots without too much pruning. You should not have to cut any more than a third of those roots. Of course still give the foliage a prune to match.

Cleaning the trunk and thinning out the branches along with a bit of a height reduction will balance what you need. I would say you will prune more foliage than roots and will be fine. Don't keep it too wet after potting ie. water well each time but make sure it gets surface dry at least before watering again. Are you involved in a club yet mate. Check them out as there are lots of helpful people there.

Have fun.

Tony

[shibui]

Agree with Tony on all counts.
I think most junipers can be safely repotted at any time of year in most places in Aus. Use good potting mix and proper watering after then get to a nearby club for more tips and help.

[Nickbonsai23]

No, I'm not involved in a club at the moment. but am very keen, also while i have your attention...i have a little scots pine seedling and i transplanted from wild and hes managed to take to the pot quite well despite that 4 other attempts at this..im also curious on your thoughts as to when i am safe to repot the pine as i know they are a sensitive bunch coming straight from the wild. and of course pics to come with that too haha.

cheers

Nick

[the bent botanist]

that's funny I brought the exact same juniper from garden world recently.

I transplanted it into a bonsai pot about 2 weeks ago and seems to be doing fine.

I am new to this however and was the first plant I have transplanted into a smaller bonsai pot, so I have a question for someone with more experience..

I wired the base of the trunk around the pot to keep it from moving as it was a fairly wobbly at first.. roughly how long am I looking at until the roots have anchored the plant down and I can remove these?

It seems a lot more stable then it was 2 weeks ago but I don't want to un wire it to early and have it move around and disturb the root system its has been working on..

[MoGanic]

that's funny I brought the exact same juniper from garden world recently.

I transplanted it into a bonsai pot about 2 weeks ago and seems to be doing fine.

I am new to this however and was the first plant I have transplanted into a smaller bonsai pot, so I have a question for someone with more experience..

I wired the base of the trunk around the pot to keep it from moving as it was a fairly wobbly at first.. roughly how long am I looking at until the roots have anchored the plant down and I can remove these?

It seems a lot more stable then it was 2 weeks ago but I don't want to un wire it to early and have it move around and disturb the root system its has been working on..

Did you wire into the soil or around the edge of the pot?

Don't bother removing the wire unless it's cutting into the tree. Your tree should be wired in most of the time, especially if it is top heavy like the example shown above, to stop it from falling out with strong winds. Being in Melbourne we often deal with ridiculous weather and part of this involves winds that could shave you bald.

If you've wired the actual trunk, leave it on but keep an eye on it. Next repot you want to redo the wiring and wire a thick root or two instead of the actual trunk. Check out a few vids on youtube or visit your local club to see how a tree is wired in when it's repotted. A good search in Youtube would be "Repot Bonsai". Chansx, Bjorvala and OrlandoBonsai all have excellent videos.

Good luck mate, by the way - I'd be waiting at least 1 and a half months to see whether the Juni made it haha, they can die and the leaves wont turn for a pretty long time. Waiting longer to make sure it's okay means that you're not doing anything else to the tree until you see some good new growth on it over about a month or two, just in case if it is struggling so you don't put it under any more stress.

-Mo

[the bent botanist]

cheers for the helpful info mate

I wired the base of the trunk and then run it underneath the pot and then back round to the trunk. Defiantly not the neatest looking way of doing it now that I think of it haha but that's learning for ya I guess

[Nickbonsai23]

IMG_20130218_050203.jpg

Here is the final work on that monstrosity of a juniper i posted earlier..let me know your thoughts

Thanks