Combining 2 Junipers

[xIIRevoEvoS]

So I have 2 starter Shimpaku Juniper that was bought from Megumi a while ago and was wondering if you can plant them together in the same pot.
Whilst letting them fuse together as they develop and grow?

I know that you can combine seedlings ie: Maples together

[alpineart]

Hi Revo , mate most plants can be fused together some just take longer than others as long as the are secured together ie taped , screwed or wired . If twisting or spiraling together make sure they are rotated in a clockwise direction or they will push themselves apart as the grow , wire in the same direction

Cheers Alpine

[Andrew Legg]

If twisting or spiraling together make sure they are rotated in a clockwise direction or they will push themselves apart as the grow , wire in the same direction

Cheers Alpine

Know why this is Alps? You got me curious .....

[alpineart]

Hi Andrew , mate the natural spin of the planet , like the water down the toilet . Northern hemisphere spins opposite to Southern hemisphere . Wind 2 vines around a pole , 1 clock wise 1 anti clock wise and watch what happens . I'm left handed and naturally wind wire on anti-clock wise , well i used too so i tested 20 pines out the 10 wired anti-clock wise struggled a couple died , the clockwise wired stock all survived and and out grew their opposites 2 fold .

All the twisted trunk Tridents I have done only the clockwise wound trunks where a short term success all the anti clock wise trunks pushed themselves apart and still continue to do so after 6-7 years where they haven't fused even where restraints were used . They will be a long term project .

Sap flow is also governed by the spin of the planet, grape vines and Hops grown here are wound clock wise or the simple fall on the ground overnight . Don't believe it , Try it .

You think with all the Guru's in the world someone would have figured this out and put it in print . I guess many didn't have the need to fuse material together but they certainly would have wired or twisted/rotated in the opposite direction

Cheers Alpine

[treeman]

The twisting depends on the plant not the planet. Some go clockwise and some anti-clockwise. Japanese wisteria-clockwise, Chinese wisteria- anticlockwise. Shimpaku (seems) to go clockwise, California juniper-anti. Twisted pomagranate-anti.
Look carefully at the plant and you can usually determine the direction. Of course some don't twist much. (If at all)

[Andrew Legg]

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... x/abstract

ABSTRACT
Aim  To examine, at a global scale, patterns in the direction in which climbing plants twine. We tested three hypotheses: (1) that twining direction is determined randomly; (2) that twining direction is determined by apices following the apparent movement of the sun across the sky; and (3) that twining direction is determined by the Coriolis effect.

Location  Seventeen sites spanning nine countries, both hemispheres and 65° of latitude.

Methods  Twining direction was recorded for the first c. 100 stems encountered along transects through natural vegetation at each site.

Results  Ninety-two per cent of the 1485 twining stems we recorded grew in right-handed helices, i.e. they twined in an anticlockwise direction. This is significantly (P < 0.001) different from random. The proportion of stems twining right-handedly (anticlockwise) was independent of both latitude (P= 0.33) and hemisphere (P= 0.63). These data are inconsistent with the idea that twining direction is determined by either the relative passage of the sun through the celestial sphere or by the Coriolis effect. Thus, we reject all three of our hypotheses.

Main conclusions  The predominance of right-handed helical growth in climbing plants cannot be explained by hypotheses attempting to link plant growth behaviour and global location. One alternative hypothesis for our findings is that the widespread phenomenon of anticlockwise twining arises as a function of microtubule orientation operating at a subcellular level.


There was another post that suggested that the growth follows the sun, but that would result in zig-zagging, not spiralling.

[alpineart]

Hi Guys , I stand corrected by some of your info if i must , however i think the results here tell a story and until someone can explain why the fusing processes and wiring process on the fusing material here is so different then i think i will attribute it to mother nature and the universe,

I have twisted, plaited and fused around 2000 plants over the last decade , any future attempts will only be rotated in a clockwise direction as in the fusing process , don't have any lefty plants here as bonsai that i know of, only a left handed amateur hacker and chopper , but i do use right handed tools

Cheers Alpine

[Andrew Legg]

Hey Alpine,

Just because we post a bit of contradictory info does not mean you are wrong, it just means that you are right but for a reason you did not know. I read an interesting article recently about root growth and the myth of sharp mix creating fine root ramification because the tips split as they hit the sharp edges. It was to do with perceived causality as a result of experience and science. Often we do something and repetition of results teaches us that it is a success, so we attribute the result to a process we do (hence the causality) when in fact the result is a result of an entirely different thing. So, in the case of the root growth thing, people who take the trouble to get their mix in good shape typically take the trouble with good watering and ramification of the top of the tree, and it is these, not the sharp mix that create the fine rooting.

So back to your post . . . . . I'm not disagreeing at all with you observations, but rather I'm trying to understand why it happens from a scientific perspective. Perhaps some incorrect assumptions here.

[alpineart]

Hi Andrew , all good her mate . Info is meant to go around and be utilized to improve all things created . I tried the sharp chips and yes it was a waste of time , cant beat regular trimming . I use scoria which is as blunt as me ,so are some if not most of my methods , but I'm still willing to learn and listen and listen to learn .

Cheers Alpine

[Andrew Legg]

[Elmar]

There was another post that suggested that the growth follows the sun, but that would result in zig-zagging, not spiralling.

It's called 'Phototropism' and is fact; it does, however, only occur on the green portion of new growth. It's purpose is to maximize the surface area exposed to the sun. I don't recall how the harder wood ends up being straight (as opposed to Zig-Zag as you suggest) but it is never-the-less present and has been the topic of many a time-laps video ... And I would suggest it is unrelated to the clock or anti-clock wise rotation of growth.


Cheers
Elmar