Rescued Juniper- Emergency repotting needed?

[SmallTreeGuy]

Hey everyone!

So, I either have a penchant for nurturing unhealthy neglected junipers back to health or they like to just find me. Either way, I acquired another ailing Juniper and it looks like the soil it is in is black clay-like soil.

The juniper looks to have been pinched to all hell in the past, but since having it out in full sun for a couple of days, I see light green new growth on a lot of the foliage (pictures don’t show this that well.)

The soil situation is just abominable and I don’t know why this juniper was neglected so badly, but it has tons of potential.

Pros:
1. Lots of Jin opportunities
2. Beautiful gnarly bark
3. Unique trunk line
4. Partially ramified where foliage is (but branches have extended and become leggy)

Cons:
1. Very unhealthy foliage
2. Neglected or mismanaged ramification (ramification is there where the foliage is but it has gotten leggy due to neglect)
3. Extremely poor substrate
4. Fungus? at base of trunk (I’m unsure)
5. Severely root bound and unhealthy roots I suppose due to the rock hard fine black dirt it is in.
6. Root mass right under the tree or its heart is not getting wet when I water unless I soak the pot from bottom up and remove it.

After doing some basic cleanup (not cleaned yet in attached pictures), what would be the best first step to getting this juniper back to good health? Should I do an emergency repot? (Even though I usually like to do that in the spring.) should I do some minimal wiring to open up the canopies after cleaning?

It’s still hot here 100+ in Dallas and we’ve had a few cooler days but it won’t start getting consistently cooler for another week or so.

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated as this tree has some beautiful bones and many options for styling in the future but I want to get it healthy first and let it sit for a couple of years to regain vigor.

Cheers everyone!

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

That's a cool specimen worth saving.
So I wouldn't repot it. Just backfill the top with soil and give it proper care. It could respond in a couple weeks with continuous healthy new growth.
Then do the spring work in spring.
Or the year after that maybe.

Honestly, I think it could go another 20 years in this pot if you really want to. So I wouldn't do anything to risk the plants health for a while.

 

[jandslegate]

That's a cool specimen worth saving.
So I wouldn't repot it. Just backfill the top with soil and give it proper care. It could respond in a couple weeks with continuous healthy new growth.
Then do the spring work in spring.
Or the year after that maybe.

Honestly, I think it could go another 20 years in this pot if you really want to. So I wouldn't do anything to risk the plants health for a while.

A large portion of my tree kill count started with emergency repot.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

It actually doesn’t look unhealthy and agree, I would definitely not repot it. If the soil isn’t draining, aerate it with a chopstick.

 

[SmallTreeGuy]

Ok guys! No repot! Lol

Chopstick it is! Sometimes my overthinking and over tending kills trees so I just wanted to reach out and see what everyone thought. Sometimes simpler is better. Thanks everyone for talking me off the ledge.

One more thing, to ask. The foliage has lots of ashy gray tips that aren’t growing. Is it just a matter of time with proper care that these will start growing again or will the juniper want to regrow these portions from crotch growth?

I have another rescue juniper that had the same gray tips and while the rest of the tree is gaining health and momentum, the gray tipped foliage has not grown at all since I brought it home. They haven’t died because the foliage is still supple but they aren’t extending like the rest of the foliage, either. I’ve checked for spider mites on both trees and nada.

Cheers!