Shipping Aftercare

Hey guys!

Greetings from Atlanta! Quick question since I believe this is your wheel house. I have an Ishii kishu tree coming to me today from Gary out in California. In terms of shipping aftercare what does it need? It’s in his green grow pot. Our repotting season is here but not sure with it being a shipped tree if I should do it. I don’t want to shock it. Any advice would be great and thanks!

All the best,
Anthony

Depends a lot on what the tree looks like and what it is planted in.

What did "Gary in California" say the aftercare should be?

I don't do conifer for the most part. I would definitely ask Gary.

That said...My JBP from Jonas... didn't have any special aftercare from shipping... it went directly on my bench into the sun.

I'm more cautious with deciduous... acclimating is my main concern. Depending on where it came from....and time of year it is. But I won't get into that. As this in not a decidious tree.

Trees can cope. A few days in a box is no problem for most trees, including juniper.
I'm interested that so many people just assume that shipping is stressful. I've been posting trees for nearly 20 years now and most clients report that they are happy and healthy at the other end. Even trees that sulk if they don't get water twice a day here can go for 3-5 days without additional water while travelling in a box. I assume that because they are enclosed and dark they don't transpire much.
If the tree arrives looking normal you can do whatever you would normally do with such a tree. If there's been some problem during shipping you may need to make some allowances.

Shibui said:

Trees can cope. A few days in a box is no problem for most trees, including juniper.
I'm interested that so many people just assume that shipping is stressful. I've been posting trees for nearly 20 years now and most clients report that they are happy and healthy at the other end. Even trees that sulk if they don't get water twice a day here can go for 3-5 days without additional water while travelling in a box. I assume that because they are enclosed and dark they don't transpire much.
If the tree arrives looking normal you can do whatever you would normally do with such a tree. If there's been some problem during shipping you may need to make some allowances.

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All but two of my collection have come shipped. I've never had an issue. Acclimating a deciduous tree. Is not a huge concern. But if it's come from the south and my temps for night are a shock for it in fall. It goes into my greenhouse to acclimate. I've never had issues with shipping trees to me. But I do feel with the USA being so broadly zoned. Trees with leaves such as deciduous. I am more cautious of acclimating. Dependant on season and location it came from.

If it needs to be repotted, you should not hesitate based on shipping. I had him ship a green pot juniper to me a few years ago in the middle of summer and it was packed well and didn’t skip a beat. His soil is a little denser that what we would use in our climates, but it drained fine.

After this AM, the weather looks good for a while and it should be fine to go directly out on your benches in full sun. Bring it in overnight if you are getting a freeze, but anything above 30 or so should be fine. I repotted mine last week, and it’s sitting out on the bench at 35f.

leatherback said:

What did "Gary in California" say the aftercare should be?

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He means "Gary Ishii" the owner of Chikugo-En Bonsai Nursery in LA - a very well-known and well-respected nursery. I have two trees from him. They are well-known for grafting Japanese black pine and shimpaku juniper. Back in the day, they used to bring in large California juniper from the Mojave desert and over the course of years they would replace all the foliage on the tree (which tends to be sparse and coarse) with shimpaku juniper.

As far as the OP's question - assuming the tree comes in healthy and strong, you should not hesitate to transplant just because it was shipped. If you are worried about after-care, give it some protection from direct sun and wind until it shows new growth, though I have been transplanting shimpakus this week and they are going straight back onto my benches. Best practice for transplanted collected junipers includes a humidity tent and/or night-time misting - but I don't think you will need this.