1st "big purchase - Juniper nursery stock

[Iowa newbie]

So i found what I think was a decent purchase of a juniper chinensis. It was $45, its got some really good bones to it IMO.



I feel like its got a lot of potential. Its in a 4 gallon nursery pot right now, not terribly pot bound.

I did a VERY light clean up on it, great wide root base below the soil.

My question is this, do I repot in the next couple of weeks. From what I have read, I should take it very easy on the root system, don't remove more that 1/3 of roots. Eastern Iowa weather still a bit chilly at night, she's out on the deck currently in good sun. Do I get it into a large grow box? 15x15x6ish in some good soil?


My main focus is keep it alive, it may be my best tree because I just started 6 months ago but Im gonna buy more trees soon. Acquired 3 junipers over the last weekend, shooting to get some deciduous soon too, but Im being very selective of what I would consider buying. Where is the best place to spend $75-100 worth of pre bonsai stock?

Thanks yall, this is a great community, I have a ton of fun reading old posts.

 

[Iowa newbie]

Sad bump

 

[Colorado]

Brussel’s Bonsai has some decent starter material.

Evergreen Gardenworks has some nice cuttings/stock for cheap and some great specimen trees too, although not in that price range.

That’s a pretty rambunctious lookin’ Juniper you’ve got there! I’d plant it in the ground, work on thickening the trunk and pruning back all that growth. Have fun!

 

[bonsaidave]

That one should be fun to work on. It takes a while to figure out what trees can take without killing them. Learn as much as you can from those beginning trees. I have broken several juniper limbs wiring and bending nursery stock. None of my early attempts ended up looking good, but I learned a lot from them.

I hit local nurseries in my area. Even the big box stores can get something good from time to time.

From Home Depot $15, almost 6 inch base. A real Lucky find.


From local nursery $10, 1 inch trunk with a nice wiggle. I let it grow in the nursery pot all last year.


Decent stuff is tough to find but always look.

Good luck.

 

[Iowa newbie]

That one should be fun to work on. It takes a while to figure out what trees can take without killing them. Learn as much as you can from those beginning trees. I have broken several juniper limbs wiring and bending nursery stock. None of my early attempts ended up looking good, but I learned a lot from them.

I hit local nurseries in my area. Even the big box stores can get something good from time to time.

From Home Depot $15, almost 6 inch base. A real Lucky find.
View attachment 237780 View attachment 237781

From local nursery $10, 1 inch trunk with a nice wiggle. I let it grow in the nursery pot all last year.
View attachment 237782 View attachment 237783

Decent stuff is tough to find but always look.

Good luck.

Those are great finds, I dont like to think about this as a purchase of value, its the experience. Tonight, I dropped by lowes and picked up a cheap yew and mugo pine to start learning on. The wife was pissed when she saw more trees, Im addicted.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I wrote an extensive comment yesterday but "Oops, we ran into some problems.. Please try again later."
My comment got deleted. I was wondering if this is a true chinensis, or maybe some kind of hybrid like the 'prince of wales' cultivar that has this typical weeping behavior.

 

[PeaceLoveBonsai]

This seems like an appropriate time to repot the tree, if you’d like.

What type of tree are you wanting to create? Large or small?

If it were mine, I’d probably think of this tree as to reduce and not worry too much about trunk growth. It sounds like you are looking to practice bonsai, which is fine, trunk growing a juniper can be a slow (and sort of boring) process ?

If that’s the case, then I wouldn’t worry about a large box. As a matter of fact, you could reduce the root ball, then place it back in the original container, just cut the sides down.

You can reduce the top a bit when you reduce the rootball. Don’t do too much, the juniper needs the foliage to regrow the roots. Good luck. And keep us posted!

 

[sorce]

Try Wal-Mart!

I got this one from Wal-Mart.

Thats a Pot from Dave at https://bonsaitrees.com...

Shit....I just realized that....A guy who nabbed...bonsaitrees.com must be seasoned!

A great Feller!

Sorce

 

[sorce]

Oh....and don't repot till after the solstice...

I'm at a zero fail rate and I suck!

Sorce

 

[Carol 83]

The wife was pissed when she saw more trees,

You need to learn how to hide new ones among the others. And get rid of the boxes, if you had it shipped.

 

[Colorado]

Haha!! Carol has a great point. You just need MORE trees so that when you get more trees no one will notice.

 

[ncwoman]

Those are great finds, I dont like to think about this as a purchase of value, its the experience. Tonight, I dropped by lowes and picked up a cheap yew and mugo pine to start learning on. The wife was pissed when she saw more trees, Im addicted.

More trees are the best option. Just think of the worse things you could be spending your money on!