Collected Juniper from landscape

[Jphipps]

Hey guys. I collected this Juniper yesterday from my parents landscape (Iowa) that they are planning on redoing soon. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of it in the ground or of the root system I was able to collect. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the area which is now to the upper left in most of the pictures was actually connected to the rest of the tree. Most of it was buried in the ground so I was excited to see that the whole plant would be even more interesting with this section attached. I made sure I kept a fair amount of that original soil and planted the rest using NAPA 8822 DE. I have a guy wire in place holding up the left section, as on it's own it droops down pretty far. I have a couple questions for everyone. I think I want to raise up the left section as shown in the pictures with the white pole. I believe I'll have to use a turnbuckle to accomplish this. Any other ideas? Right now that is the only styling that I plan to do. How much stress to a newly collected tree would it be to fully wire it right now? Most sources say to wait. Any further insight? Also, to fertilize now or not to fertilize? Opinions? I'm definitely open to any future styling advice as well. Thanks for looking!

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I wouldn't touch it until it starts showing new growth. That includes fertilizer. New growth is the sign that the roots are well-established and healthy.

Looks like a fun project but don't rush it or you'll be growing firewood

 

[Vance Wood]

You had better settle on the concept of waiting for this Juniper to recover over possibly the next three years. Junipers are really tough but in many ways they are like a giant snake that has just eaten a horse. It is possible to withstand many and severe challenges but once the challenge is consumed it takes time to go beyond it. If you start fooling around with it too soon you may kill the tree. You also need to find a way to support the tree even if you have to permanently instal a crutch to keep it from wiggling around in the pot. This does nothing but break off the newly forming roots.

 

[sorce]

Amen....

Your most compact tree is not going to come from that left branch....

I wouldn't put it in a position that would possibly compromise the health of the rest....

Leave it lay safe low....

And think about an airlayer for a literate in about 8 years!

Dos trees. Both dope.

Long time!

All good!

Sorce

 

[Wilson]

Great potential!

 

[augustine]

The question is not what to do with the junipers... it is: can you wait?

Listen to the guys, they know of what they speak. Nice material

 

[ArtistWolf]

Wow! So fun!

 

[Jphipps]

I appreciate everyone's advice and will definitely wait to do any styling to this tree. I get ahead of myself when it comes to styling questions purely out of curiosity of others opinions of the tree. I am excited for the future if it survives collection. Sorce, because the left branch was partially buried in the ground it was previously entirely supported by the ground. Now that it is out of the ground and no longer buried, the branch hangs very low on its own from the weight of the foliage. The guy wire has actually taken a lot of the stress off of that branch. Obviously I didn't expand on my reasoning earlier. However, the guy wire alone doesn't seem like the most stable mechanism for supporting this branch which is why I was curious about suggestions for holding it up more securely. Turnbuckle/crutch (thanks Vance) style support does seem to be the only thing I can think of. I did wire the tree into the pot to offset the pressure that all the foliage to the left creates. It's also propped up on a brick in the pot to further help with this issue. I swear I'll leave it alone as soon as I find a good way to securely support that branch. Thanks for the input! I love the advice/critique.