Collected Juniper Yamadori Aftercare - humidity tent v. open misting

[walee]

After collecting my first juniper last week, I wanted to create a thread to share my experience/journey through it's aftercare and also ask for some suggestions to help improve my setup.

For me, harvesting was really rough, the terrain was basically rock scree, and fine roots kept tearing off as rocks crumbled off the dirt as I dug the tree out (LINK to that topic) Thus, I believe I'll really have to focus on root restoration for it's recovery phase.


Based on my research (Just a few: Juniperus Californica, Captkingdom, Kodama16) and given my climate circumstances, I decided to go with the humidity tent method to give these guys the best chance at survival! The trees were potted up into 100% pumice (rinsed/sifted) in the smallest possible containers they would fit into, then wrapped the pots in a plastic bag and set them under my back porch where it only gets about 1-2 hrs of late afternoon sun. I then built a make shift humidity tent over the trees and set up three spray nozzles for misting.


I'm still dialing in the proper amount of misting required, but currently I'm running it 7 times throughout the day (at 01 06 10 13 15 17 20 o'clock) with humidity fluctuating between 70-96% throughout the day. I do think this is on the high end, and am super concerned with mold/mildew/rot, so I think I will plan to further reduce the watering and maybe open up a bit of ventilation along the sides. Also for anyone who is interested in automation, monitoring stats, and what not, I'd really recommend Govee Wifi Humidity monitors. They're absolutely amazing for tracking moisture stats throughout the day.


I do have a couple questions though:
- Should I provide more ventilation into the humidity tent to prevent rot and mold; is that a concern with Junipers?
- Should I remove all the berries? (I've read that these will rob nutrients from the roots and should be plucked off)
- What humidity range do you guys recommend keeping the trees at? (I've seen people recommend anything from 40-60% to 80-100%)
- Should I be focusing more on the VPD (vapor pressure deficit) figures? (I figure since transpiration rates are more climate dependent, from my research LINK, I want to keep that around 0.3 when 'rooting cuttings)

Thank you all for your time.

 

[PonderingSage:]

That looks like a really small amount of roots. I got my fingers crossed for you, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
I would think about site selection for digging and make sure you have at least some containment.

 

[walee]

thank you @ponderingsage, I'm saying a prayer every night. Hopefully they get answered.

 

[PaulH]

I think you got plenty of roots, pretty typical for Utah juniper collections. With the aftercare you're providing they should survive. I have had trees make it with a lot less roots.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

My own junipers had twelve times as much roots and lost half of their foliage.

I would only worry about mildew and rot if you can't provide air flow. Otherwise, I'd keep it humid and if possible, cool too. A tent can turn into an oven fast.

Bagging the soil is preventing air from flowing through the soil. I don't know if that's common practice but every time I did something similar it turned out to be the wrong thing to do. Even though there are few roots in there, they do need a wet-damp cycle to develop nicely. Air is very good at preventing root issues.

 

[walee]

.

I think you got plenty of roots, pretty typical for Utah juniper collections. With the aftercare you're providing they should survive. I have had trees make it with a lot less roots.

That’s very reassuring! Thank you

My own junipers had twelve times as much roots and lost half of their foliage.

I would only worry about mildew and rot if you can't provide air flow. Otherwise, I'd keep it humid and if possible, cool too. A tent can turn into an oven fast.

Bagging the soil is preventing air from flowing through the soil. I don't know if that's common practice but every time I did something similar it turned out to be the wrong thing to do. Even though there are few roots in there, they do need a wet-damp cycle to develop nicely. Air is very good at preventing root issues.

Losing foliage is a good sign though right? foliage may or may not grow back, but going into a coma and then dying after 6mo is what I dread. Good point about the bagging, theoretically if I’ve got the whole enclosure tented, the soil shouldn’t dry out. I might go ahead and remove the plastic bag.

 

[rollwithak]

Where did you collect these?

 

[PaulH]

I might go ahead and remove the plastic bag.

I just cover the top of the soil.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

At about 11:00 Tom talks about his collection aftercare for California and Utah junipers. Keep the soil from getting too wet - particularly with misters. Tom mists about 6x per night for 10 minutes each. He does not mist during the day.

 

[walee]

Where did you collect these?

Please dm me.

I just cover the top of the soil.

not a bad idea, so that excess water can flow away freely from the bottom and the pumice doesn't drown from the heavy misting.

At about 11:00 Tom talks about his collection aftercare for California and Utah junipers. Keep the soil from getting too wet - particularly with misters. Tom mists about 6x per night for 10 minutes each. He does not mist during the day.

very informational, this is not the first time I've read about misting at night. And given that Mr. Voung basically lives where I live, I think I'll seriously consider his technique! Thank you sensei

 

[chicago1980]

This is a timely thread as I collected my first Utah Juniper last week.

Setting up a mist system this weekend.

 

[casun]

Woah @chicago1980 that is incredible.

 

[one_bonsai]

Tom mists about 6x per night for 10 minutes each. He does not mist during the day.

Interesting that he mists during the night and not during the day which is the opposite to how most people do it

 

[Potawatomi13]

Some Great trees. High hopes for survival.

 

[sorce]

Interesting that he mists during the night and not during the day which is the opposite to how most people do it

Our boy @wireme came across an unpositive idea about mist closing the stomata and not allowing transpiration, perhaps this method falls into this reasoning.

@chicago1980 ....uh .... storytime?
Good thing this bloody heatwave is ending!
Rain today! Perfect!

Sorce

 

[Ruddigger]

Isnt it a little late for collecting, its darn near 100 this week! Hope it lives though, pm me if you want a collecting buddy, I’ve been looking for people to go with.

 

[walee]

This is a timely thread as I collected my first Utah Juniper last week.

Amazing tree! Send us a picture of how many roots you were able to salvage!

Isnt it a little late for collecting, its darn near 100 this week! Hope it lives though, pm me if you want a collecting buddy, I’ve been looking for people to go with.

Depends on the region I believe. Collecting junipers are allowed until the spring candle push begins on the trees in area they grow, and at areas of 6k-8k, snow doesn’t even finish melting until late May, early June.

 

[chicago1980]

 

[PaulH]

Isnt it a little late for collecting

For years I have collected Utah junipers in October, with about 50% survival.... Last year I went at the end of May and all five trees I dug are growing strong. I'm a convert.

 

[walee]

quick question, do you guys recommend picking off the juvenile berries on these collected trees?