Digging up Junipers in July...Zone 7b....?

[october]

Congrats Wee, nice dig! I hope they have some great trunks for you!

Btw, I've sprayed my Itoigawa and Kishu with Copper, Daconil, and Bonide Infuse. None affected the color.

Rob, I've been purposely NOT covering the top soil as I figured there would be immature bugs, fungal spores and such on top of the soil. So spraying would kill whatever is on the soil....should I change my ways?

With copper based fungicides, it is pretty important. Copper can be harmful to roots. Especially and liquid based copper. As for the other types, I am not sure. However, I would always cover the soil when spraying any copper based product.

Rob

 

[fore]

With copper based fungicides, it is pretty important. Copper can be harmful to roots. Especially and liquid based copper. As for the other types, I am not sure. However, I would always cover the soil when spraying any copper based product.

Rob

Thanks Rob for the warning! I'll def. start covering up the soil with Copper.

 

[wireme]

Cool, I'll be interested to see what different recovery results you get in the ground vs box. Keep us posted.
Mp

 

[Wee]

Only place I had to put them in the ground doesn't get much direct sunlight....Mostly just thru the trees....In the winter they will get more sun....I plan on putting the ones that I planted in the ground in pots when the time is right....? When would be the soonest I should think about pulling them from the ground and putting them in training pots....?

Brian

PS...I have more pics of all my bonsai stuff at http://www.vendo80.blogspot.com/ as well as the old coke machine I just restored.

 

[Beng]

Hey Brian just a word of caution after checking out your blog.

I see your doing a lot of collecting this june/july. This really isn't the time to dig things up from the ground even if you can retain most of the root ball this is probably one of the worst times. Most root growth is shutting down or will soon be shutting down.

If you see something you like in the future it would be better to talk to the owner about removing it in the fall if they can wait, or if they are flexible next spring would be even better. Looks like you'll have lots of opportunities judging from what you found so far!

You'll have a much greater chance of survival then, rather then the stuff you pull up this time of year. Don't mean to discourage your new love for bonsai. I just want to make sure you know that most plants dug up this time of year die or almost die, and if the same operation was done in spring they'd most likely all live.

Unless of course they're tropicals in which case summer is an ok time to collect.

 

[Wee]

These junipers had to be gotten this weekend or never....Not much of a choose. The boxwood I dug was in my front yard and I pretty much tried to kill it about a year ago.....I have been watching craigslist to see what folks were giving away....I figure if they are just gonna dig them up and toss them I might as well try to save them.

I missed a nice JM 2 weeks ago....Oh well can't dig them all.

Brian

 

[Wee]

Just a 2 month update....The two I put in the ground are turning pale, the one in the training pot seems to be doing pretty good. The ones I have in the ground I think are not gonna make it... I watered them when the ground got dry but I don't think I got enough soil around the roots. I'll post some pics later tonight or tomorrow of the ones in the ground....Here is the one in the training pot.

Brian

 

[Wee]

I said I would post some more pics....I took these today when I got home from work at about 7:00 pm The sun was hitting the one in the training pot, the two in the ground were mostly in the shade. The ground planted ones don't look as bad as I first thought after I trimmed off all the dead branches that were broken during the transplant, I may get lucky and have all 3 pull thru.

Here is what I think is new growth on the one in the training pot...

Brian

 

[Wee]

Well the two I planted in the ground bit the dust....I figured they would because the low branches pretty much kept me from getting the roots down in the ground when I tried to plant them....I even dumped a few buckets of sand around the roots and worked it in. But anyway the one I built a grow box for is doing well.....It doesn't have much bonsai potential but I like it anyway.

Brian

 

[Dav4]

It looks pretty healthy. If it grew well for you this year, I'd think about beginning to cut it back, reducing most of the very straight branches that won't be part of any possible design. You can probably remove some now, or wait until late winter. It's ok if you don't have a plan for the material right now. Just slowly reduce the foliage mass over time (years) and try to see something in the lower trunk that has character worth highlighting. That will end up dictating where you go with it.

 

[Bill S]

I would root for back into the ground on a slab if you have the space, ans in a container. There is a fine line to walk between replacing the soil with a modern granular mix and leaving the roots alone to recover, and I believe a pond basket back in the ground is the safest approach, although less thirsty than a daily water. You could even start out in the shade and gradually move towards the full sun before fall

You can't move them when they are in the ground???????
Chances are if these are potted up after digging( ie remove the soil and change to bonsai soil) they will probably be firewood for this winter.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I was disappointed that the ones in the ground didn't survive and I was the one who recommended putting them there, which goes to show that you should listen to Smoke.

I must admit that upon rereading I couldn't make sense of my post. I think I was recommending the pond-basket escape method. Where you could move it around even though it was recovering in the ground.

 

[Wee]

No worries Mr. Fancy They were doomed anyway. I couldn't even have gotten them into grow boxes without cutting quite a few of the lower limbs off of the 2 biggest ones. I don't think I will ever try to dig this variety of Juniper again. The branches root themselves into the ground, very hard to dig.

Brian

 

[Wee]

Here is the sole survivor from this dig....I still haven't done any branch selection. I really think I may just let this one grow and not ever try to train it....I like it as is.

Brian

 

[drew33998]

Letting it go another year isn't a bad idea. Though I wouldn't not attempt to do something style wise with it. That is the end goal behind all the work that goes into digging them and caring for them. If it is just a bush in pot I don't really see the point, for a juniper that is. If it were a nice flowering tree or bush I could see that.

 

[sorce]

If I gotta come down to Georgia and pick that up........

That looks like it could be pretty dope.

Interior budding.
Looks a nice sole trunk....
And then one laying down....

Maybe a raft?

Wee........

Do it!

Sorce

 

[Vin]

No worries about the wind blowing that one over