I really though I won't have any tree to work on during the long w.e. until...

[Alain]

P.S.
Maybe offer to wash their car if the lottery tickets don't work, save the man-act as a last resort!!

In fact it's a French expression and it reads all the way around (if I may say it like that). It means that they did do much for me already that they were even willing to do a little bit more. But as you could see I took the high road and said 'Thanks but no thanks, just the trees will be fine'

Congrats. If you want them around next Labor Day weekend, I suggest potting in the smallest pots the roots will fit into, packed with pumice, placing them in AM sun and PM shade, and misting the foliage and trunks a few times a day.

Manipulating the branches and reducing the foliage this year will reduce their chances of survival down to around 0.

When I collect junipers, I usually wait 2 years to be sure they're stable before starting any work.

Actually something I don't understand: I read that the rule of thumb when you root prune a tree is to remove approx. as much foliage in order to keep the energy balanced. These were severely root pruned, isn't it a problem to keep the same amount of foliage than before? In particular for a tree like #3 for example that has a really dense foliage.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I read that the rule of thumb when you root prune a tree is to remove approx. as much foliage in order to keep the energy balanced. These were severely root pruned, isn't it a problem to keep the same amount of foliage than before? In particular for a tree like #3 for example that has a really dense foliage.

Not so with junipers. With junipers, keep all the foliage and let the tree sort out what it can sustain. The fullest of your trees is most likely to survive.

My understanding is that junipers have very specific branch-to-root connections, which aren't usually too obvious, so pruning the top can be a "double whammy":
-If you removed roots that supply specific branches that remain, those branches likely die.
-Then if you remove branches that supplied other remaining roots, those roots wither.

Also, they'll give signs of recovery. Yellowing interior foliage is a good sign that the tree is shedding foliage the roots cannot sustain, but preserving the younger, more efficient foliage. When you see this (4-5 weeks after collection), it's a sign the tree is responding and recovering. If the whole tree starts to turn pale in 4-5 weeks instead, its likely to die.

 

[Alain]

My understanding is that junipers have very specific branch-to-root connections, which aren't usually too obvious, so pruning the top can be a "double whammy":
-If you removed roots that supply specific branches that remain, those branches likely die.
-Then if you remove branches that supplied other remaining roots, those roots wither.

Tricky then (and spooky also) how do you know which root and/or branches you could prune without killing the tree!?

 

[Alain]

I'm pretty sure all junipers are Chinensis, like all maples are Acer. The variety is after Chinensis.

Juniperus Chinensis "Foemina"

Juniperus Chinensis "Sea Green"

Juniperus Chinensis "Parsonii"

Juniperus Chinensis "Torulosa"

I'm pretty sure you know that acer is a genus while chinensis is a species and that the correct sentence would be 'all Juniper are Juniperus'

You do know junipers turn red?

May in CA where you guys root for the 49ers but in Chicago burbs we root for the Bears hence our junipers turn orange and blue

 

[Smoke]

cool you get what I meant.

Actually I root for the Giants and they turn orange too.

 

[Vin]

Not so with junipers. With junipers, keep all the foliage and let the tree sort out what it can sustain. The fullest of your trees is most likely to survive.

My understanding is that junipers have very specific branch-to-root connections, which aren't usually too obvious, so pruning the top can be a "double whammy":
-If you removed roots that supply specific branches that remain, those branches likely die.
-Then if you remove branches that supplied other remaining roots, those roots wither.

Also, they'll give signs of recovery. Yellowing interior foliage is a good sign that the tree is shedding foliage the roots cannot sustain, but preserving the younger, more efficient foliage. When you see this (4-5 weeks after collection), it's a sign the tree is responding and recovering. If the whole tree starts to turn pale in 4-5 weeks instead, its likely to die.

Excellent explanation! Everyone that collects junipers should read this.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Tricky then (and spooky also) how do you know which root and/or branches you could prune without killing the tree!?

That's the reason for waiting a couple years before working on a collected juniper. The branches that are still alive after a couple years, obviously have roots supporting them. The next repotting isn't nearly has harsh as the initial collection; you're not likely removing entire large roots, but instead, you're trimming around the edges of existing roots.

Not a great example, but this is a RMJ I collected in 5/13, photos taken 7/15. It has had no root work or any pruning since I collected it. I needed to reduce the tree a bit to move it, and since it had a couple years to recover, it was starting to back-bud along big branches close to the trunk. It's easy to tell which branches were strong and which were weak.

I was able to reduce it by 1/3 or so to fit in the truck. I wouldn't have pruned if we weren't moving, but it was not risky:

See the cut branch sticking out at the camera? It had budded back to nearly the trunk, so I was able to shorten it a lot:

6 weeks later, it is going strong:

Next year, I can repot the tree for the first time, remove the remaining field soil and any old heavy root stubs, get it into bonsai soil, and it will not miss a beat. By 2017 the grafts will have taken, and be ready for a little wiring, and by 2018, the RMJ foliage will be gone, and some carving will be on the docket.

 

[Txhorticulture]

I'm pretty sure all junipers are Chinensis, like all maples are Acer. The variety is after Chinensis.

I can't tell if this is sarcasm. Juniperus is a genus. Chinensis is species epithet. There are lots of species, which technically should be lower case. Cultivar names are in single quotes, torulosa is an illegitimate cultivar name. And cultivar is not the same as variety. The latter occurs naturally while the former is cultivated asexually.

 

[Alain]

That's the reason for waiting a couple years before working on a collected juniper. The branches that are still alive after a couple years, obviously have roots supporting them. The next repotting isn't nearly has harsh as the initial collection; you're not likely removing entire large roots, but instead, you're trimming around the edges of existing roots.

Thanks! That makes perfect sense!

And in fact it may be a good news for the one I already worked on as I didn't remove any big branch. I just reduced the foliage (always in the mind set that I though I had to compensate for the lose of roots due to the extraction) by cutting the shoots that were going down and some other shoots but none of the main branches. Also all the deadwood was already dead, I didn't make any jin. The only branch where I remove the bark it was totally loose, I just pulled it manually and it came in on shot.
So may be I didn't kill it!

Furthermore I didn't do any root work (on any of the 4 trees), except that I cut some little lengths of big roots without any feeder.

Anyway time will tell me I guess...

The bright side is that even if just 1 of the 4 survive it will always be 1 less to die than originally scheduled as they were all heading right to the dumpster.
So no harm, no foul, in the worst case scenario I just delayed the trip to the garbage (and also converted it in a trip to my fireplace instead).