Juniper do's and don'ts

[Neli]

Neli Dear, that post you quoted was dated Aug 23rd. Vance has not been back.

Sorry! Confused woman here...He said 2 weeks he will be without internet...anyway...

 

[Shay]

So the repot in junipers is different then other trees?

Do repot in late summer early fall, if the appropriate after care can be provided(partial shade and higher humidity)

I thought repoting is done in spring time...

 

[Dav4]

I thought repoting is done in spring time...

You can repot a juniper almost any time of year...but your aftercare will determine the success of the repot. Spring time is generally considered the best time to repot trees in general, including junipers.

 

[Shay]

I just got a new (my firs) juniper

You can repot a juniper almost any time of year...but your aftercare will determine the success of the repot. Spring time is generally considered the best time to repot trees in general, including junipers.

and it seems like the pot is fully packed with roots. so should I repot now or wait till spring?
I want to practice some general maintenance before I start to design it...
and pleased explain aftercare. there is a different aftercare to a fall repot or a spring repot?
thank you!!
(its amazing how much knowledge one can pick up here. and all because people were kind enough to share it...)

 

[Dav4]

Aftercare involves everything you do (or don't do) to the tree until the tree has recovered from the repot. Junipers repotted in the spring are generally bullet proof...they go back out in full sun, watering as usual, feed as usual, etc.. Junipers repotted in mid summer should be placed in some shade for a week or so, probably shouldn't be fertilized until they start growing again, and you need to watch the water carefully. Repotting in the fall usually means more significant winter protection.

Please fill out your location in your user cp as it will help us to give you more specific advice.

My gut feeling would be to start styling this fall and consider a spring repot.

 

[Shay]

Ill upload some pictures later on

I am from Israel and updated my information, thanks.

Its hot here all year round but my balcony is facing north so its shaded most of the day.

 

[Neli]

You can repot a juniper almost any time of year...but your aftercare will determine the success of the repot. Spring time is generally considered the best time to repot trees in general, including junipers.

Shohin and smaller are repotted in September in Japan.

 

[Alain]

i got (from another forum) that structural pruning has to be done in winter (Nov. Dec. ) on junipers.
I re-potted mine (J. chinensis) after buying it from Home depot 2-3 weeks ago and it seems pretty healthy so I was planing to do a first structural cutting beginning of Nov (in Il Nov it'll already be Winter)
I that too soon?

 

[Paradox]

i got (from another forum) that structural pruning has to be done in winter (Nov. Dec. ) on junipers.
I re-potted mine (J. chinensis) after buying it from Home depot 2-3 weeks ago and it seems pretty healthy so I was planing to do a first structural cutting beginning of Nov (in Il Nov it'll already be Winter)
I that too soon?

I would wait until next spring (May-June) when the it starts showing signs of growth on it the branch tips.

 

[fore]

I would wait until next spring (May-June) when the it starts showing signs of growth on it the branch tips.

Ryan N. taught me that's too late, you need to repot junipers BEFORE you see any new growth. New growth? Too late to repot. Basically, when you start seeing it switch from the winter bronzing to green.

Also, you can prune back to non lignified branchlets.

 

[Alain]

Ryan N. taught me that's too late, you need to repot junipers BEFORE you see any new growth. New growth? Too late to repot. Basically, when you start seeing it switch from the winter bronzing to green.

Also, you can prune back to non lignified branchlets.

i did re-pot it when I bought it in order to give it a better soil (drainage) and more space to expand its roots (it is in a training pot, not bonsai pot)

For the pruning I was just speaking of the structural one: I don't plan to touch any of the new growths before Spring and i don't plan to do a major work neither as I want to keep the most part of its lower branches in order to thicken the trunk (sacrifices) however there are 2 or 3 branches that have to go in order to start its styling and also give some light in the middle of the tree.

As I said it is pretty healthy and I saw that this kind of structural work is done in Winter while the new growths pruning is done during the growing season.

 

[Q-Bonsai]

The one thing I can say about Junipers is you can do a whole lot to them if you don't over water and mist frequently. I have bent branches to where they split and break about 50% of the way through in the middle of summer and they never skipped a beat.

As for repotting, Junipers don't need an excessive root system since their energy comes from the foliage. So, in my experience, you can take off a lot of roots during repot as long as the aftercare is right.

I water mine once every other day in spring and fall, every day during the summer. However, I mist them 4-6 times a day except in the winter.

 

[Paradox]

Ryan N. taught me that's too late, you need to repot junipers BEFORE you see any new growth. New growth? Too late to repot. Basically, when you start seeing it switch from the winter bronzing to green.

Also, you can prune back to non lignified branchlets.

Not to diss Ryan Neil. His work speaks for itself, but he perhaps works with more sensative material than I have so far.

I was at a demo in late April at MABS given by the Japanese master Takashi Iura, whose family in Japan grows tons of juniper. He said spring time when they are starting to show growth as long as they look vigorous is a great time to work a juniper because the energy is flowing into the branches and it will help them recover better. Suthin Sukosolvisit pretty much said the same thing.

Ive repotted several J.pro nanas and San Jose in May-June and they are all thriving, some to the point of being obnoxious with growth.

Different species may respond slightly different. RMJ may be more sensative than JPN. More juvenile plants such as the ones Ive worked with so far may tolerate it better than the more mature trees that Ryan works with.

As we know there are very few absolutes in bonsai.

 

[Dav4]

There is the best time...and then there is the rest of the times. I still say the best time to repot almost any tree is just as they are exiting dormancy, typically in early spring time....but you can still repot junipers in late spring, summer, or fall and they'll likely be just fine. Again, aftercare is key.

 

[fore]

There is the best time...and then there is the rest of the times. I still say the best time to repot almost any tree is just as they are exiting dormancy, typically in early spring time....but you can still repot junipers in late spring, summer, or fall and they'll likely be just fine. Again, aftercare is key.

I agree Paradox, more than one way. I'll just say, 'because the energy is flowing into the branches' is the exact reason you want to repot before the sap is flowing. And also, I should've mentioned that this is the best time, fall is the second best, w. adequate aftercare....

So I totally agree with Dave! Aftercare can allow work to be done at diff. times of the yr. Hard to do here in Chicago regarding fall repotting. I know Ryan does some fall repots but he has awesome aftercare control.

 

[larlamonde]

there is the best time...and then there is the rest of the times. I still say the best time to repot almost any tree is just as they are exiting dormancy, typically in early spring time....but you can still repot junipers in late spring, summer, or fall and they'll likely be just fine. Again, aftercare is key.

agreed!!!!

 

[crust]

Everyone talks about "after care" what do people really mean by this? Is it primarily the move to shade and watch watering thing?

 

[A Random User]

Everyone talks about "after care" what do people really mean by this? Is it primarily the move to shade and watch watering thing?

Yep !!!
But sounds better when it is labeled "after care"

 

[RKatzin]

I learned a good lesson this past winter. I had a dozen junie, pro nanas and all were pot bound last fall. I got to as many as I could, which left four of them to suffer the winter potbound. Only one of those survived and it is still trying to come back. It's showing some new growth this summer, but weak and I doubt it will make it through another hard winter.

It's hard to say going in what your winter will be and our last was worse than normal. Usually my junies sail through winter no prob, but potbound and frozen was too much.

Those I repotted in fall had no problems, those I let winter potbound died. Won't do that again! Rick

 

[Lazylightningny]

Junis that I purchase after spring I just slip pot into the grow garden to await repotting the following spring. Maybe I'm being too cautious now.