juniperus communis what would you do ?

[defra]

Hi there i bought this juniperus couplet of week ago at my groseries store for 10 euro so it was a bargain!

other then Let it gain some health and do a Propper repot Next spring i just potted it with the rootbal in a pot and filled it up with some nice draining soil.

not sure wich way to go yet so i tought maybe You b-nuts van give me any styling opinions/advise so...
what would You do With it ??

 

[Cypress187]

I don't know how big you want it, but I would cut away small pieces from the top over some years to get it smaller (big chops may kill it, maybe) and in the meanwhile work on the nebari (repotting). After that u can start styling, if it's still alive by then

 

[sorce]

I would mist it for a couple years!

And when you missed it for a couple years..

Maybe style.

Sorce

 

[defra]

@Cypress187 not a clue about the size it should be yet, Just thinking trough al the options also Next spring i Will find out How the roots look now thnx for your toughts!

@sorce im misting the hell out off it already on work days in the morning and afternoon and two or three times in the evenning and non work days as much as posible but could you please explain why you would?

 

[sorce]

hell

Just seems quite shy on root...

What's the deal there?
No pot?

It almost looks yanked from the ground.

Dope piece if it is healthy!

Sorce

 

[defra]

well it was in a pot but te roots are in one big clump of Brown sand clay substance so i guess its imported
so i pulled it out of the pot as it was in the pic and didnt find any roots in The leftover dirt in The pot
it already showed me some New growth too and i guess the Brown parts is because the lack of sunlight.

altough not in top condition but could ben worse too

so what would you do iff it was healthy ?

 

[don b]

so what would you do iff it was healthy ?

Make damn sure that it's healthy! Loads of fresh green growth all over and a well developed rootball should be established before any aggressive styling. With junipers the strength comes from the folliage. Removing any folliage now would be detrimental. Good luck!

 

[don b]

Many people new to bonsai make the mistake of wanting to turn their tree into a "Bonsai tree" immediately. Not realizing that the tree is nowhere near ready the be styled. Most of these people ignore the advice they get on forums because the advice is usually to let it grow a couple years and that is boring.

PS: when I say "many people" I am also referring to myself a few years ago

 

[defra]

Make damn sure that it's healthy! Loads of fresh green growth all over and a well developed rootball should be established before any aggressive styling. With junipers the strength comes from the folliage. Removing any folliage now would be detrimental. Good luck!

i know thats why i said to Let it gain health and do a propper repot probably into a collander to get an healthy rootball

i am Just wondering what style to aim for in the future
time is none of the essence

but i agree that it's hard to stay patience haha

 

[sorce]

so what would you do iff it was healthy

I would be looking at making it a double trunk.

I do like it.

Sorce

 

[Cypress187]

It's not a pine but maybe:

 

[defra]

thnx for the picture cypress
deffanatly going to look at the double trunk possibility's !

 

[Cypress187]

deffanatly

There are very good auto-correct add-ons for each browser in all the languages

 

[Mike Corazzi]

With junipers the strength comes from the folliage. Removing any folliage now would be detrimental. Good luck!

Would that then say to also foliar FEED junipers? I always do sorta, but not any more often than what I pour in the soil.
Do junipers like Miracle Grow on their pads? How heavy? How often?
Or something else?
My junipers went very green this year with MG.
But mostly soil feeding.

????

 

[RickMartin]

I use hasta grow to foliage feed my junipers..

Rick

 

[defra]

here People use fish emulsion
like this one:
http://www.pure4green.com/en/agri_horticulture/31/products/2/liquid_fertilisers/12/fish_emulsion.asp

i have been told that foliage fert works on mosth connifers but havent tried it yet tough and feeding seasons over for me maybe Next spring il try

 

[M. Frary]

Would that then say to also foliar FEED junipers? I always do sorta, but not any more often than what I pour in the soil.
Do junipers like Miracle Grow on their pads? How heavy? How often?
Or something else?
My junipers went very green this year with MG.
But mostly soil feeding.

????

You know the foam thats forms when you mix miracle grow? I dribble that on the pads of my junipers. Don't know if it works but it isn't hurting them neither.

 

[don b]

Would that then say to also foliar FEED junipers? I always do sorta, but not any more often than what I pour in the soil.
Do junipers like Miracle Grow on their pads? How heavy? How often?
Or something else?
My junipers went very green this year with MG.
But mostly soil feeding.

????

Junipers love folliar feed! I have no experience with miracle grow though. I use fish emulsion because it's absorbed fast by folliage, and breaks down slow in the soil, thus protecting delicate new roots (sometimes chemical ferts can damage new roots). Side note: roots, nebari and trunk base are good points to focus on in the early development stage.

 

[defra]

Junipers love folliar feed! I have no experience with miracle grow though. I use fish emulsion because it's absorbed fast by folliage, and breaks down slow in the soil, thus protecting delicate new roots (sometimes chemical ferts can damage new roots). Side note: roots, nebari and trunk base are good points to focus on in the early development stage.

One question about the fish emulsion: how frequent do you aply it and like other fert starting spring and until when ?

so i need to focus on the roots nebari and the trunk base first is your advice?

only one thing that bothers me with this tree is that the branches are all growing upwards

i have been told that with old looking conifers the branches suposed to bend down from the trunk they are kinda tough to bend already and more growth means thicker branches wich are even more tough to bend any sugestions?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

only one thing that bothers me with this tree is that the branches are all growing upwards

i have been told that with old looking conifers the branches suposed to bend down from the trunk they are kinda tough to bend already and more growth means thicker branches wich are even more tough to bend any sugestions?

It's not an issue because you won't be keeping those branches. If you DID keep those branches, by the time you got a thick trunk, the branches would also be thick - too thick for your design. So you need to let the tree throw strong growth to thicken - but you will sacrifice that growth (ie chop it off) before you start working on your final design. In some cases, you should let a tree grow long, then chop, then long, then chop, until you get it the way you want it. If you keep trimming trimming trimming growth, 20 years from now the tree will still be skinny and not look much like a bonsai.

One word about junipers. Junipers get their strength from their foliage. If you chop off too much at one time you can stress the tree, cause die-back, or even kill the tree outright. So be careful not to remove too much all at once.