Kishu Air Layer

[ColinFraser]

That upside down picture was a hit on Instagram
I'm not holding a root there - I put a screw with wire wrapped around it in the bottom of the trunk at the last potting, since as a fresh air layer it didn't have strong enough roots for normal tie down wires.



Here's a view looking straight up the . . . Uh, ahem . . . bottom of the tree.

 

[ColinFraser]

Plenty of good strong roots now, so I removed the screw and selected a new pot.



I think I won this pot in a raffle at the Huntington Bonsai-a-thon in 2015.

 

[just.wing.it]

Wow, what a great job!
That is looking awesome!

 

[ColinFraser]

Better. The tree still needs to be compacted, and there is some backbudding coming along to cut back too . . . maybe in the fall or next year. It also has two apices (yes that's the plural of apex), one of which will have to go as it fills in.

 

[ColinFraser]

Oh, you may also be able to see that I removed some roots exiting the trunk above the previous soil level. I actually had several layers of roots and took it down a tier this time, raising a bit more of the trunk and cleaning up the base.

 

[Johnathan]

@ColinFraser Sorry for lurking and digging through old post, but I saw on the second attempt with the middle air layering the date was roughly in August, and you mentioned checking it in spring. Was this just a one time thing because you tried earlier in spring and it didn't completely take?

Would you recommend starting a fresh air layer on a juniper this time of year and allowing it "marinate" with hopes of separating it in Spring of next year?