I gave Juniperus Procumbens a shot...

Went to Houston Garden Centers today and went through about 40 of these. This one looked pretty good to my untrained eye. So I bought him for $8 and took him home.

This one was REALLY FUN! Cleaning the roots took forever and all I could hear in my head was Nigel Saunders saying “I want to get my radial roots pattern correct.”

I’m hoping to make this an upright, if that’s even possible. I hacked off one branch that was growing nearly straight down from the bend.

Speaking of, do these naturally bend this much or are they trained to do that?

And how are these things propagated by nurseries? After cleaning and washing the roots, I noticed that the trunk appeared to extend below the root ball.

I cut the 3” nub off so that the root ball is flat on the bottom. I hope that doesn’t kill it.

sounds like it was propagated from an air-layer. No idea how Houston Garden Center normally propagates them, but that's the only thing I can think of that would leave a section of the trunk extending below the roots (too thick for a cutting, I think). Removing it should not be a problem.
You can certainly make them into an informal upright (formal too, I suppose, but they aren't really suited for it as well). They naturally bend and twist, and grow in a "sprawling" sort of habit, meaning you will have to wire something upwards if you want it to be more than about 6 inches tall.

Relknes said:

.
You can certainly make them into an informal upright (formal too, I suppose, but they aren't really suited for it as well). They naturally bend and twist, and grow in a "sprawling" sort of habit, meaning you will have to wire something upwards if you want it to be more than about 6 inches tall.

Click to expand...

Something like this is what I mean.

TooCoys said:

Something like this is what I mean.

Click to expand...

That's an informal upright. Definately possible. Wire it up, or if the trunk is too stiff to wire much just wait for a runner that you can wire instead.

TooCoys said:

...I cut the 3” nub off so that the root ball is flat on the bottom. I hope that doesn’t kill it.

View attachment 199708View attachment 199709

Click to expand...

Pretty nice for $8 best of luck with it.
Cutting the layer Relknes referred to this as being, best suggestion I think, in itself will not kill the tree.
You will want to remove more of it with the next repot. A lot more, if it pulls through. Knob cutters are great for that.
Personally, and the mind frame of most here, you don't really want to completely bare root it
but moreover, you don't want to work both the foliage and the roots so hard at once, or even in the same year.

Do return to the garden centre and find a couple more. Several would give you more hands on experience.
Best to wire in the Fall, especially if you're going to really bend it about to avoid separation or injuring the cambium layer
to the point of separating the branch from life. It happens.

Best of luck. Frequent misting foliage, dappled Sun or part shade, and never ever, allow this to go very dry for a couple months, but not with wet feet either.

What soil did you use?

Japonicus said:

Best to wire in the Fall, especially if you're going to really bend it about to avoid separation or injuring the cambium layer
to the point of separating the branch from life. It happens.

.....

What soil did you use?

Click to expand...

I did this!! One of the branches which I thought I might be able to bend upwards as the new apex, actually split a little at the node. Not enough to make it halfway through, but just enough that I could see the light wood color under the bark. I left it alone when I saw that, hoping it would heal back.


I mixed some potting mix, sphagum moss, sand, and vermiculite as my planting medium. The pot was filled 1/3 with pea gravel at the bottom, and the rest the soil mixture. I cut the pot it came in down and planted it back in the same pot.

I’ve always heard that you never bare root a juniper. Bu the nurseryman I work for, who’s been in the business for like 50 years, says pro nanas can be. I guess you’ll find out!

I’m not sure your growing mix is ideal. It might hold too much moisture for a juniper but hopefully it will be ok.

TooCoys said:

I did this!! One of the branches which I thought I might be able to bend upwards as the new apex, actually split a little at the node. Not enough to make it halfway through, but just enough that I could see the light wood color under the bark. I left it alone when I saw that, hoping it would heal back.


I mixed some potting mix, sphagum moss, sand, and vermiculite as my planting medium. The pot was filled 1/3 with pea gravel at the bottom, and the rest the soil mixture. I cut the pot it came in down and planted it back in the same pot.

Click to expand...

Agreeing with Cable on the soil, doesn't look good for the home team, buy more plants and components for good bonsai soil

Here's a couple links to a great source for bonsai soil, whether you want to blend it yourself
or go with their pre-mixed soil. Both are linked here...great communication as well with this vendor, very clean and tested product too
https://www.bonsaijack.com/category/bonsai-soil-components-substrate/
https://www.bonsaijack.com/category/premixed-bonsai-soil/conifer-pine-juniper-bonsai-soil/

I’ll research soil mixes tonight at work and report him tomorrow or Sunday.