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  1. riprap

    How to proceed

    If horizontal space is at a premium for you, then you might want to go smaller. Otherwise, I don't see any problem with using that box.
  2. riprap

    Looking for suggestions

    If it were mine, I would get into the root mass, remove any downward-pointing roots under the trunk, comb and otherwise ensure that the surface roots all came out radially and didn't cross each other or dive back toward the base. I would repot it in a container that was shallower than the...
  3. riprap

    Looking for suggestions

    I second the comment about this tree having a good future. I would add that it's also a good time to work on developing the nebari. Can't really see what may be required with the roots, but early is better than late in the tree's development. (This is advice I'm giving myself too, because I...
  4. riprap

    Grafting shimpaku on "prostrata" junipers

    Yes; he is grafting those (pine) scions close to the base of existing branches, which is the kind of treatment I was thinking of. Of course, Charles, in the video, was trying to preserve some existing branch structure whereas George is basically fitting that whopping big trunk with a new set of...
  5. riprap

    ONE MORE TIME! Yamadori Style Junipers

    Do you find that the San Jose understock makes the Itoigawa branches more vigorous?
  6. riprap

    Grafting shimpaku on "prostrata" junipers

    Thank you. Those are very informative. Charles seems to graft the scions well out on the ramified branches of the understock. Any back-budding will then be the foliage of the stock prostrata -- maybe not a problem in his design concept, but something that strikes me anyway. The technique is...
  7. riprap

    ONE MORE TIME! Yamadori Style Junipers

    Thanks for the pictures, really helpful. With Al's lessons in mind I bent the tar out of some of my little shimpaku this weekend. Now I see I could probably have been even more extreme with the coiling.
  8. riprap

    Grafting shimpaku on "prostrata" junipers

    I have a number of what I call "gray" junipers, grown from cuttings from what may be the variety sold as "prostrata" (but which came to me unlabeled so I'm not really sure of the ID). In any case, they are vigorous growers and have put on quite nice trunks. However, the foliage is not as well...
  9. riprap

    Shimpaku cuttings

    For me, great drainage has always been the difference between success and failure with juniper cuttings.
  10. riprap

    Pinus radiata (Monterey Pine)?

    One biological fact that may be a consideration is that P. radiata is a relatively short-lived tree. An age of 125 years has been considered the probable upper limit (McClintock, E., 2001, The Trees of Golden Gate Park).
  11. riprap

    Finding trident maple stock

    I visited Brent at Evergreen Gardenworks last week. He told me that he was not stocking trident maples at this time, and prowling through his shade houses I did not find any. Plenty of interesting, high-quality stuff though, as I'm sure anyone who has dealt with him knows.
  12. riprap

    Kifu Trident

    Simplicity itself! Thank you. I've got to try this.
  13. riprap

    Kifu Trident

    From the photo I can't tell how the scions are adhered to the trunk (and just what is the role of the pushpins). This has probably been covered in another thread, in which case, could you please direct me to it? Thanks very much.
  14. riprap

    Shimpaku first steps

    Thanks for your replies. I don't need to say much, because you are working with a person whose vision you trust -- that's the concept of sensei/teacher. And it's not good to mix bits and snatches of advice from too many sources. But, yes, when I look at this tree I think about picking a trunk...
  15. riprap

    Shimpaku first steps

    Thanks for the update. I'm late to this thread, but I do have some questions -- as another guy with a strong interest in junipers. These are also for anyone looking in who has the experience to answer. (1) It looks like you removed the outer, shaggy layer of the bark, exposing that smooth...
  16. riprap

    Hope I don't offend, but here's a pet peeve

    Don't see why it should be necessary to anthropomorphize plants to begin with. I do it now and again for fun and when the tone is understood ("Yeah, this kaede decided it didn't need that branch anymore"), but not to frame a debate, as about "rescue". In archaeology and paleontology, quickly...
  17. riprap

    Comment by 'riprap' in media 'Juniper'

    The foliage looks a little more "touseled" than I'm used to in shimpakus. Is it a particular cultivar, or does that come from not being rigorously pinched, the way fine "finished" shimpakus tend to be? I like this tree very much and look forward to seeing pictures in the years to come...
  18. riprap

    Comment by 'riprap' in media 'Virginia Pine'

    Very evocative composition. To my eye, the pot is too formal; the way the profile curves in under the lip is confining, when the composition is saying free! free! Eventually I think this would look good in a low, oval rustic pot or even on a slab. I keep coming back to it; the tree is very...
  19. riprap

    Comment by 'riprap' in media 'Mugo Pine: Pinus Mugo Mugus'

    Seems quite healthy and well cared-for. I find the crotch between the two trunks quite rigid (would that if "flowed" more, in keeping with the graceful pot). The upper foliage mass seems oddly truncated at the right side. What if it were reduced so that the upper mass had about 75% the weight...
  20. riprap

    Name this boxwood variety

    How long has 'Morris Midget' been around? I had the opportunity to dig up a boxwood hedge that was probably planted in the 1940s or 1950s, and the bark and leaves look a lot like these photos.
  21. riprap

    Ginkgo styling methods

    Thank you for the pointer to that useful information. I like the challenge the species presents, because so many of our usual arsenal of procedures (wiring, chopping, developing a whole new set of branches) don't apply, or apply in a very limited sense. No "Iowa winters" here in San...
  22. riprap

    Ginkgo styling methods

    Hello, I am looking for resources about the procedures for styling a ginkgo in the classic, upright style -- columnar trunk with a profusion of upward-striking small branches. Obviously, the first step is to have freely-budding material. I've got that. The point is what to do next...
  23. riprap

    Pre Bonsai Stock

    There's a logical fallacy here. The high mortality of young plants in the wild results from some falling on infertile ground, some being preyed upon or succumbing to disease, failing to have roots down far enough for the first hot summer, being shaded out by their siblings, and on and on...
  24. riprap

    Elm clump

    The left branch is the lowest profile branch of the group; so it can be fairly large. Considering the left-hand tree only (as if it were a solo tree), that branch might be proportionally a bit heavy. But when the group is considered as a unit, it is not only proportionate sets a graceful tone...
  25. riprap

    Comment by 'riprap' in media 'Goyomatsu'

    If only it didn't remind me of Moe's hair. A staunch, compelling composition, but awfully symmetrical.
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