Ashe Juniper heading back home.

[markyscott]

Eventually. It’s on the mend in California with lots of new growth - eventually headed back home to Texas.



Scott

 

[jriddell88]

Whoop whoop! So I assume your keeping the Ashe foliage ?

Nice ?

 

[markyscott]

Whoop whoop! So I assume your keeping the Ashe foliage ?

Nice ?

Absolutely

 

[jriddell88]

Nice ? will be a happy day.. did it miss you ??

 

[markyscott]

Nice ? will be a happy day.. did it miss you ??

Well - it seemed like it wanted to go home with me. So who was I to say no.

 

[jriddell88]

I have the same problem when I see a tree , even if it’s not in the budget ! Lol hurry up and get it into the yard , then when she asks.....oh I’ve had that one a while ?

 

[markyscott]

Here are some factoids about Ashe juniper - one doesn’t see a lot of these around.

The species is Juniperus asheii. It’s commonly known as an Ashe Juniper or a Post Cedar. It’s native to southern Missouri extending south into NE Mexico. There are extensive stands in the Texas Hill Country, west of I35. East of I35 there are only Eastern Red Cedar, but the two species hybridize near the border of their respective ranges. It grows as a shrub or small tree up to 10m. It’s almost universally reviled by ranchers in the Hill Country - one of the first things they do when clearing land is to clear all of the cedar.



Scott

 

[jriddell88]

Interesting , so can these brave the cold , you don’t see them often used as Bonsai , seems up until recently , although I’m living in the Stone Age when it comes to little trees in pots . I believe Alvaro collects them , and has some pretty ones

 

[markyscott]

The foliage grows in bright green sprays. It’s the finest foliage of all of the domestic junipers - much finer than the coarse foliage of the western junipers like the California, Western, Sierra or Rocky Mountain. It’s kind of similar to Shimpaku, actually, although not quite as tight. The species is dioecious, meaning it will put out both pollen cones and juniper berries on the same plant. It goes juvenile really easy, but properly managed, it will produce really fine scale foliage with no juvenile growth.



Scott

 

[markyscott]

You don’t see many of these in cultivation. They tend to be a bit difficult to collect as they grow in caliche. They’re hard to dig and they can have pretty extensive root systems. The caliche turns into cement in the pot and it can take a lot of time to replace that field soil with good bonsai soil. When folks keep their tree with that field soil in the pot, they easily turn juvenile. They’re habit is also a bit problematic. They have a kind of “flame-like” habit - they tend to be stick straight without any movement in the trunk. Deadwood tends to be uninteresting. That’s what really drew me to this tree - you don’t see them with good movement and a beautiful fin of deadwood along the trunk.



Scott

 

[markyscott]

But a good specimen, properly cared for is really fantastic. This is John Kirby’s Ashe juniper:



This is an old picture - it’s been extensively restyled since then.

Scott

 

[markyscott]

Interesting , so can these brave the cold , you don’t see them often used as Bonsai , seems up until recently , although I’m living in the Stone Age when it comes to little trees in pots . I believe Alvaro collects them , and has some pretty ones

They can brave a little cold. In a pot, I would not let them spend much time below freezing. Short dips are OK, but extensive long periods of temperatures in the 20s should be avoided.

S

 

[jriddell88]

Do these grow close to SW white pine , I remember seeing them native to the area maybe a little more south ? I bought one from him to try out , it’s in the cold frame right now out of the wind , seems to be okay right now , but we’ve had many days below freezing .the buds are still green , no discoloration of the needles , I guess we will see this spring , I just picked it up last year so this is probably it’s first true winter

 

[Wilson]

Nice new addition! I am always happy to see a different type of tree, from your southern states.

 

[markyscott]

Do these grow close to SW white pine , I remember seeing them native to the area maybe a little more south ? I bought one from him to try out , it’s in the cold frame right now out of the wind , seems to be okay right now , but we’ve had many days below freezing .the buds are still green , no discoloration of the needles , I guess we will see this spring , I just picked it up last year so this is probably it’s first true winter

Different area entirely. Pinus strobiformus has a limited range in Texas, growing only in small stands in far western Texas. The tree can be found in mountainous areas in Arizona, southwest Colorado, and New Mexico. It’s broadest distribution is in Mexico, in the Sierra Madre Occidental. Juniperus asheii grows along the Edwards plateau.

But I’d be curious to know about the SW White Pine and how it responds to bonsai culture.

S

 

[jriddell88]

Your right I haven’t looked at the map they are found in , in a while , just looked .I was attracted to its rough bark and beautiful blueish green needles , they seem to reduce well from what I’ve seen as well as back bud.

Here’s mine and one you’ve probably seen from the big show.

 

[jriddell88]

Here’s the pic from before and another I found online

 

[Potawatomi13]

Thank you for excellent info, pics and tree from Artisans Cup. Was hoping you got that pic to show as example. Also recognize trees from Alvaro.

 

[arcina]

Your right I haven’t looked at the map they are found in , in a while , just looked .I was attracted to its rough bark and beautiful blueish green needles , they seem to reduce well from what I’ve seen as well as back bud.

Here’s mine and one you’ve probably seen from the big show.

View attachment 175779View attachment 175780View attachment 175781View attachment 175782View attachment 175783

Great job. It looks very nice

 

[Giga]

That would be a really fun tree to work on, looks great