California juniper yamadori postcare

[JuniperMasterRace]

Fresh California juniper yamadori dig. Tree situated in a rock that I was able to unearth and had a rootball the size of 4 fists intact. I had to cut about 4 finger sized roots that went deep into the earth (not sure if that is ok). Lots of small little roots so I’m feeling good about survivability. I immediately wrapped the dig in sphagnum moss that was soaked in a little bit of super thrive solution and suran wrapped the area. It’s been 5 hours since I dug it up. Should I pot it in 100% perlite or go get some legitimate bonsai soil? I grabbed some crushed granite from the mountain that is very fine.

 

[misfit11]

Most collectors do 100% pumice. Check out Dry Stall. You can get it at feed stores.

 

[JuniperMasterRace]

Most collectors do 100% pumice. Check out Dry Stall. You can get it at feed stores.

thanks friend. I had to hike 13 miles into a mountain cliff to find a good one. Been up since 6am and just made it back home around 9pm. How quickly do I need to pot? It’s sitting in my backyard all wrapped up with wet sphagnum moss still.
All the stores are closed and I don’t have enough inorganic soil to cover completely.

 

[misfit11]

I'm sure it will be fine until tomorrow. Root rot won't set in that quickly. Make sure you secure the tree in the container so it doesn't move at all. Keep it in the shade on the ground and mist the foliage regularly. No work on it until you see strong growth; at least a year if not more. Good luck.

 

[JuniperMasterRace]

I'm sure it will be fine until tomorrow. Root rot won't set in that quickly. Make sure you secure the tree in the container so it doesn't move at all. Keep it in the shade on the ground and mist the foliage regularly. No work on it until you see strong growth; at least a year if not more. Good luck.

I’ll revisit this thread in a year with updates!

 

[M. Frary]

I’ll revisit this thread in a year with updates!

If not sooner.

 

[Adair M]

Pumice would be best. DON’T, under any circumstance, add the collected mountain soil! The key to success is to get rid of it over the LONG term! So don’t add any!

once potted, onky water occasionally, but must often. The foliage will absorb water from misting that will allow the roots time to grow.

the best idea is to build a wooden grow box, with only about 1 inch of new pumice around the the rootball. As mentioned, secure it firmly so it will not move at all in the box. Sometimes, it’s necessary to build odd shaped boxes, or use boards on the inside of the box positioned to create that 1 inch space around the rootball.

next time, be better prepared with pumice, and building materials to build a custom box BEFORE you go collecting.

 

[JuniperMasterRace]

Happily in its pot! Wrapped sphagnum moss directly to the roots and put in perlite. The store ran out of perlite so the top layer is vermculite. Hope that’s not a problem.

 

[bonhe]

Happily in its pot! Wrapped sphagnum moss directly to the roots and put in perlite. The store ran out of perlite so the top layer is vermculite. Hope that’s not a problem.

I hope you stabilized the tree well in the pot. The reason is that perlite is not heavy enough to hold the tree especially we will have Santa Ana wind in the next few days.! You may put the sphagnum moss on the top to help reserve the moisture of the soil. Where do you put the pot? With new dug tree, it must have a optimal humidity to help the tree survive. The post dug care is very critical to keep the tree survive.
I totally agree with Adair M that you should have prepared everything prior to the dig!
However, you can let the tree in the water for 24 hours without any problem.
Good luck to you.
Thụ Thoại

 

[JuniperMasterRace]

I hope you stabilized the tree well in the pot. The reason is that perlite is not heavy enough to hold the tree especially we will have Santa Ana wind in the next few days.! You may put the sphagnum moss on the top to help reserve the moisture of the soil. Where do you put the pot? With new dug tree, it must have a optimal humidity to help the tree survive. The post dug care is very critical to keep the tree survive.
I totally agree with Adair M that you should have prepared everything prior to the dig!
However, you can let the tree in the water for 24 hours without any problem.
Good luck to you.
Thụ Thoại

It’s in a really big pot up against a wall surrounded by some avocado trees. I have some heavy rocks I’m going to put in top of it just to make sure. Other than using wire, what are some other ways to secure?

 

[bonhe]

It’s in a really big pot up against a wall surrounded by some avocado trees. I have some heavy rocks I’m going to put in top of it just to make sure. Other than using wire, what are some other ways to secure?

If the wire held the tree well, then you should not be worry.
So, the site does not have direct sunlight, does it?
How is about humidity in that area ? If it is too dry or if you don’t have overhead misty system, you either have to spray water to the needles few times a day or use the big plastic bag to cover the whole tree and pot ( if you decide to do that, remember to use the rocks to place on the plastic bag which lays on the ground to keep the bag in place .)
Thụ Thoại

 

[Japonicus]

Bag, Santa Anna Winds, newly repotted, lightweight media, not a good recipe. Think whipping flag on a flag pole
or bag beating your new acquisition up. Roots will suffer at best, if not the whole thing end up in the Pacific with no pot.
I cant help but think of Chinese lanterns right now, but I am pessimistic by nature...
I would have wired to the pot from below into pumice, and add bricks or landscape blocks about the surface.

 

[bonhe]

Bag, Santa Anna Winds, newly repotted, lightweight media, not a good recipe. Think whipping flag on a flag pole
or bag beating your new acquisition up. Roots will suffer at best, if not the whole thing end up in the Pacific with no pot.
I cant help but think of Chinese lanterns right now, but I am pessimistic by nature...
I would have wired to the pot from below into pumice, and add bricks or landscape blocks about the surface.

I knew the problem which you are talking about; but with the placement of the tree, it should be fine. I have been using plastic bag quite a bit in my area which sometimes had a gusty winds! I never had the problem
Thụ Thoại

 

[Adair M]

It’s in a really big pot up against a wall surrounded by some avocado trees. I have some heavy rocks I’m going to put in top of it just to make sure. Other than using wire, what are some other ways to secure?

Does the tree wiggle AT ALL? It shouldn’t. This is another reason to use a wooden box: you can use guywires and attach them to screws anywhere on a wooden box. You want it to be really, really stable. The new fine roots are extremely fragile!

you also said something about spaghnum moss around the roots... I hope it’s just a thin layer... there really shouldn’t be any.

 

[JuniperMasterRace]

Does the tree wiggle AT ALL? It shouldn’t. This is another reason to use a wooden box: you can use guywires and attach them to screws anywhere on a wooden box. You want it to be really, really stable. The new fine roots are extremely fragile!

you also said something about spaghnum moss around the roots... I hope it’s just a thin layer... there really shouldn’t be any.

With securing a tree with a wooden box, do just wrap the wire around the base or do you drill a screw into the tree as well to secure the wire?

 

[Adair M]

With securing a tree with a wooden box, do just wrap the wire around the base or do you drill a screw into the tree as well to secure the wire?

You do whatever is necessary! Wire the roots in, prop it up with a 2x4, guy wire it around the trunk and or branch, use a screw or two in the tree if needed. Maybe build a support frame. Whatever it takes.

The tree might be 1000 years old. It’s only fair to give it the best chance to live.

 

[rockm]

I've been holding my tongue here, but for crying out loud, why didn't you ask all of this BEFORE you collected the tree? If you're going to make the effort to hike 13 miles, dig a tree then haul it out--you'd think you might have thought about how the tree is going to survive.

Hope you had a permit.

Please if you're going to collect UNDERSTAND WHAT YOURE GETTING INTO BEFORE you get into it...Being careless and selfish with a 200, 300 or 1,000 year-old living thing is not cool...and more importantly, it reinforces negative stereotypes of unethical, careless collectors.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

If it's a plastic pot: drill some holes, put some bolts in there and secure the tree to those bolts.
Then place rocks around the pot. Not in it. Tall pots with tall trees tend to blow over entirely, and then you'll lose half of your soil. You can scoop 75% back into the pot, but that other 25% is going to stay somewhere in the dirt. Over time, you'll end up with no soil left if you don't secure the pot. Anyways, if you have bolts in your pot, you can also wire it to some pegs in the ground..

Four points of attachment is a minimum. Protection of live tissue is needed if there's nothing distributing the forces of your wire. See the white patches for an example. The green wire has two anchor points on the branch due to the windings of the copper wire.


See the middle right wire? It's bent because it's loose. That's from moving the pot alone; the tree shifted a little even with 6 other wires keeping it steady. I had to re-tighten that part.

Vermiculite is terrible for junipers. I'd scoop it out ASAP if you can replace it with something else.

I was terribly prepared for the juniper in this picture; wrong season, not enough soil.. I had to correct those mistakes a few days ago after a year of seeing as much growth as I saw decline. But mine was free to pick up from someones yard and I had roughly two hours to prepare, on a sunday. Either that or the wood chipper. On the scale of things, that bad preparation did cost me a year and a half. I hope that because I do these things wrong and document them, that other people don't make the same mistake.

Good luck with your tree!

 

[JuniperMasterRace]

I've been holding my tongue here, but for crying out loud, why didn't you ask all of this BEFORE you collected the tree? If you're going to make the effort to hike 13 miles, dig a tree then haul it out--you'd think you might have thought about how the tree is going to survive.

Hope you had a permit.

Please if you're going to collect UNDERSTAND WHAT YOURE GETTING INTO BEFORE you get into it...Being careless and selfish with a 200, 300 or 1,000 year-old living thing is not cool...and more importantly, it reinforces negative stereotypes of unethical, careless collectors.

Because all the other juniper trees I have collected are doing fine, their roots are just not as strong as I would like them to be so I've had to leave them in training for significantly longer than I would have liked. I usually double back and just collect soil from the area I dug it up at in a bucket to fill the pot. The land is private and I just called the owner using title and received permission.

 

[JuniperMasterRace]

If it's a plastic pot: drill some holes, put some bolts in there and secure the tree to those bolts.
Then place rocks around the pot. Not in it. Tall pots with tall trees tend to blow over entirely, and then you'll lose half of your soil. You can scoop 75% back into the pot, but that other 25% is going to stay somewhere in the dirt. Over time, you'll end up with no soil left if you don't secure the pot. Anyways, if you have bolts in your pot, you can also wire it to some pegs in the ground..

Four points of attachment is a minimum. Protection of live tissue is needed if there's nothing distributing the forces of your wire. See the white patches for an example. The green wire has two anchor points on the branch due to the windings of the copper wire.
View attachment 285278

See the middle right wire? It's bent because it's loose. That's from moving the pot alone; the tree shifted a little even with 6 other wires keeping it steady. I had to re-tighten that part.

Vermiculite is terrible for junipers. I'd scoop it out ASAP if you can replace it with something else.

I was terribly prepared for the juniper in this picture; wrong season, not enough soil.. I had to correct those mistakes a few days ago after a year of seeing as much growth as I saw decline. But mine was free to pick up from someones yard and I had roughly two hours to prepare, on a sunday. Either that or the wood chipper. On the scale of things, that bad preparation did cost me a year and a half. I hope that because I do these things wrong and document them, that other people don't make the same mistake.

Good luck with your tree!

Thank you for the tip! I am going to get rid of that vermiculite ASAP!!!!