Colorado Josh
Yamadori
This is a Rocky Mountain Juniper that I spotted about 3 weeks ago in Western Colorado at an elevation of 8600ft on private land. It was in decomposing granite in a rock pocket with 3 large rocks guarding it. Temperatures had been in the high 60s and mid 30s at night. We had a little bit of rain, but not much the past week. When I found it I wasn't quite ready to collect, and of course the moon was in the wrong phase (if you believe in that stuff).
On Saturday morning I went back and soaked it with a good gallon of water or so. Sunday morning I was ready for the procedure with tools in hand. I removed the 3 guard rocks, each weighing a good 35lbs and several smaller rocks around the root ball. I was surprised to find that this tree was literally sitting in a basin about 20"x20"x10". I ended up cutting on larger root 3/4",that dove into a small adjacent basin. After about an hour, I was able to free the beast from it's previous home. The hardest part was maneuvering myself on the small ledge that the tree was located on. When I finally had it wrapped it weighed a solid 40lbs. That sucked getting it off the mountain! I had never seen humus so tightly packed. The root ball was so intact and did not fall apart at all. I'm guessing I got about 75% of the root mass.
I have been very nervous about collecting larger specimens because I have certainly lost a few. Over the past 2 years I collected a couple of smaller RMJs that have since thrived once I got them home. I felt comfortable that I could provide the care that this tree would need. It's hard to tell how old it is, but judging by the thickness of the main trunk (3.5") it could be well over 100 years old, given the climactic conditions it was living in.
From collection to in the box was about 8 hours. It is now living in pumice and bark. It gets incredibly dry here in Western Colorado, and i have found that including a good dose of bark helps with moisture retention.
This is my first big collection, and I am still quite nervous about it. I couldn't sleep last night. I have read Walter Palls collection blogs, read and listened to everything I could find by Todd Schafer, Backcountry Boys, and Larry Jackel. If anybody has any tips from their personal experience with RMJ I would greatly appreciate it. I have heard conflicting reports about when to put it in full sun and when to give it it's first fertilizing.
Thanks for listening to my trip report!
On Saturday morning I went back and soaked it with a good gallon of water or so. Sunday morning I was ready for the procedure with tools in hand. I removed the 3 guard rocks, each weighing a good 35lbs and several smaller rocks around the root ball. I was surprised to find that this tree was literally sitting in a basin about 20"x20"x10". I ended up cutting on larger root 3/4",that dove into a small adjacent basin. After about an hour, I was able to free the beast from it's previous home. The hardest part was maneuvering myself on the small ledge that the tree was located on. When I finally had it wrapped it weighed a solid 40lbs. That sucked getting it off the mountain! I had never seen humus so tightly packed. The root ball was so intact and did not fall apart at all. I'm guessing I got about 75% of the root mass.
I have been very nervous about collecting larger specimens because I have certainly lost a few. Over the past 2 years I collected a couple of smaller RMJs that have since thrived once I got them home. I felt comfortable that I could provide the care that this tree would need. It's hard to tell how old it is, but judging by the thickness of the main trunk (3.5") it could be well over 100 years old, given the climactic conditions it was living in.
From collection to in the box was about 8 hours. It is now living in pumice and bark. It gets incredibly dry here in Western Colorado, and i have found that including a good dose of bark helps with moisture retention.
This is my first big collection, and I am still quite nervous about it. I couldn't sleep last night. I have read Walter Palls collection blogs, read and listened to everything I could find by Todd Schafer, Backcountry Boys, and Larry Jackel. If anybody has any tips from their personal experience with RMJ I would greatly appreciate it. I have heard conflicting reports about when to put it in full sun and when to give it it's first fertilizing.
Thanks for listening to my trip report!
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