Day lily Farm Juniper

[coltranem]

I was at my local Day Lily farm purchasing some flowers when I stumbled across his Dwarf Conifers. Here was a Kishu Juniper with an inch plus trunk for $18. The foliage is a bit tough but it seems to be pushing new growth. Given its condition he sold it to me for $15. My biggest current issue is that it is severely root bound. What are everyone's thoughts on doing an emergency repot? Obviously right now my goal is just get it healthy.

 

[Silentrunning]

I love the bark in picture 2. Have you considered slip potting it and not disturbing the roots at all until next spring?

 

[KennedyMarx]

It doesn’t really look root bound to me. I would wait until next year to repot it. Put some Plant Tone or similar organic fertilizer on the soil surface and just let it grow.

 

[coltranem]

The soil mass seems very tight and with some of the brown foliage i was concerned. I am going to remove the dead folliage tonight and see how it goes. It is just in nursery soil so my concern is the root ball will dry out in the center and die. I read somewhere about late summer repots for junipers.

 

[RichS]

Wish I could stumbled across a dang Kishu at MY day lily farm lol

 

[RobertB]

You could just slip pot it.

 

[coltranem]

I am not ruling put slip potting but what soil to use. If i use my regular bonsai mix i am concerned i would not be able to get the root ball wet. Maybe just use some basic potting soil until spring?

 

[Bananaman]

IMO I think a beginner mistake is to be too eager to repot trees after purchase. In the big scheme of things and after decades of growing and repotting trees, I can safely say that the number one factor to successful bonsai is not in the soil or repotting. Long term care is dependent on it but short term care will do just fine for a year in whatever it's sold in. Better to understand the plant and its growing needs than to shock the shit out of it by repotting out of season. Juniper is a plant that for all intents and purposes prefers a liberal portion of plain old sand in its mix. Being in Mass. you can probably get away with a more open and free flowing soil for your juniper but in many parts of the west and the south a finer soil is good for junipers and their tight fine root balls. Coarse open soils allow almost too much air exchange and roots can dry out.

Just remember the tree has millions of years in knowing what to do, you not so much. Sometimes helping just speeds up a problem where none existed before.

 

[Japonicus]

Clean it up (foliage), remove from pot, and put it in the ground in good Sunny location if you're concerned with soil type.
A bit of mulch works too. Should you leave it in ground it will gain good girth also in 2-3 years, much more so than in a pot.

 

[Japonicus]

In ground requires only that you loosen the soil heavily IMO, working it down like pancake batter (few lumps), not much deeper than roots
and maybe amending it if you want to get fancy without food. Grit would aerate the soil, like 1/4" lava rock, bonsai soil
or good ole chicken Grower Grit (crushed granite at a local feed store) $7 for 50# and add a couple handfuls to an area of 1 square foot,
a handful of garden soil if you had it on hand. Just enough to keep the soil from compacting and allow draining.
No winter protection needed if planted now...

 

[EPM]

IMO I think a beginner mistake is to be too eager to repot trees after purchase. In the big scheme of things and after decades of growing and repotting trees, I can safely say that the number one factor to successful bonsai is not in the soil or repotting. Long term care is dependent on it but short term care will do just fine for a year in whatever it's sold in. Better to understand the plant and its growing needs than to shock the shit out of it by repotting out of season. Juniper is a plant that for all intents and purposes prefers a liberal portion of plain old sand in its mix. Being in Mass. you can probably get away with a more open and free flowing soil for your juniper but in many parts of the west and the south a finer soil is good for junipers and their tight fine root balls. Coarse open soils allow almost too much air exchange and roots can dry out.

Just remember the tree has millions of years in knowing what to do, you not so much. Sometimes helping just speeds up a problem where none existed before.

What kind of sand do you use for your juniper soil? What else do you like to use in your soil mix for them? When do you like to repot them?

 

[EPM]

I think you got a great deal on that juniper. I wish my garden centers carried Kishu. LOL. If it were mine I'd get its watering, fertilizer, and sunshine in order to let it get some strength before I did anything. In the picture, I don't see many elongating shoots or growing tips, whatever you want to call them.

 

[Bananaman]

I like the "play sand" from Home Depot because its washed and has no dirt or silt in it and its a pretty coarse sand. After that I would use some sifted akadama or pumice or calcined clay at about 3/16 inch size. Use 1/3 sand and the rest the other materials or a combo of all. That should work well. In my soil I use a good measure of seedling size orchid bark in all my trees and after many decades as a staunch supporter of a totally inorganic soil mixture I would never go back to that. My trees have only gotten more healthy since the bark introduction three years ago. Its good for the trees, its good for fertilizer, and it retains the moisture level to keep my trees hydrated all day.

I repot in the spring, like nature intended!!!

 

[EPM]

I like the "play sand" from Home Depot because its washed and has no dirt or silt in it and its a pretty coarse sand. After that I would use some sifted akadama or pumice or calcined clay at about 3/16 inch size. Use 1/3 sand and the rest the other materials or a combo of all. that should work well. In my soil I use a good measure of seedling size orchid bark in all my trees and after many decades of a staunch supporter of a totally inorganic soil mixture I would never go back to that. My trees have only gotten more healthy since the bark introduction three years ago. Its good for the trees, its good for fertilizer, and it reatains the moisture level to keep my trees hydrated all day.

Thanks for sharing your perspective. I'm experimenting with orchid bark myself.

 

[Bananaman]

Its funny how many people on a bonsai forum will argue for the natural look of a tree yet go totally unnatural when it comes to soil components. Bark and organics have been a natural part of growing trees for eons. Why remove them???

People dig yamadori from mountain cliffs and gravel pockets all the time and then come home and replant them into a pot full of unnatural gravel again?????

 

[coltranem]

I have thought about putting it in the ground. My concern there is the voles. I have a pretty healthy population that live under the snow. I plan on making a grow out bed but i'd like try lesser the first season.

I am not in a rush. I will keep an eye on how it is doing daily and see how things go. I was successful repotting a precumbens this time last year.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

(1) Slip pot it now
(2) Repot it in the spring
(3) Get rid of that crossing front branch now... since you will never use it. Normally I don't recommend pruning at this time of year but when there is something so obvious that needs to go... make the cut!

 

[sorce]

I repotted some Blue Rug J's last week in the 90°'s. .....
I reckon they'll make it but I have been wishing I waited till the next full moon.
Maybe even in August.

Looks rootbound as hell. Not that it matters.....
But you probly can't even poke a poker thru them roots can you?

Any lack of health seems simply because it is in a small pot, that can only catch so much water....for a misfit in a lilly patch.

Freaking score!

I'd love to see it styled with all the trunks....

Then foliage bits are soooooo ready to wire....

Sick!

Sorce

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Not pot-bound, just shedding old growth from 2-3 years ago. I agree with Al, no need to declare an emergency and rush into out-of-season work; repot in spring. Slip-potting is unnecessary, proper watering is. If it drains slow, aerate the soil by pressing a chopstick straight down through the soil to the bottom of the pot in 10-12 places and it will drain fine til Spring.

 

[coltranem]

Brian that seems a reasonable approach. I will try to stay diligent with watering to get it to spring.

Haven't thought too much about styling yet just want to make sure it is healthy.