First RMJ

[wireme]

I was wandering through an area in the wild this spring that was heavily affected by tip blight. I noticed that the infected trees had mostly reverted to juvenile foliage. Maybe it's a defence mechanism against the infection and juvenile foliage is more resistant? It may also me simply that the new foliage is emerging from adventitious growth after the main branches die back. In either case keep your tree healthy and growing strong and it will eventually revert back. I would even consider pruning hard when your confident the tree can take it knowing that it will result in juvenile foliage but also knowing it will revert back in time. In the end it might be quicker than pruning slowly and trying to avoid it.

 

[fore]

That is a nice tree. The one in the beginning of the thread was very nice as well. These trees are not cheap by any means, if one can get a good price for material like both of them they should grab it.

I do not have a lot of experience with RMJs. However, usually with junipers, it can be the root work that makes foliage behave this way. Also, I believe, improper or heavy pruning. However, since there was no root work, maybe there is some stress. You mentioned it is pretty pot bound but not due for a repot until 2015. Maybe consider a repot 2014 instead. If something is going on in the root system, waiting 2 more years might not be good. However, the tree looks pretty healthy to me.

It might be that the fungus itself and not the fungicides that is causing the tree stress.

Rob

Thanks Rob, RMJ's are spendy, I wish I had had the money for both trees lol But I had to choose, so I chose the second one, which is obviously the one I liked best Btw, the long term plan is to separate the live vien, which is only visible from the back, to the front. I'm just waiting for some pro help lol Not sure still about the jins, sometimes I think they're near perfect, other times I feel they could be shortened.

I got this from Jim Doyle and he's the one who told me to wait till 2015 so I haven't touched the roots. I have to water it, then return for a second water as it takes so long to penetrate. Maybe I will so it next yr. IF it's reverted back mature foliage by then. Otherwise I'll wait.
And regarding fungus, not fungicides, I only lost 5 little branchlets so it wasn't that bad. So I guess I'll never know unfort.

 

[fore]

I was wandering through an area in the wild this spring that was heavily affected by tip blight. I noticed that the infected trees had mostly reverted to juvenile foliage. Maybe it's a defence mechanism against the infection and juvenile foliage is more resistant? It may also me simply that the new foliage is emerging from adventitious growth after the main branches die back. In either case keep your tree healthy and growing strong and it will eventually revert back. I would even consider pruning hard when your confident the tree can take it knowing that it will result in juvenile foliage but also knowing it will revert back in time. In the end it might be quicker than pruning slowly and trying to avoid it.

Interesting. Perhaps the defense mechanism could be true. But I'll let her go till I see mature foliage again. I'm in no hurry.

 

[daygan]

I've recently become curious about the differences between juvenile and adult foliage on junipers because of two junipers that I'm trying to care for. It seemed somewhat logical to me to assume that, because of the denser nature of adult foliage, that it was more equipped to combat certain environments, and that juvenile foliage, by virtue of being common on juvenile plants, was probably just faster and easier to grow. Today I did a search that revealed some very interesting information:

1. Wikipedia's Juniper article claims that juvenile foliage occurs most often on shaded shoots, while adult foliage is found in full sunlight. This pattern, I would think, in itself, is telling of the nature of the different foliage types.

2. This Paper, "Western Juniper Woodlands of the Pacific Northwest" gives some great insight into the differences between juvenile and adult foliage. Take a look at page # 34 (43rd page of the document), paragraph 1 - 3. It states that adult foliage is better suited for harsh environments because it minimizes water loss by transpiration. Juvenile foliage is cost-effective for the tree, and therefore can be grown quickly, but its architecture is not as protected against harsher environments. It seems that adult foliage uses more resources to develop, but, once established, uses less.

Anyway, I thought this was interesting. I'm not sure that I can use this information to correctly interpret what happened to cause your foliage to revert, except that maybe it encountered stimuli that signaled the need for more cost-effective growth, as opposed to protection from harsh elements. Just a guess...

 

[Vance Wood]

Well, I decided to go with another RMJ. Here it is before and after styling...I need to get a better after shot.
View attachment 25978

View attachment 25979

Tree is 43" from bottom of pot to top jin.

Your photo reminds me of something that has not been talked about on the forum for quite some time; taking pictures.

You have to remember that the human eye is a marvelous and sophisticated organ that is backed up by the human brain, the worlds best super computer. Your eye can sort out the details of an object when you see it against a similar and confused background, but the camera cannot. You have to put your subject against a background that will not make your subject virtually disappear. The camera is stupid regardless of how many bells and whistles it possesses. It knows light and focal distance to the nearest object, or if your lucky, a focal length you pick out but that's about it. It does not know a bonsai tree from a can of beer. You have to isolate your subject, more or less, if your intent is to share details.

 

[coh]

Regarding photos - if you don't have a designated area with a plain background, or you can't or don't want to move the tree, you can keep a piece or two of foam core (2x3 feet or so) around...just put it behind the tree when you're taking photos. Still need to be careful not to get too many shadows on the board as that can be distracting (though not so much as this kind of background).

Chris

 

[fore]

Ok guys! I'll work on using a plain background to shoot. I just always was thinking that for 'casual' shots, or close ups, I didn't need to worry about the background. I do have some white blackout cloth I can use, just never thought it'd bother you guys lol But, I do see your point Chris and Vance, so I'll start being more careful/considerate when taking pics to post.

Though speaking of which, I think I like Will's/grouper's photos using a black background. Don't have to worry about background shadows and it really makes the trees pop. I just need a few, only a few Will, of his trees to make my collection worth taking the time to photograph using a nice background!

 

[coh]

You can still get shadows on black backgrounds, if the tree is close to the background and you use bright lights or a flash. These can often be easily corrected using photo editing software. I find that black works better some of the time, white works better some of the time. Helpful to have both available.

Chris

 

[Vance Wood]

Here is the easiest way to get a quality photo without a fancy setup or background. All you need is a digital camera, which I assume you have, a small table or stand, enough of a light source that the camera can focus on the tree and a background, that is so muted or of one color that it more or less becomes a big blur. Set the tree on a table and shoot your photos after dark so that your flash will illuminate only your tree. Using this method usually the background will not show any color other than black or white of any significance and the tree will turn out better than you can imagine.

 

[fore]

Here is the easiest way to get a quality photo without a fancy setup or background. All you need is a digital camera, which I assume you have, a small table or stand, enough of a light source that the camera can focus on the tree and a background, that is so muted or of one color that it more or less becomes a big blur. Set the tree on a table and shoot your photos after dark so that your flash will illuminate only your tree. Using this method usually the background will not show any color other than black or white of any significance and the tree will turn out better than you can imagine.

Seems Vance that'd give you a very contrasty picture using flash??

 

[coh]

Probably also get shadows on the background unless it's at least several feet behind the tree...

 

[fredknobloch]

RMJ Care

DAYGAN has it exactly right. RMJ's come from high elevations (= high intensity light ) and restricted rainfall. Brought to lower elevations and bonsai watering , foliage opens up to both collect more light and assist in releasing moisture. With more ramification and time, more mature growth will occur.

I would worry more about the drooping foliage. In my 15 years of growing RMJ's, this has never been a good sign. I would wire branches or at least tips upward. Foliage looks very healthy. When branch tips are extending likes your's are, it's ok to transplant; just don't cut any roots and disturb as little as possible. If the tree was in pumice, I would retain at least 50 % in my new soil. If the tree was not in pumice, it has been repotted sometime since coming to Nature's Way. In any case, it may to late to do potting now.

 

[fore]

DAYGAN has it exactly right. RMJ's come from high elevations (= high intensity light ) and restricted rainfall. Brought to lower elevations and bonsai watering , foliage opens up to both collect more light and assist in releasing moisture. With more ramification and time, more mature growth will occur.

I would worry more about the drooping foliage. In my 15 years of growing RMJ's, this has never been a good sign. I would wire branches or at least tips upward. Foliage looks very healthy. When branch tips are extending likes your's are, it's ok to transplant; just don't cut any roots and disturb as little as possible. If the tree was in pumice, I would retain at least 50 % in my new soil. If the tree was not in pumice, it has been repotted sometime since coming to Nature's Way. In any case, it may to late to do potting now.

Thanks for chiming in Fred! The droopy foliage is b/c when myself and Peter Warren styled last Aug., he told me not to wire all the way out to the tips as it was just more stress the tree didn't need. Hence why it looks this way.

I do believe it's a bit too late to repot this yr.

 

[Vance Wood]

Seems Vance that'd give you a very contrasty picture using flash??

Try it. The idea is to not have any light on the tree at all other than what it takes for the camera's CPU to recognize an image it needs to focus on. The back ground only needs to be far enough that the CPU is not tempted to focus on that, in deference to the tree's image. Set the camera on automatic and watch what happens. To me it makes no sense to argue whether or not it will work when it is so simple to find out for your self. Then when it doesn't work we can discuss why and how to correct it---assuming it doesn't work for you.

 

[fore]

LOL! I'll definitely will give it a try Vance

 

[Vance Wood]

Here follows a progression with a Japanese Maple demonstrating the photo techniques I have been telling you about.



The two first photos are taken from a location like I described to you earlier. One is with the automatic setting without flash. You can see the tree but not make out much in the way of detail. The second is taken with a fill flash setting and now you can see the detail of the trunk.

This second set is taken with the tree in the same location with a small amount of backlight so that the camera can make adjustments, like focus. It's not like a good photo room but it is a far sight better than hope and shoot.

 

[fore]

nice photo's Vance! Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[Vance Wood]

nice photo's Vance! Thanks for the inspiration!

I just hoped to provide you with a method to produce better photos without the hassle. You realize that both sets of photos were taken from the same location at different times of day. The daylight photos with flash revealed the details of the trunk but not much in the way of detail of the rest of the tree. The night time photos showed the entire detail of the tree shot from the exact same location and the exact same back ground. The difference was that the background was not illuminated by the flash and showed up on the photo as more or less black.

 

[coh]

I just hoped to provide you with a method to produce better photos without the hassle. You realize that both sets of photos were taken from the same location at different times of day. The daylight photos with flash revealed the details of the trunk but not much in the way of detail of the rest of the tree. The night time photos showed the entire detail of the tree shot from the exact same location and the exact same back ground. The difference was that the background was not illuminated by the flash and showed up on the photo as more or less black.

The photos do look good and the technique makes perfect sense - it wasn't obvious (to me, at least) from your earlier description. If it's dark enough and there is no background near the tree, there will be no shadows either. I'll have to try this. Thanks for posting.

Obviously, if you want a white background you'll have to take a different approach.

Chris

 

[Vance Wood]

The photos do look good and the technique makes perfect sense - it wasn't obvious (to me, at least) from your earlier description. If it's dark enough and there is no background near the tree, there will be no shadows either. I'll have to try this. Thanks for posting.

Obviously, if you want a white background you'll have to take a different approach.

Chris

I don't know why you would want a white background. Unless you know what you are doing and know your way around a camera's settings and have a decent light source odds are you will burn out the image trying to tell the camera that the background is not important.

I was offering an easy method that anybody can use almost anywhere, the only parameter is the time of day.