Free junipers, now what?!

[Mike Corazzi]

I've had good luck with this.
View attachment 269547

I'll second that. Since using it I haven't had even ONE scale or aphid approach. And it feeds.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Nice job, if you working a tree it better too clean it first. Remove all the dead or almost dead branches, clean the trunk, find life lines, make jin/ shari. After that start wiring/ bending.

Thanks! I will do that. I already removed most of the dead stuff last summer and cleaned the trunk a little. For now I'm not investing too much time in them until I'm 100% sure they will survive. I'll know that for sure in summer, so just a few more months to go. In all honesty, I'm not sure about how much dead bark to remove. Last year I removed two layers until I found bark that looked red, with some leftover white veins, scrubbed that with a nail brush. I'm not sure if there's another layer hidden underneath, or if that's exactly the right layer for me to stop. But I'll find out this year.

Also the bark beetles could still be an issue; in the entire country there's a huge outbreak due to the drought, especially in the Nijmegen area and Utrechtse heuvelrug. I have had issues with those too on my junipers. I found that permethrin is used elsewhere to combat them, but you can't buy that in NL without a pesticide license. Unless, you read labels in grocery stores and find Roxasect tegen zilvervisjes. Which contains both permethrin as well as tetramethrin. It even has a tube for spraying inside the boring holes.
I treated these junipers with the stuff in fall and mid winter since the temperatures are so high. The plants did not visibly respond to that treatment, so I think it's safe to use on the trunks and branches.

First things first though: health and growth.

 

[leatherback]

any updates?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

If I think about it I'll snap a few pictures this evening.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

any updates?

I did a bunch of grafts.


Le canopé


This is the floppy stuff I'm replacing.

 

[leatherback]

Looks like healthy floppy stuff!

You did the grafting yourself?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Looks like healthy floppy stuff!

You did the grafting yourself?

I think it's happy too!
After last years success, losing just two or three grafts out of 15 or so, I figured I could do these myself as well. They were done with great care, but remember those three frosty nights we got? Well, those nights were just after I did these grafts.
Most of them seem alive, but in all honesty I don't expect more than two or three to take hold.
I see that as a good thing, because it means I can practice more and prepare the shoots better next year. This year I just kind of randomly took shoots off of my blaauw stock, but I later found that it really helps if they are a certain thickness. Also my parafilm wrapping of the scion itself could be improved. A couple of them have some gaps and they seem to dry out super fast. I might add some tiny bits of sphagnum next year, just to be safe.

 

[leatherback]

I think it's happy too!
After last years success, losing just two or three grafts out of 15 or so, I figured I could do these myself as well. They were done with great care, but remember those three frosty nights we got? Well, those nights were just after I did these grafts.
Most of them seem alive, but in all honesty I don't expect more than two or three to take hold.
I see that as a good thing, because it means I can practice more and prepare the shoots better next year. This year I just kind of randomly took shoots off of my blaauw stock, but I later found that it really helps if they are a certain thickness. Also my parafilm wrapping of the scion itself could be improved. A couple of them have some gaps and they seem to dry out super fast. I might add some tiny bits of sphagnum next year, just to be safe.

Guess I need to get you over to my yard next spring. I have a bad record for grafting.