Hospital Sea Green. Where to begin?

[Johnathan]

Okay guys spending time with my daughter and we ran to the nursery before heading to the toy store now...

Asked about a clearance section and found out there was a hospital where everything was $5.

I got this sea green juniper and figured for $5 it was a great deal.

Now I dont have any tools except for a little pair of trimmers that I got with my sumocakes lol so what should I do now??? Where would you begin? Repot?

 

[Johnathan]

Forgot the pics. Here they are

 

[Vin]

Slip pot it out of that broken pot into another pot the same size. Clean away all the dead foliage and branches then try to a good look at the trunk so you can figure out which direction to take it. Resist the temptation to start cutting away ant existing live foliage or branches. I have a very large Sea Green that after 4 years I still haven't decided which direction I want to take it.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Don't do anything until you have a better look at your material. See if you can uncover the nebari - which is the base of the trunk where it meets the main surface roots. In old nursery trees like this the nebari may be buried several inches under the surface of the soil because over the years as they slip-potted into larger pots they would toss soil on the top as well. So you might have to do a little excavating When I first get material like this I often dig down to the nebari and then take an x-acto knife and cut the nursery pot down to the level of the nebari so I can see what I'm looking at. Get rid of all the extra soil piled on top of the nebari. Then as Vin said, clean out the dead branches, weeds, critters, blackwidow spiders, etc, and grab a beer and contemplate your tree for a bit. Try to ignore all branches and focus only on the nebari and the trunkline.

Depending how long it has been in the pot, you may be looking at a multi-year process to get it completely out of the pot, root work done, and into 100% bonsai soil. The first step can be a shocker for a juniper if it is really root-bound, so proceed with caution.

 

[Johnathan]

I may not get a chance to actually sit down with her until this weekend. Expecting some storms in the next few days. Should I try and add some fertilizer to it until this weekend with the rains coming?

 

[Johnathan]

Alright guys couldn't resist taking a little look under the hood. I cut the pot back a little and started removing some of the top of the dirt.

I quickly noticed 2 prominent branches shooting out of the dirt and was going to just uncover until I saw where they meet up at the bark, BUT I REMEMBERED everything I read said junipers are pretty sensitive to root work so when I started getting to these top roots I decided I'd wait until I got a 2nd opinion before going further lol

Anyway the 2 main questions are will ripping out these small straggler roots hurt anything? .... should I just remove all the dirt/soil until I uncover where those branches meet the bark? They look closer in the pictures than in reality.

Sidenote questions, any suggestions on something cheap I could slip pot this into? Like where to find a big pool basket?

 

[Vin]

I wouldn't be cutting those roots yet. Just take your time with it. Keep it alive, learn about it and know what you can and cannot do.

Here's mine:

 

[Johnathan]

@Vin thats a beast of a beautiful tree!! ..... I don't plan on doing anything to the rootball I just want to uncover those branches. It kinda annoys me that I cannot see where they meet the trunk.

I was trying to expose the nebari or close to it lol

But if you guys think those little stragglers can cause damage I won't do anything to it. The trees health and survival is most important to me.

 

[Vin]

I definitely see things that can be removed but it's really hard to figure out what is what in the images you posted. Would it be possible to post a few more images the right side up so we can see better?

 

[sorce]

I quickly noticed 2 prominent branches shooting out of the dirt

This should have taken place before you bought it!

Dig first, buy later!

Even if you gotta sick both hands in and jam fingers down to see the trunk with your hands....

You gotta look first!

Buy character!

But here's the thing right.....

It was 5 dollars!

Give it hell!

Sorce

 

[Johnathan]

This should have taken place before you bought it!

Dig first, buy later!

Even if you gotta sick both hands in and jam fingers down to see the trunk with your hands....

You gotta look first!

Buy character!

But here's the thing right.....

It was 5 dollars!

Give it hell!

Sorce

Yeah I just kinda looked at the trunk and was like looks dry... looks a lot thicker compared to that depot stuff I already have... its only $5... My 3 year old daughter was ready to go to the toy store and borderline breakdown mode... I was like SOLD!

Last night after reading some older post I was really pissed at myself because I saw a thread where some of the older members were explaining the benefits of how starting with good stock only increases your floor for learning and just makes the ceiling for that tree a lot higher.

No worries, its a long process. I do have my eye on one of those Giant Sequoias though, funny how my first post of only wanting 1 or 2 trees and now less than a month I have about 7 or 8 if you count the seedlings lololololol

The ol lady doesn't find it as funny though

 

[Johnathan]

Would it be possible to post a few more images the right side up so we can see better?

Absolutely thank you. I will get some better pics in a couple hours.

 

[Johnathan]

Would it be possible to post a few more images the right side up so we can see better?

@Vin @Bonsai Nut and anyone else? I love input!

Heres a view from the top! ... The back underneath the foliage. .... a branch... and possibly the front?

I REALLY want to uncover where the branches meet the bark. The branches appear mature and are covered in foliage.

 

[Johnathan]

What are yall using for bigger "pots" ... I don't think a pool basket would be big enough for this. I'm going to slip-pot it this weekend.

 

[A. Gorilla]

Cost effective and customizable. At least for future reference. Especially if your friends and family start letting you raid their landscape bushes.

 

[Johnathan]

Cost effective and customizable. At least for future reference. Especially if your friends and family start letting you raid their landscape bushes.

Thats uglier than the pool baskets! Lololololol I can dig it though. Didn't look so bad with the tree in it. Maybe I will spray paint it black, or one of those faux stone spray paints.

Until I get a bench or something comparable my trees are on the front porch so that my dog doesn't piss all over them

 

[thomas22]

Here is my Sea Green.
One weekend styling special thanks to the Fall 2016 contest. I wouldn't advise this much work at once but mine is doing well.

 

[Johnathan]

What do you guys think about uncovering those branches?

I should just do it right? Its only $5

 

[Johnathan]

Here is my Sea Green. View attachment 139081 View attachment 139083
One weekend styling special thanks to the Fall 2016 contest. I wouldn't advise this much work at once but mine is doing well.

That looks fantastic. I don't think this is a sea green though... The sticker said sea green on the pot... but after digging around in it I found something tied to the branch that said "old gold"... I dunno lol

But that's an amazing change in 1 weekend. I doubt I could pull something like that off at this time with my current skill level.

 

[thomas22]

That looks fantastic. I don't think this is a sea green though... The sticker said sea green on the pot... but after digging around in it I found something tied to the branch that said "old gold"... I dunno lol

But that's an amazing change in 1 weekend. I doubt I could pull something like that off at this time with my current skill level.

That does look like an Old Gold. I have one of those also. I think the Sea Greens are a little easier to work with as far as the foliage is concerned but it doesn't mean you can't make a nice tree out of it.