Juniper Score!

[BonjourBonsai]

Saw a neighbor digging up his yard and asked if he was saving the juniper on the edge of the construction zone. He said no and he preferred small trees like Japanese maples. Ding ding ding! I bought a blood good JM last fall for nothing at a close out sale. It was not a good bonsai investment but it'd be fine in a front yard. Neighbor now has a nice JM and i got an awesome juniper.

Sorry for the crap photos but it is getting dark earlier.

I dug up my raised beds and planted as well as i could tonight. I'll check it in the morning.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Here's a question for all you more excperienced bonsai nutters out there. Should i trim down the roots to get it into a reasonable size pot now or leave it in the raised bed and let it recover over the winter? I couldn't get a lot of fine roots with it and I can protect the roots better in the raised bed i think.

 

[Paradox]

if you already put it in your raised bed, Id leave it there and hope it survives the transplant and this winter. I would let it recover all of next year and dont pot it until 2022 at the earliest, IF it recovers and is healthy

 

[Potawatomi13]

Lower trunk very straight but believe Junipers air layer pretty well if wishing to shorten it. Above straight area has good structure.
Smart trade.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

I got some better photos today ("better" is relative, I'm not a photographer).
Check out the quarter on the trunk. I really hope this juniper lives. I've got some big plans for it !

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Excellent, you have some movement in the trunk, though it starts a little way up. That's okay. This has some potential if you plan to use at least half of the current total height.

I would do as @Paradox suggested, leave it alone now in the grow bed until at least 2022.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

leave it alone now in the grow bed until at least 2022.

It will be a battle between bonsai and my better half's vision of what to do with that part of the front yard. I think I'm good at least until spring 2021. In the meantime, I'm going to start lobbying to turn the grow beds into bonsai terraces. It will take all of my diplomatic skill.

 

[leatherback]

Nice find.
Probably if you plant it next year at a bit more of an angle, your lower trunk will look pretty decent.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

This is going to be a big bonsai. I'm starting to see something like this.

 

[leatherback]

Just let it recover. Don't decide now.

It is not THAT large is it?

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Nice find.
Probably if you plant it next year at a bit more of an angle, your lower trunk will look pretty decent.

Thanks!
Yes I think a different planting angle will help. My main objective in the current planting angle was to get as many of the roots into the ground as possible.

Just let it recover. Don't decide now.

It is not THAT large is it?

I guess you're right it's not a big bonsai. Trunk is 2 inches / 5cm thick at the base. From the soil line it's about 3ft or just less than a meter high and about the same from left to right. For me, it'll be one of my biggest trees.

 

[Paradox]

It will be a battle between bonsai and my better half's vision of what to do with that part of the front yard. I think I'm good at least until spring 2021. In the meantime, I'm going to start lobbying to turn the grow beds into bonsai terraces. It will take all of my diplomatic skill.

If you pull it out of the ground in the spring of 2021, dont be surprised if it dies, cause it probably will.

Its clear from the pictures that the tree is weak. It will not be able to properly recover over the winter because it will be dormant.
It might not even make it through the winter as it is.

 

[Vance Wood]

Here's a question for all you more excperienced bonsai nutters out there. Should i trim down the roots to get it into a reasonable size pot now or leave it in the raised bed and let it recover over the winter? I couldn't get a lot of fine roots with it and I can protect the roots better in the raised bed i think.

Let it recover for a couple of years before disturbing the roots again. I have found they do not grow back a lot of roots quickly, they take time.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

If you pull it out of the ground in the spring of 2021, dont be surprised if it dies, cause it probably will.

Its clear from the pictures that the tree is weak. It will not be able to properly recover over the winter because it will be dormant.
It might not even make it through the winter as it is.

You're right, the tree is not in great health. It was growing in the shade and in very heavy clay soil. The foliage is yellowish. I've had other junipers take a long time to die. Hopefully it will make it. I will protect the roots with mulch over the winter. It will get afternoon sun now. Is there anything else i should be doing to maximize its chances of survival?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

You're right, the tree is not in great health. It was growing in the shade and in very heavy clay soil. The foliage is yellowish. I've had other junipers take a long time to die. Hopefully it will make it. I will protect the roots with mulch over the winter. It will get afternoon sun now. Is there anything else i should be doing to maximize its chances of survival?

How to maximize its chances of survival?
Let it grow for at least a full 12 to 24 months without disturbing the roots and without removing foliage.

Hopefully your "half day of sun" is bright enough. Junipers are creatures of full sun. Anything less than about 3/4 of a day worth of sun and they tend to grow loose & floppy. In shade, as you saw, they slowly decline.

Should a similar opportunity present itself again, containerizing from the start might have been preferred. That way you could start it out in half sun, then move it to full sun 2 or 3 months later just by moving the pot, that way roots would not get disturbed. I have made similar mistakes myself. It does pay to plan out a year or two ahead before digging up and collecting.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

How to maximize its chances of survival?
Let it grow for at least a full 12 to 24 months without disturbing the roots and without removing foliage.

Hopefully your "half day of sun" is bright enough. Junipers are creatures of full sun. Anything less than about 3/4 of a day worth of sun and they tend to grow loose & floppy. In shade, as you saw, they slowly decline.

Should a similar opportunity present itself again, containerizing from the start might have been preferred. That way you could start it out in half sun, then move it to full sun 2 or 3 months later just by moving the pot, that way roots would not get disturbed. I have made similar mistakes myself. It does pay to plan out a year or two ahead before digging up and collecting.

Thanks. Yes i could have planned this better. I didn't account for the possibility that the roots would be so leggy and the finer roots would be so far away from the trunk. I didn't have a container that big prepared. Next time!

 

[rollwithak]

containerizing from the start might have been preferred.

I was also wondering about your decision to plant it in the ground again. Not criticizing here, just curious as to the thought process to place it in the ground vs. putting it in a pot? I like the tree, great find, hoping for the best my friend!

 

[Paradox]

How to maximize its chances of survival?
Let it grow for at least a full 12 to 24 months without disturbing the roots and without removing foliage.

Hopefully your "half day of sun" is bright enough. Junipers are creatures of full sun. Anything less than about 3/4 of a day worth of sun and they tend to grow loose & floppy. In shade, as you saw, they slowly decline.

Should a similar opportunity present itself again, containerizing from the start might have been preferred. That way you could start it out in half sun, then move it to full sun 2 or 3 months later just by moving the pot, that way roots would not get disturbed. I have made similar mistakes myself. It does pay to plan out a year or two ahead before digging up and collecting.

I agree, having it in a container would have made it easier to provide winter protection.
I am concerned that the roots are compromised and as such the tree wont draw water as is typical after digging/repotting.
I wonder if wrapping it in burlap to protect from drying winter winds would help? That is possibly the only other thing Id consider at this point.

 

[leatherback]

It is a juniper. It can draw water to large extend through the foliage.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Back in 1989, I hired a crew and had 15 junipers, from a 50 year old foundation planting dug and trucked to my back yard. I was not prepared for what I was getting into. I ran out of potting media, out of pots, I stole those rectangular recycling bins from neighbors, plugged a few in the ground. End result was by 1992 had only one left alive. It was a Pfitzer type possibly 'Blaupunkt'. Or similar. Anyway, it didn't survive my misunderstanding of what I learned in a workshop. By 2005 the last one was dead. That was nearly a thousand dollar mistake by the time you added up the labor of the crew and the trailer rental, the supplies and everything. ZIP to show for it. But I know better now.

So don't feel bad, we all make this type of mistake the first couple times we go after "urban yardadori".