Junipers and their foliage

[Mike Corazzi]

I keep reading posts here that state junipers feed mostly from their foliage.
One recent post said 60% is from the foliage rather than the roots.
While I don't dispute that, I keep wondering how anyone found out.
How does one know from where the tree gets its energy?

 

[Shibui]

I'm pretty confident this has grown up from someone trying to explain that if you cut all the foliage off a juniper it will die. Sounded interesting so others started spouting similar but, like all good sayings it has begun to morph as people (who probably don't really understand what it is about) change the emphasis.

 

[Potawatomi13]

See Ryans Mirai livestreams on Junipers. Maybe turns this on its head, maybe confuses some but careful hearing will surely enlighten.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

This is the reason why I distinguish between "energy" as in fuel for growth, and "nutrients" as in plant food or building blocks for growth.

You find out what's the most important part of a plant by cutting it off and watching the plant not recover.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Ah....George Washington may have been best off without the bloodletting......

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Yeah, it turns out that you need blood to fight infections. Maybe leeches would've been safer.