Nursery find

HorseloverFat

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Groovy Juniper! I like it, AND see where you are headed. :)

That's a lot of procedures (insults)... which NORMALLY, nursery-stock Junipers can handle on their "first round out".

The reason I say NORMALLY... is that... It is fairly late in season, almost anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, for root disruption-based operations. (This does NOT mean imminent death... just that the deck is certainly stacked MORE against you, given the timing, and "Full-spectrum" of your work done)

A few more questions so we can understand, and correspondingly help/assist/aid.

How much rootmass did you remove?

What soil/substrate did you pot INTO?

How much nursery soil was left IN the remaining rootmass?

Gravel?... what's that gravel? ...Pea?

I'd STRONGLY recommend keeping it out of direct sunlight directly (Bright shade for a good week, THEN transition back) following repot... this is standard procedure even on PERFECTLY TIMED repots.

I'm not super "good" at Junis..

Just wanted to help until the "Conifer/evergreen bunch" shows up to assist!
 

Keithconn

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It was not in a huge pot so I didn’t remove much ‘mass’ as it were. I did take it down to bare roots and repotted it deep in bonsai soil. So it still has most roots. The pebbles on top are just for some decoration while the roots become more appealing in the future.
 

HorseloverFat

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It was not in a huge pot so I didn’t remove much ‘mass’ as it were. I did take it down to bare roots and repotted it deep in bonsai soil. So it still has most roots. The pebbles on top are just for some decoration while the roots become more appealing in the future.
I'm not great with junipers..

But I'll bump you to the top so someone more situationally knowledgeable may notice.

Did you know that, customarily, repotting at this time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere is a recipe for disaster? If you didn't....well now you do. 🤓

You will, typically, want to catch a tree while its resources and generalized "focus" (when it comes to the cellular distribution of hormones, nutrients, sugars and starches.) are in... 'limbo' as it where.... IN BETWEEN .... where neither waking nor slumber is written in stone.

For those of us in the Temperate Zones of the Northern Hemisphere, this USUALLY means late-winter/early spring... or Mid-late Autumn.

Just adding info to your arsenal.
 

Potawatomi13

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As well as BARE rooting when re potting double whammy at wrong time small tree needs miracle to survive😖. Always better to brag after following helpful teaching then after making many ill advised mistakes☺️.
 

Keithconn

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Thanks for the feedback. I actually did the repotting beginning of April (sorry for leaving that out-my bad). Seems to be doing great as there is new growth on all the branches popping out everywhere.

Someone said the hardest skill to learn in Bonsai is patience… that’s always been hard for me. 😜
 

HorseloverFat

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. Always better to brag after following helpful teaching then after making many ill advised mistakes☺️.
I STILL struggle with patience in this manner. (mostly pertaining to conifers)

It doesn't come easy.

🤓
 
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Wires_Guy_wires

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Hahaha!!

I'm Hyperactive, and Obsessive (by diagnosis)...

So this is why conifers pose the most difficulty in this manner.

🤓
Nah, bro!
You just follow the dopamine on the wrong paths if that's the case. Instead, go hunt for fungi, moss, stuff that helps these plants survive. Wire, but don't bend yet - save that for another day. Don't pluck needles but cut them to stubs with a scissor (so you can pick them off later when they die AND they'll leave the needle bud).
Grafting a couple junipers will seriously test your hyperfocus; you'll either ragequit or do magic, there is no in between. But the wait afterwards for them to take.. I can't help anyone with that. It's difficult. Worst part this year is that I used parafilm (that breaks open and exposes a healed wound) AND black tape (that shows me exactly nothing!).

I got myself some eighty HD's and I trick myself into working with it. It's not the plant that poses the difficulty, it's me! I need to actively guide that shit. But sometimes I grab a tree from the bench, stare at it for half an hour and force myself to put it back. About six times a week. Luckily I have an explosion of arabidopsis in the garden, so weed picking is something to keep me busy.
 

HorseloverFat

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Nah, bro!
You just follow the dopamine on the wrong paths if that's the case. Instead, go hunt for fungi, moss, stuff that helps these plants survive. Wire, but don't bend yet - save that for another day. Don't pluck needles but cut them to stubs with a scissor (so you can pick them off later when they die AND they'll leave the needle bud).
Grafting a couple junipers will seriously test your hyperfocus; you'll either ragequit or do magic, there is no in between. But the wait afterwards for them to take.. I can't help anyone with that. It's difficult. Worst part this year is that I used parafilm (that breaks open and exposes a healed wound) AND black tape (that shows me exactly nothing!).

I got myself some eighty HD's and I trick myself into working with it. It's not the plant that poses the difficulty, it's me! I need to actively guide that shit. But sometimes I grab a tree from the bench, stare at it for half an hour and force myself to put it back. About six times a week. Luckily I have an explosion of arabidopsis in the garden, so weed picking is something to keep me busy.
So basically....

I gotta get my pot environments conducive for natural interactions between microbes and fungi..

aaaand stop being a sissy?

...that's what I'm hearing.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! (Just kidding)

I understand about actively combating the hyperfocus... All the methods you described sound great! and will be utilized, most definitely!

Thank you!
 

Keithconn

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Nah, bro!
You just follow the dopamine on the wrong paths if that's the case. Instead, go hunt for fungi, moss, stuff that helps these plants survive. Wire, but don't bend yet - save that for another day. Don't pluck needles but cut them to stubs with a scissor (so you can pick them off later when they die AND they'll leave the needle bud).
Grafting a couple junipers will seriously test your hyperfocus; you'll either ragequit or do magic, there is no in between. But the wait afterwards for them to take.. I can't help anyone with that. It's difficult. Worst part this year is that I used parafilm (that breaks open and exposes a healed wound) AND black tape (that shows me exactly nothing!).

I got myself some eighty HD's and I trick myself into working with it. It's not the plant that poses the difficulty, it's me! I need to actively guide that shit. But sometimes I grab a tree from the bench, stare at it for half an hour and force myself to put it back. About six times a week. Luckily I have an explosion of arabidopsis in the garden, so weed picking is something to keep me busy.
This is the approach I have been forced to take my life, and it has lead down some great paths.

think I’ll go moss hunting tomorrow!
 

Cajunrider

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Nah, bro!
You just follow the dopamine on the wrong paths if that's the case. Instead, go hunt for fungi, moss, stuff that helps these plants survive. Wire, but don't bend yet - save that for another day. Don't pluck needles but cut them to stubs with a scissor (so you can pick them off later when they die AND they'll leave the needle bud).
Grafting a couple junipers will seriously test your hyperfocus; you'll either ragequit or do magic, there is no in between. But the wait afterwards for them to take.. I can't help anyone with that. It's difficult. Worst part this year is that I used parafilm (that breaks open and exposes a healed wound) AND black tape (that shows me exactly nothing!).

I got myself some eighty HD's and I trick myself into working with it. It's not the plant that poses the difficulty, it's me! I need to actively guide that shit. But sometimes I grab a tree from the bench, stare at it for half an hour and force myself to put it back. About six times a week. Luckily I have an explosion of arabidopsis in the garden, so weed picking is something to keep me busy.
Right now for me, I got my dopamine by going to my friend's land and dig up trees. It is getting a bit out of hand now that I already have 2+ dozen collected trees in the yard for this year but.... I get my work out and dopamine.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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In the spring repotting cycle, Junipers are near last on the list, all the deciduous and the pines are repotted before the junipers. @Keithconn you list home as Long Island. Peruse the "Juniper" section of the forum, and see when other Long Island BNuts usually repot their junipers. I believe April to very early May is in range. Key is you want to see signs of growth just starting over most of the tree. There is an excellent blog by BNut member Brian van Fleet, with a several articles about junipers, with good explanations and photos. No need for me to try to re-describe what was done so well by Brian.


In general, we tend to alternate years with junipers, especially junipers with some age and work on them. Before repotting, as much as 6 months before, they are fed well and allowed to grow to gain strength. Without pruning, or other torture. Then they are repotted. then they are the entire growing season to recover, with pruning and other techniques not resuming until the following year. So repot 2022, do pruning and wiring in 2023. Repotting is done infrequently, only every 3 to 10 years, depending on development. Every 3 years for trees less than 10 years in training, as little as once every 5 to 10 years or so for trees that have been in training over 10 years.

Young junipers will tolerate "all at once" work better than older trees, but in the future as your tree develops some age, be aware that older trees need to keep root work infrequent and to allow sufficient build up strength time beforehand and recovery time after root work.
 
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