Old landscape juniper, procumbens nana

[catfish chapstick]

I am planning to dig this juniper in the spring. It has been cut back over the course of two years and this is what it looks like today. Depending on what the roots look like I may or may not bare-root the plant. The trunk has a decent amount of movement and I'm hoping to create a literati style (since I've been reading Literati Style Penjing by Zhao Qingquan).

I've collected deciduous trees and I know the junipers need as many roots as possible. I'm planning to pot the plant in straight pumice, keep in the shade for a while, and later feed aggressively. I don't have a grow box but I'm hoping a large pot will work.

Any tips or advice to help the survival of this juniper? Should I mist the foliage? Should I use superthrive? Should I keep some original soil?

Also in the spring when I dig, should I wait until there is new growth? I know these plants are fairly tough but I'd still like to do what is optimal.




It's hard to see all the movement in this photo and the branches are a hot mess so I'm not sure what will eventually get cut off. The tree may be more suitable for cascade but I just won't know until I see the roots.

 

[CWTurner]

Nice trunk. I don't see a literati in there, but don't let that stop you. If the other side of the trunk is as good as this side, my only advice would be to go slow.
CW

 

[discusmike]

Nice material catfish,have not seen you around these parts in awhile,good find!

 

[penumbra]

This plant has potential for a few styles but I would personally pass on literati style on this one. BTW, I am reading the same book now. It is right in front of me.

 

[catfish chapstick]

Nice trunk. I don't see a literati in there, but don't let that stop you. If the other side of the trunk is as good as this side, my only advice would be to go slow.
CW

Thanks. It does have a heavy base. It's really nice from a lot of angles just hard to photograph. I do want to go slow. I've lost a nice juniper before by pushing it too hard. Here it is from the front

 

[catfish chapstick]

Nice material catfish,have not seen you around these parts in awhile,good find!

Thanks. I've had a lot happening so haven't posted in a long while. Bought a house in an old neighborhood hence the material. There's also a yew but it's absolutely massive!

 

[catfish chapstick]

This plant has potential for a few styles but I would personally pass on literati style on this one. BTW, I am reading the same book now. It is right in front of me.

I love it. He's one of the best. I have another one by him called Penjing, Worlds of Wonderment (I think that's the title)

 

[Potawatomi13]

Nice trunk. I don't see a literati in there

Ditto. One large character of literati is slender feminine trunk not present here. Branching/dead wood present to make other style well though. Suspect large amount of roots, much digging needed to collect. have very large box or ground plot ready before collection attempt.

 

[catfish chapstick]

Ditto. One large character of literati is slender feminine trunk not present here. Branching/dead wood present to make other style well though. Suspect large amount of roots, much digging needed to collect. have very large box or ground plot ready before collection attempt.

I guess it will likely be cascade or informal... I'm still deciding what to plant it in. I might have to build a box or get creative.

 

[Nybonsai12]

This has some nice potential, i like the base. I can't help with collecting tips. As for styling, just say no to literati or cascade. Once you dig it and it recovers it should get strong and start pushing growth from all over and will leave you with plenty of options to make a nice informal upright.

 

[W3rk]

I am planning to dig this juniper in the spring. It has been cut back over the course of two years and this is what it looks like today. Depending on what the roots look like I may or may not bare-root the plant. The trunk has a decent amount of movement and I'm hoping to create a literati style (since I've been reading Literati Style Penjing by Zhao Qingquan).

I've collected deciduous trees and I know the junipers need as many roots as possible. I'm planning to pot the plant in straight pumice, keep in the shade for a while, and later feed aggressively. I don't have a grow box but I'm hoping a large pot will work.

Any tips or advice to help the survival of this juniper? Should I mist the foliage? Should I use superthrive? Should I keep some original soil?

Also in the spring when I dig, should I wait until there is new growth? I know these plants are fairly tough but I'd still like to do what is optimal.


View attachment 225027

It's hard to see all the movement in this photo and the branches are a hot mess so I'm not sure what will eventually get cut off. The tree may be more suitable for cascade but I just won't know until I see the roots.

Honestly, with that fat base, movement and taper in the trunk I think you would be nuts to try to force this into a literati. It would be wasting those great low features. I would look for a way to get this smaller and more compact.

 

[catfish chapstick]

Honestly, with that fat base, movement and taper in the trunk I think you would be nuts to try to force this into a literati. It would be wasting those great low features. I would look for a way to get this smaller and more compact.

Here is a different angle, from above, and the base

 

[Jorow99]

How long do you have to collect this? If you have a while, you could cut a half circle around the roots in spring closer to the trunk and them come back and cut the rest and collect it at a later date, like fall or next spring.

I would leave the top alone for a few years. Maybe put a bag over it after collection to keep the humidity up and ease the workload on the roots.

 

[catfish chapstick]

Ditto. One large character of literati is slender feminine trunk not present here. Branching/dead wood present to make other style well though. Suspect large amount of roots, much digging needed to collect. have very large box or ground plot ready before collection attempt.

I'm building a grow box; hopefully large enough. Is there a risk that the box can be too big? Would that hurt it's recovery?

I feel like the box is too big. I keep ordering pumice and it just doesn't look like enough. I don't want to wait until I dig to build it (to make the process quicker)

 

[Potawatomi13]

3.5' X 3.5' x1' seems about adequate. If not suspect scrambling at collection time? Knowing trunk size/branch spread helpful. Is pumice sifted yet?

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Remember that the strength in a juniper is in the foliage so go slow on cutting it back. Beautiful trunk and some nice potential to work on once you get it out of the ground and stabilized.

 

[catfish chapstick]

I dug up the juniper and stuck it in a grow box. It seems the roots were pretty long and sprawling. I did manage to get some feeder roots but not as many as I had hoped.

Should I put a plastic bag over it to keep humidity up? All I have done is water it and set it in the shade. It has quite a lot of foliage compared to the amount of roots.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I dug up the juniper and stuck it in a grow box. It seems the roots were pretty long and sprawling. I did manage to get some feeder roots but not as many as I had hoped.

Should I put a plastic bag over it to keep humidity up? All I have done is water it and set it in the shade. It has quite a lot of foliage compared to the amount of roots.

I would not bag it, but do keep it in shade, mist the trunk and foliage as often as you walk by it (I always kept a sprayer next to them). Don’t water it too often, make the roots search for water a little. Don’t remove any foliage; let the tree “decide” what to keep.

 

[catfish chapstick]

I would not bag it, but do keep it in shade, mist the trunk and foliage as often as you walk by it (I always kept a sprayer next to them). Don’t water it too often, make the roots search for water a little. Don’t remove any foliage; let the tree “decide” what to keep.

OK I took the bag off. We've been getting a lot of rain lately, should I bring it in when it rains?

 

[Lazylightningny]

I dug up the juniper and stuck it in a grow box. It seems the roots were pretty long and sprawling. I did manage to get some feeder roots but not as many as I had hoped.

Should I put a plastic bag over it to keep humidity up? All I have done is water it and set it in the shade. It has quite a lot of foliage compared to the amount of roots.

Hopefully all that foliage will power some new roots. Best of luck with it.