Potting a Nursery Juniper

[Pug933]

Hi All,

I just potted up the nursery junipers that I've been fattening up for the past 3 years from regular soil to bonsai soil. And now I'm terrified that they'll die like my first attempt at bonsai many years ago. When I moved them I only trimmed the rootball so it would fit into the pots, I did not trim the foliage as I believe that was one of my errors the first time around. I expect there to be some die back as the roots are proportionally smaller than the foliage, but I was led to believe that leaving the foliage on would be less of a shock to the plant as opposed to cutting off equal amounts of roots and foliage to balance the tree. Is this true, and how long should I wait before applying a diluted fertilizer?

Thanks,

Katie

 

[brentwood]

Expect at least a couple weeks before you fertilize as an answer, and I bet this time your plants live...
Good luck!
B

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

Hi All,

I just potted up the nursery junipers that I've been fattening up for the past 3 years from regular soil to bonsai soil. And now I'm terrified that they'll die like my first attempt at bonsai many years ago. When I moved them I only trimmed the rootball so it would fit into the pots, I did not trim the foliage as I believe that was one of my errors the first time around. I expect there to be some die back as the roots are proportionally smaller than the foliage, but I was led to believe that leaving the foliage on would be less of a shock to the plant as opposed to cutting off equal amounts of roots and foliage to balance the tree. Is this true, and how long should I wait before applying a diluted fertilizer?

Thanks,

Katie

In my experience you can take healthy nursery juniper/spruce stock and reduce up to 80% of the rootball without issue. The key is LEAVING THE FOLIAGE ALONE and misting frequently. Balancing the “top” and “bottom” is something that has never worked with me and conifers. It is a deciduous technique.

Start to fertilize when you see signs of growth. This can be within weeks or up to a month afterwards.

 

[sorce]

Sorry we missed that other thread.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sounds safe to me!

Sorce

 

[Pug933]

Sorce, no worries on missing the other posting, I realized that having juniper information was more important than new user input, so I migrated.

I'm glad to hear that leaving the foliage alone was the right move. I'll keep misting and wait for signs of life before I fertilize it.

Thanks you guys

 

[Pug933]

I finally gave the procumbens a haircut since the juvenile foliage seemed to be maturing, and it didn't appear dead 2 months post repotting. The top still needs to be thinned to get better airflow, but I didn't want to cut off too much at once. I've included some pictures right after I repotted it, and some from after today's haircut. I wish I had taken some pictures today before the big chop, but oh well. Enjoy the pictures, cat is included for scale.