Questions for Kevin Willson

fore

Omono
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I've always wondered, when these great carvers start really carving a lot of deadwood, how do you know that the bark you're removing won't kill the tree? I've often wondered this on some of the heavily carved Junipers.

And I also thoroughly enjoyed the first video.
 

snobird

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Hi Fore, especially on old Junipers you have to find the "lifeline" first. these are like raised "veins" that link specific branches with usually specific roots. That's why the old flaky bark is brushed away so one can find these. So initial carving is done first around these areas and over the years you can carve the vein narrower a bit at a time.
If you look at the yew you can see how certain parts of the tree are connected to the living roots. Best examples are in nature. The olive is a hardy and forgiving species and can take more abuse.
 

fore

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Oh, I see Snobird. If the veins are associated with a specific root, then another question arises, do you root prune differently during repotting to make sure you don't damage the 'specific' root?

I will look more closely at the next finished juniper I see to locate these veins...very interesting plant physiology.
 

snobird

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Hi Fore, yes, when repotting every kind of tree you first have to look at the condition of the roots before you cut back. Most important aspect because at this stage you look for dead roots and all other root problems.
Naturally, with trees that don't like root disturbance you will follow a more conservative protocol as e.g. cut pie pieces out of the root mass and replacing these with new soil but you still need to inspect the exposed roots.
So in this case you have to comb out the roots first to see the root groups associated with a specific vein and not cut back blindly and randomly because you have to "balance" the root groups. So on a stronger vein with more foliage I'll leave a bit more root etc unless you want to strengthen/slow down another area of the tree. You can even go as far as potting a specific group of roots into a container of its own and then feed that contained section more than the rest to make the tree develop more in one area.

As I mentioned nature please look at old Silver Maples. You'll often see these veins on them as well.

Interesting is that I see what looks as if Kevin is cutting across the grain of the wood on the olive trying to make the spiral. As part two is still due I cannot point a finger yet but olive wood is very dense so maybe he'll get away with this.
 

fore

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Hi Fore, yes, when repotting every kind of tree you first have to look at the condition of the roots before you cut back. Most important aspect because at this stage you look for dead roots and all other root problems.
Naturally, with trees that don't like root disturbance you will follow a more conservative protocol as e.g. cut pie pieces out of the root mass and replacing these with new soil but you still need to inspect the exposed roots.
So in this case you have to comb out the roots first to see the root groups associated with a specific vein and not cut back blindly and randomly because you have to "balance" the root groups. So on a stronger vein with more foliage I'll leave a bit more root etc unless you want to strengthen/slow down another area of the tree. You can even go as far as potting a specific group of roots into a container of its own and then feed that contained section more than the rest to make the tree develop more in one area.

As I mentioned nature please look at old Silver Maples. You'll often see these veins on them as well.

Interesting is that I see what looks as if Kevin is cutting across the grain of the wood on the olive trying to make the spiral. As part two is still due I cannot point a finger yet but olive wood is very dense so maybe he'll get away with this.

Thank You Snobird for the thoughtful post. I learned a lot, and very interesting about the root management...esp. cool was the idea of separate pots. Ingenious idea! Certainly "adds a twist" to a generic repotting.

Regarding Kevin's video...I too wondered about that....or at least the aggressiveness of the cutting ;) But what the heck do I know lol
 

snobird

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You're welcome. That dry olive wood is damn hard! Can certainly test your frustration levels.:)
 

fore

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Makes me regret not taking on the challenge of a sierra juniper while I lived in Ca. I was working more then and felt I couldn't keep up with the needs of the plant, and to keeping the style the way I envisioned it. Same about a Ca. redwood variety of some sort. I learned a lesson though, use and enjoy the native greenery while you live your life, cause as I found out with this recession, you just never know how things will go. I'm still learning a lot about living and growing native bonsai here. And this winterizing stuff, what a pain! lol Much different from Berkeley Ca. Much more challenging in regard to pests and diseases here too. I guess when it doesn't rain for a large portion of the year discourages diseases ;)
 
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