Rmj repot

[wireme]

I’ll add text later.

 

[wireme]

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[wireme]

So a bunch of juniper repots happened here this year. It’s good I can learn a lot by watching how they respond.

Took a few pics of this one, a start to documenting this tree that doesn’t have a thread and a couple points of interest.
A few years back I started utilizing nursery cans instead of building boxes more often. Not that I think they’re better but an effort to reduce the work load involved in bringing new trees home. It’s been good, I’ll build boxes when needed of course. Anyways this one went into a can and backfilled with coarse pumicy mix. Took a little different approach to the top cover. Coarse sub just barely to the top of the rootball then a thick nearly one inch layer of fresh, loose green long fibred moss.
The surface roots really loved that and the tree shot runners by the end of the first year, that almost never happens for me. Pics show the moss darkened by winter mulch remnants and the roots directly on the substrate surface. I will do this again someday, not much collecting time happening nowadays though.
The next move of interest that’s probably a bit atypical was wrapping the side of the rootball that I didn’t want to disturb in a moist shirt and the packing wrap. All fresh roots in substrate over there, crumbly, would barefoot itself with much movement and I like to keep some portion undisturbed completely. I’ll do that again too and sooner than I did for this, I was a little ways in before thinking of it, could have held more together. The other end had the soil to remove.
Then the bottom of the box was stepped with filler blocks. Could have just filled with pumice, tree wouldn’t have minded but no point in growing a pile of roots that will need to be pruned of for final potting. This was done to change the planting angle and I wasn’t ready to work the pad to the extent of flattening the far side this time around. In hindsight a full wooden sloped baffle would have been better. That’s about it, patented root viewing window included again also.

 

[River's Edge]

So a bunch of juniper repots happened here this year. It’s good I can learn a lot by watching how they respond.

Took a few pics of this one, a start to documenting this tree that doesn’t have a thread and a couple points of interest.
A few years back I started utilizing nursery cans instead of building boxes more often. Not that I think they’re better but an effort to reduce the work load involved in bringing new trees home. It’s been good, I’ll build boxes when needed of course. Anyways this one went into a can and backfilled with coarse pumicy mix. Took a little different approach to the top cover. Coarse sub just barely to the top of the rootball then a thick nearly one inch layer of fresh, loose green long fibred moss.
The surface roots really loved that and the tree shot runners by the end of the first year, that almost never happens for me. Pics show the moss darkened by winter mulch remnants and the roots directly on the substrate surface. I will do this again someday, not much collecting time happening nowadays though.
The next move of interest that’s probably a bit atypical was wrapping the side of the rootball that I didn’t want to disturb in a moist shirt and the packing wrap. All fresh roots in substrate over there, crumbly, would barefoot itself with much movement and I like to keep some portion undisturbed completely. I’ll do that again too and sooner than I did for this, I was a little ways in before thinking of it, could have held more together. The other end had the soil to remove.
Then the bottom of the box was stepped with filler blocks. Could have just filled with pumice, tree wouldn’t have minded but no point in growing a pile of roots that will need to be pruned of for final potting. This was done to change the planting angle and I wasn’t ready to work the pad to the extent of flattening the far side this time around. In hindsight a full wooden sloped baffle would have been better. That’s about it, patented root viewing window included again also.

Very nice result. I appreciate the aeration aspect of the root viewing window. Thanks for including the little tips and insights along the way.

 

[wireme]

Gettin roots. There’s a very thin layer of moss between the screen and the substrate on this window.

 

[LanceMac10]

Hey, I missed this one! Nice. Can't wait to see how you hang the foliage on that trunk. Sweet piece! But, does the foliage smell like kitty made pee-pee? I visit Pops in Colorado and one spot we end up has tons of these and I all I can smell is weewee kitty!! Pretty sure that they are rmj, but I could be wrong!!

I wish I did bonsai back then, 25 years ago. Good snowboarding, though. Snow beats ice, every time.

Hoping to see some deer tendon "raffia" on this one!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Nice wiggle on those trunks!

 

[River's Edge]

I have begun collecting moss wherever i can find it to add to the surface of collected trees. I think it provides a lot of benefit from the way surface roots respond. Interesting to note your comment as well.