So, my wife ordered me three Kishu seedlings . . .

[orangeyeoman]

And I know nothing about taking care of them. I'm a beginner just trying to keep two procumbens alive. She saw me reading about the Kishu, and thoughtfully noted it, tracked some down, and ordered them. Apparently they're in 4" nursery pots. I live in NYC in Zone 6A/6B, and have outdoor space that only gets afternoon sun for about 3 hours. A bit of that is crappy urban soil filled with Japanese knotweed, but I can plant them there if necessary. What should I do to keep these alive, and grow for a few seasons, until I learn what I'm doing?

If this would be better posted somewhere else, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[19Mateo83]

You got yourself a keeper there!

 

[orangeyeoman]

Definitely.

 

[misfit11]

Nice. Kishu is the bomb.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Pot them, water them, keep them outside and protected until frost threatens. Less sun is good until they get established in a few weeks. Got to the next bonsai meeting at Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and study. Also enjoy the collection there, it's would class.

 

[orangeyeoman]

Pot them, water them, keep them outside and protected until frost threatens. Less sun is good until they get established in a few weeks. Got to the next bonsai meeting at Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and study. Also enjoy the collection there, it's would class.

Thanks. Pot them with bonsai soil, or potting soil, for now? How big a pot should I plan on? I have a couple days to prepare.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

No need to do anything special.

Figure out what the little trees are already buried in and up pot a bit larger, say a 5” Tokoname pot.

Check out this link

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Shibui]

I wire and bend lots of little junipers. Wiring before they get thick and hard lets you put good bends and twists into what will eventually be a trunk. Note the wiring and bends on the trees above but I've found that even tighter bends give wilder, more natural looking trunks when they've thickened.
J. chinensis here grow almost as fast in pots as in the ground. Typically it takes a year or 2 before I even see any noticeable growth so be prepared for a loooong development period if you are aiming at thicker trunks.
Use sacrifice branches to help increase trunk thickening. Junipers look great with dead wood features so look at sacrifice branches as potential jins - I've also taken to wiring the lower sections of sacrifice branches so the resulting jins won't all be straight.

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

Don't repot them now but wait for spring next year.

 

[penumbra]

Without seeing the plants, the top to root ratio and whether or not they are pot bound, I would hesitate making the decision to re-pot now or springtime. It is certainly not too late in the year to re-pot junipers now if needed. Just don't mess overly much with the roots at this time.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

The only thing that stuck out to me in this whole thread was the word "seedling". I assume she bought you some cuttings(?) I have never yet seen a Kishu seedling. Plus junipers are so easy to propagate via cutting... why wouldn't you do so, particularly if it gives you a several year head start versus growing from seed.

 

[orangeyeoman]

The only thing that stuck out to me in this whole thread was the word "seedling". I assume she bought you some cuttings(?) I have never yet seen a Kishu seedling. Plus junipers are so easy to propagate via cutting... why wouldn't you do so, particularly if it gives you a several year head start versus growing from seed.

I assume they're from cuttings, but they're from Niwaki Nursery, who has them labeled as "seedlings" on their website. The package is currently out for delivery to my office, so I should have them in hand shortly.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Nice. How about posting a couple photos of the bunch so we can all see what you will be handling…and what we’ve been talking about.

Somehow I doubt they will need repotting this year… but I’ve been wrong before!

cheers
DSD sends

 

[yashu]

I picked up a 6 pack of these from Eric (the guy in the video that DSD posted) and they are quite hardy and tolerant of minor newb mistakes. I would suggest, as shown in the video, that you at least wire the trunks to create some interest while they’re small and flexible. Simple and quick to do, this small action now will pay rewards down the line. The juniper in my avatar is one of the cuttings I got in that six pack and it’s continuing to do great.

 

[orangeyeoman]

Nice. How about posting a couple photos of the bunch so we can all see what you will be handling…and what we’ve been talking about.

Somehow I doubt they will need repotting this year… but I’ve been wrong before!

cheers
DSD sends

Just unpacked them. Looks like they shipped the rootballs bagged. Kishu album. Beautiful color. Seems like a dryish potting soil with some pumice (?).

 

[yashu]

Those look nice, throw some wire on them and maybe just slip pot them in some pearlite/peat mix.

 

[orangeyeoman]

Those look nice, throw some wire on them and maybe just slip pot them in some pearlite/peat mix.

Rootballs look to be between 3" and 4". How big a pot should I start them in? I can pile mulch around them in the winter, but don't want to take any chances of freezing them. And should I try to limit the depth of soil now, or just trim back roots when it eventually goes into a proper bonsai pot?

 

[yashu]

Rootballs look to be between 3" and 4". How big a pot should I start them in? I can pile mulch around them in the winter, but don't want to take any chances of freezing them. And should I try to limit the depth of soil now, or just trim back roots when it eventually goes into a proper bonsai pot?

I would go with something just slightly bigger than the current root ball so you can pack a little potting medium around them until repotting season when you can clean and prune the roots if needed and put them in the bonsai substrate of your choice. Most cultivars of Chinese juniper are quite cold hardy. Both my Kishu and Itoigawa handle western Maine winter (zone 4/5) without issue.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Match the media for now please.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[orangeyeoman]

I would go with something just slightly bigger than the current root ball so you can pack a little potting medium around them until repotting season when you can clean and prune the roots if needed and put them in the bonsai substrate of your choice. Most cultivars of Chinese juniper are quite cold hardy. Both my Kishu and Itoigawa handle western Maine winter (zone 4/5) without issue.

Got it. Thanks. Do you do anything to protect them in the winter, or just leave them aboveground in their pots?