yamidori juniper help digging

Ive just been given permision to remove an old juniper from my nieghbors yard it has a trunk base diameter of about 5 inches. It is a beautiful specimen and I dont want to kill it. Any advice would be nice. Im about 50/50 with yamidori and have never dug a juniper.

Arno

104 views but no replys? cmon now! no body has dug a juniper?

Hello arno. Try digging the tree out with as big a rootball as you can manage. The soil can be reduced as you get it home, and the larger anchoring roots can be reduced. Place the tree in a large container or box and keep it shaded and misted. A good free draining soil mix should be used and make sure the tree is well anchored in its new container. Some reduction of the foliage mass will help with recovery too.

Arno, The juniper sound like a BIG one. I have had mixed results with lifting large junipers, but the best bet is to get a large root ball. From your description of the 5 inch trunk, I would start digging no less than 2 feet from the trunk. Dig a trench around the tree. Then dig down to about 18 inches. The root ball will be huge. When you have dug and find roots, look to see if there are fine roots on the thick roots. Those are the feeder roots and that is what the tree needs to survive. If the tree has a lot of feeder roots, then you can reduce the rootball, by half probably. If you end up with a rootball that is 24-28 inches wide and 14-16 inches deep, then you should be all right. Have a large container to put it in, or dig a hole in your yard to plant the tree. Then you can do root reduction in the ground over a couple of growing seasons. Make sure you place it in a shady spot for its first season. I have a Hollywood juniper that I planted 10 years ago at my old house. It grew for about 6 years in a field and reached 10 feet tall. I cut it back to 4 feet 4 years ago and started digging/cutting around its roots every year since. Last Fall I collected it and planted it in my yard in a bright shady spot. It is doing well. Because I cut its roots every year for four years, I was able to collect it with a small root ball with lots of fine roots. The trunk base is approx 6-7 inches thick. I was able to lift the tree by myself.
Good luck!
Best,
Todd

Thanks guys

I learned that this is a real hard challenge, and for a first maybe too hard. Ive been told by "Kauaibonsai" from IBC, who is in my zone, that many people have failed with juniper. I did some reaserch and was reading that there are a couple of different types of junipers. The ones with sharp pointy growth are more tempermental and the ones with more of a "fluffy" growth are easier. Anyway this one is fluffy and, for all i know it may not be the same one everyone is saying is hard ???? dunno? Its a cool tree so I guess I'll try and go for it. I investigated it and it seems to have some fine roots closer in so.... we'll see. im nervous but i gotta try! The thing i dont understand is how do guys like Walter Pall go out into the Moutains and recover these amazing old trees? Is it like the rest of Bonsai, its all an illusion and they dont tell us how many are killed in the process...hahahha!

Thanks all
Arno

Hello Arno. What type of soil is it growing in? If its very sandy, then there is a good chance the roots will be a way out from the tree. If its heavier soil, then you may have a better success rate. You could always trench around the tree, fill it with a good rooting medium and collect the tree the following year. Another way would be to put a big airlayer at the base. Junipers root very well from airlayers.

If you are wondering about.... tools you can also read here https://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t5792-video-sandevbonsai-yamadori-series-tools-for-collecting-trees?highlight=tools

thanks for keeping thread going heres a pic

Arno

nice tree. looks like hollywood juniper. good luck !!

best wishes, sam

Hello Arno. There's an upright marker on the left of the trunk. Come out about 6" from there and trench around. You can reduce the soil mass back at home.

Will ,Todd, and Sam thanks for all the advice I started a thread in " bonsai". I got the tree, should be all good I hope.

Arno