airlayerin junipers

Anybody have anyluck with air layering junipers?

bucknbonsai wrote:Anybody have anyluck with air layering junipers?

yes, i think its the easiest tree of all - i've done branches from very old bonsai (100yr++) with 100% success rates - both chinensis and rigida - roots well enough to be cut off in about 3-4 months, full ringbark, fresh sphagmum, any old plastic to wrap it, cable tie top and bottom - no mucking about with potions to soak the moss or anything

cheers Marcus

thankyou marcus. I am hoping it can be used to improve the nebari. It seems like most of the junipers out there have poor nebari compared to deciduous trees.

bucknbonsai wrote:thankyou marcus. I am hoping it can be used to improve the nebari. It seems like most of the junipers out there have poor nebari compared to deciduous trees.

hi,

that is part related to the actual root growth habit of the juniper species though- they do not put out the flat and dividing root system of a deciduous tree, so by their nature the trunk doesnt flare at the base either. Trying to make a tree do something against its nature is always going to be hard work - and then it will look wrong after all the work too. A juniper has its own style, as a good bonsai it rises from the soil and has all the movement and beauty in the trunk, live veins, dead wood and branches - something often lacking in many deciduous trees that have their own individual merits (nebari, taper, ramification etc)

cheers Marcus