yamadori trip

Out collecting Yamadori today with my mate Lee ,Enjoyed getting out and finding a couple of trees ....John

Looks like you had a fantastic day amongst that scenery. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but Juniperus communis rarely survive bonsai cultivation. A large box or container would give a better chance of survival. A bonsai pot is never a good idea with freshly collected old trees.

will baddeley wrote:Looks like you had a fantastic day amongst that scenery. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but Juniperus communis rarely survive bonsai cultivation. A large box or container would give a better chance of survival. A bonsai pot is never a good idea with freshly collected old trees.

....at least in a (probable) short life of this tree he became a complete bonsai in a nice pot.

...but Will is right put it in a very big container with some of the original soil and avoid moving the tree or the pot afterwards, to give it extra push to adjust..after the photo session.

good luck.

regards,
jun

Thanks for the replys ,we will take note ....John

Wow john, i wish we had yamadori like that in Australia, most of our natives are not good for bonsai or wont make the transplant.
You have some lovely sceinery there, you are also not short on moss for your pots.
mick

JohnOstranica,

Where (approximately, of course) were you?

Regards,
Martin

will baddeley wrote:Looks like you had a fantastic day amongst that scenery. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but Juniperus communis rarely survive bonsai cultivation. A large box or container would give a better chance of survival. A bonsai pot is never a good idea with freshly collected old trees.

Thanks Will. I realise that J.communis are difficult to keep alive after collection. After the photo was taken, I transplanted the tree into a larger (if somewhat unflattering) pot. This is one of the smallest junipers I could find and was growing in shallow earth on top of a rock, so I collected it with as much of the root and surrounding soil as possible. Any more tips for increasing the chance of survival?

Thanks, Lee.

Communis is a difficult plant for bonsai.
I have some in my collection, watch with roots.
And take your time.
Photo 1 tree has died.

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MartinSweeney wrote:JohnOstranica,

Where (approximately, of course) were you?

Regards,
Martin

Hi Martin ,I could tell you aproximatly were we were but then I would have to kill you

Hello John and Lee. I think you should seriously reconsider the collection of communis. They are not difficult to keep alive after collection, they are next to impossible. If you were to get them to survive collection, applying wire and styling will certainly do them in. Leave them where they are and enjoy them in their surroundings.

I dream about going to a place like that where juniper roam free and collecting some. It surprises me however that it is legal in the UK now. Communis is a threatened species in the wild. Even more so now. Nice tree though, I hope you prove everyone wrong and have great success with it.

I must add that other varieties of communis in Europe seem to cope a lot better in a bonsai pot than ours do.

will baddeley wrote:Hello John and Lee. I think you should seriously reconsider the collection of communis. They are not difficult to keep alive after collection, they are next to impossible. If you were to get them to survive collection, applying wire and styling will certainly do them in. Leave them where they are and enjoy them in their surroundings.

Thanks Will. I didn't realise they were quite that difficult. I would love to have just one in my collection so if this one survives, that will be it. If it dies I will write them off as "near impossible" and again that will be it.

This is a tough call because 25 years ago I collected communis all but 3 trees survived 5 years out of 12 collected... they eventually died. Early last year I had the opportunity to collect a couple more. They have survived so far, even having lost a lot of old needles they did put on new growth where cuts had been made. I am far more experienced with soil, watering, misting and feed etc, have better facilities and I understand the species more than I did all those years ago... but I will never be totally sure that they will turn up their toes and die... it may take 5 years to find out!

Was going to post this as a new topic under questions but this seems a good place. Has anyone tryed air-layering communis in the wild? If so whats you experiences?