Repotting California Juniper

We have been working on this tree for about 10 years.
it is collected by Tak Shimasu in LA. we styled it 8 or 9 years ago and plant in training pot all the mountain soil has been removed since the second repotting. the past 5 years we have it in this Chinese Antique pot.
so far, we have to repot this tree every year. and it grows this much root every year. it is the result of using good soil and good sun, water and fertilizer.



close up of the root ball before working


after removing roots from the bottom part


after

Boon,

Nice tree and healthy roots. If it were mine, I will probably do this:



I would also use a different pot to match the new style.

Warm regards,

Jose Luis

I agree with Jose, definitely tree will be looking better.

Przemek Radomyski wrote:I agree with Jose, definitely tree will be looking better.

I wonder why this thread is not generating much discussion. The tree is very nice and the suggestion is worth some thought.

Thaks for posting Boon

I agree with Jose's virtual. The balance is much improved with the reduction on the left and gives the tree more power. The thing we cant see is how the live veins may be compromised?

will baddeley wrote:I agree with Jose's virtual. The balance is much improved with the reduction on the left and gives the tree more power. The thing we cant see is how the live veins may be compromised?

Will,

Interesting point. It shows that you really understand the behavior of conifer bonsai. Judging from the following picture, I feel that my proposal is quite plausible. It shows a complete live vein up to the top portion. I think the branch I suggest to be eliminated comes from the back. Without it, the design seems more mature.



Kind regards,

Jose Luis

It's difficult to see but looks to me like this one. Sorry for the dodgy yellow line.

this is a great piece of material, I'd love to work something like it....

If it were on my bench i would drop it lower, encourage higher roots and make the most of the trunk flare and nice little spiky bits of deadwood. Then i would certainly keep the branch everyone else wants to cut off and refine it a bit more, but to make this branch work the crown needs dropping down so the whole tree is compacted, then it has a powerfull movement to the left and the left hand branch complements the trunk direction.....

here is a rough virt to give a basic idea, oh and the live veins were defined a bit more too


but thats just the tree i see in this material...more importantly what fantastic root growth in double quick time, very good care and watering regime

cheers Marcus

very nice tree krub! arjarn Boon

Greeting from Thailand

jrodriguez wrote:Boon,

Nice tree and healthy roots. If it were mine, I will probably do this:



I would also use a different pot to match the new style.

Warm regards,

Jose Luis

Jose Luis,
Thanks for the Virtual. we think that we want to emphasize the lower part of the tree. if it is cut, the feeling of this tree will be tall. and it lost some balance.-the weight will be heavy on the right side.

will baddeley wrote:It's difficult to see but looks to me like this one. Sorry for the dodgy yellow line.

Will, you are correct the branch swing from the right side to the left. it is acceptable on collected conifer, in general thanks,

marcus watts wrote:this is a great piece of material, I'd love to work something like it....

If it were on my bench i would drop it lower, encourage higher roots and make the most of the trunk flare and nice little spiky bits of deadwood. Then i would certainly keep the branch everyone else wants to cut off and refine it a bit more, but to make this branch work the crown needs dropping down so the whole tree is compacted, then it has a powerfull movement to the left and the left hand branch complements the trunk direction.....

here is a rough virt to give a basic idea, oh and the live veins were defined a bit more too


but thats just the tree i see in this material...more importantly what fantastic root growth in double quick time, very good care and watering regime

cheers Marcus

Marcus, Wonderful, it is very close to what we have planned for the future of this tree. we will probably shortened the right side a tiny bit more and lower the left side a bit more. Apex will also be moved slightly to the left. thanks,

boon wrote:Marcus, Wonderful, it is very close to what we have planned for the future of this tree. we will probably shortened the right side a tiny bit more and lower the left side a bit more. Apex will also be moved slightly to the left. thanks,

Thanks Boon, it is a great tree, and I like the future plans of lower, more powerfull and more movement to the left. What do you guys feed with ?

cheers marcus

jrodriguez wrote:Boon,

Nice tree and healthy roots. If it were mine, I will probably do this:



I would also use a different pot to match the new style.

Warm regards,

Jose Luis

if it is cut, the feeling of this tree will be tall,If it were mine, so in my opinion the original de se cu more reasonable

Boon- why repot so often?

Great material!!! I agree with Marcus and Boon and If this tree were mine, I wouldn't remove that left branch. I would define the foliage better to indicate a right to left movement for the entire composition, but I have full faith that Boon will make that happen in the next couple of years.

Thanks for posting!!!
~Sam

Thanks Boon, it is a great tree, and I like the future plans of lower, more powerfull and more movement to the left. What do you guys feed with ?

cheers marcus[/quote]

Through out the year, we mostly use organic fertilizer. They are plants base like cotton seed meal rapesseed meal for animal products - fish meal, bone meal, blood meal. We put those in tea bags. Removed them when it is hot in summer. CA junipers can be fed in winter(in the dessert it grows when we have rain in winter).

for liquid, we use fish emulsion once a week or every other week.

We do not use any thing that contain manure or bat guano. They are too strong and tend to burn roots and cause root rots
Thanks
Boon

Bob Pressler wrote:Boon- why repot so often?

Bob,
Strong trees grow a lot of roots in one year. The pictures proof my point.

Smaller tree, we have to repot every year. You can see how much roots we have. Medium size tree, ever year or every other year. Large trees every 2-5 years.

[quote="Sam Ogranaja"]Great material!!! I agree with Marcus and Boon and If this tree were mine, I wouldn't remove that left branch. I would define the foliage better to indicate a right to left movement for the entire composition, but I have full faith that Boon will make that happen in the next couple of years.

Thanks for posting!!!
~Sam[/quote

We probably will do it this summer. I will keep you posted.
Thank you for your kind words
Boon

Wow Boon.

It's really refreshing to see such a small, elegant CA juniper. That's a far cry from those big, ugly chunks of dead wood from the 80's! Beautiful tree.

Russell Coker wrote:

Wow Boon.

It's really refreshing to see such a small, elegant CA juniper. That's a far cry from those big, ugly chunks of dead wood from the 80's! Beautiful tree.

Thank you Russell

boon wrote:
Thanks Boon, it is a great tree, and I like the future plans of lower, more powerfull and more movement to the left. What do you guys feed with ?

cheers marcus

Through out the year, we mostly use organic fertilizer. They are plants base like cotton seed meal rapesseed meal for animal products - fish meal, bone meal, blood meal. We put those in tea bags. Removed them when it is hot in summer. CA junipers can be fed in winter(in the dessert it grows when we have rain in winter).

for liquid, we use fish emulsion once a week or every other week.

We do not use any thing that contain manure or bat guano. They are too strong and tend to burn roots and cause root rots
Thanks
Boon[/quote]

I made cakes of cotton seed meal, bone meal and blood meal mixed with fish emulsion and water. Is there a reason you prefer the tea to the cakes?

Fertilizer cake break down over time. Tea bag will keep it in place. Roots will be clean and healthy.

Where do you find 'empty' tea bags Boon? Or do you use something specifically for horticultural purposes?

Look for tea shops that specialize in selling loose tea. They look kind of like a coffee filter, but rectangular with an open top that you can either tie with a string or fold in on itself.

Have a great week!!!
Sam