|
bonsaiTALK ArchMaster
Join Date: Jul-2004
Location: AR
Posts: 2,899
|
Brand new roots will be white,older roots will be that brownish red color you describe and have some strength to them,if you can break apart the roots easily with you finger and they are a dark blackish color then they are dead roots. Why you refuse to pot the tree? I wouldnt give up on it so quickly juniper will only put out those new white roots when they are in active growth..this time of year is the time half of america is repotting junipers. Your tree may not have come out of winter sleep/dormancy yet.
In fall-winter when the weather is cold junips go into a type of sleep trance called dormancy and growth slows down to basicly a hull, they remain that way until spring when they snap out of it and begin to grow again. I repotted like 7 junipers last week and found only one with new root growth,all the rest had just the brown to reddish roots from previous years of growth. Get your tree potted into soil and see what it wants to do for a month, it will either live or die. If it hasn't started it's new spring growth chances are good.
Also,if you need to check and see if a tree is alive right now you can scrape a bit of bark or cut a small branchlet piece off and check the cambium layer to see if it's green and moist.
|