Juniper Shenanigans

rellim

Will a well established Juniper (30+ yrs in the ground), recover from being completely defoliated?

My parents got a new furnace, and they had to run exaust pipes or somthin like that, from the furnace to outside, and the furnace guy said the Juniper was in the way, so they hacked it up, all that is left is a stump, and a few branches. It WAS healthy prior to the crime.

SHENANIGANS!

Thanks,
Mike

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TreeBay

I have seen them grow back by sending out shoots (in all the wrong places - from the base of existing denuded branches and stuff)

Regards,

Matt

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Vance Wood

It's a strong possibility as Matt says, but the time of year concerns me as being too short of a growing period left before bad weather sets in. It don't hurt to try though does it?

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The only finished bonsai is a dead one; me 1992 MABA Des Moines Iowa

rellim

So should I just let it be for now? Maybe cover it during the coldest parts of winter. I would like to pot it up next year if its still alive. Hopes are high.

Thanks for the quick replies!

Mike

Newt

As long as the furnace is not blowing on the stump (drying it out) then yes, it will have the best chance of recovery if left in the ground. If it does sprout back you may want to give it two years of top recovery before digging (the healthier the tree is the better chance of survival).

It always amazes me that our family members really do not have a clue! I have had that happen to me to.

One week ago I ripped out that big ugly juniper that was in the way of... You mean the one that I said I wanted? Yeah, I saved it for you, I threw it over near the burn pile...

Since I have gone over the process with my immediate family so they know when is the best time and say they will call first if ripping anything out (even if it is the wrong time of year). Remains to be seen if they will follow through.

Newt

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rellim

Thanks for the advice guys. After looking at it closer I found a branch with some foliage left on it! I'll have to see what happens in the next couple years.

Thanks
Mike

Vance Wood

It is amazing, but it is also amazing just how resilient some of these trees are. A next door neighbor of mine had one of these grafted Colorado Blue Spruces that form a globe on top of an extended trunk. He pulled it out of the ground and left it set in 90+ degrees for four or five days before he offered it to me. I put the thing in a large nursery pot and nursed it along. Today in is in the front yard of my daughters house and has been moved twice since the first baptism in fire. So you can never tell what is going to survive and what will croak. Sometimes the harder we try to save a tree the quicker it dies.

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The only finished bonsai is a dead one; me 1992 MABA Des Moines Iowa