Experience with Sierra junipers?

Jgs bonsai

I have some nice Sierra Junipers, California Junipers, and Utah Junipers that I have collected. The California Junipers are hardier that the Sierra for me. Some of the Sierra's just seem to barely hang on for years, But I also I have some very nice ones also that are growing vigorously and the difference seems to be the roots. All of these trees seem do best in 100% pumice. I live in the costal fog belt and the lack of warm whether may be a factor. Denis Makishima told me that he has begun using 100% Perlite with more success than pumice but I have not tried it. He says that the Perlite is better for the cool whether because the sharp soil creates more roots and doesn't remain as wet as the pumice. It is important to remove all of the native soil from these trees when in a pot. This can be right after collection before the first potting or after the second year when new roots have formed. I have one California that is still in it original soil that is thriving but Ernie Kuo told me that the soil must be replaced for its continued survival. I plan to replace all of the soil during this fall during the repotting window. Root formation on these trees takes about two years so I generally don't do any work on them until after that time. After collection I like to soak the whole tree over night and apply Antistress 2000 or Cloud Cover to keep the foliage from drying out while the roots recover from the shock. The applications of this Antistress solution should be repeated whenever the tree looks like the solution has been washed off. The tree should be very secure in the pot and the pumice dies not provide the stability needed. I use wires tied over the branches to keep movement in the pot to a minimum. After the initial watering the foliage should be misted regularly and the soil only watered when it seem to be drying. This is to keep the roots from rotting and to keep the foliage alive while the new roots form. After the tree is established and growing well is the only time any work can be done on the tree. Strongly growing trees will put out long branch growth that can be as long a 1 to 2 feet in one season. When your tree is growing like this it is ready for work. Here is a photograph of a California Juniper that I got from Dennis Makishima. This one is not growing in pumice since I got it from him before he changed his soil mix. It has not been styled in this picture and I am still working on it now to get it right.

JGS

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