Bonsai Stock

One Year in the Ground

It is the end of November here in Taiwan and the weather seems to have changed overnight.  It is still Autumn but Winter is just around the corner.  

At the moment I am on a 4 day holiday so we decided to celebrate the one year anniversary of planting these juniper trees in the ground by checking them out.  

One year ago, exactly, I bought 70 juniper trees that were grown from cuttings.  They were grown in the ground for 6 months, dug up and given to me.  I then replanted them higher up in the Yamingshan mountains where I plan to thicken up the trunks as fast as possible and hopefully make them all into attractive bonsai trees..  

After a year, all but 2 have survived.  I want to leave them in the ground for 2 or 3 more years.  I have been wiring some trees while they have been growing to try and create some interesting shapes.  The main reason for doing this is that I want these trees appearing older than they really are and by having twists and turns in the trunk, will go a long way to achieving this desired aged look.  

There are many bonsai growers in this area and I have been told that the best thing to do is wait until winter, dig them all out again, wire them all, and then plant them back in the ground.  Winter is the safest time to do this as the trees become dormant, which means the tree's growth has almost stopped completely.   Potential damage to the roots as you dig them out will be minimized during the winter months.  The other important reason to dig them out of the ground is because at the moment, roots from neighboring junipers will be intertwining, each stealing nutrients from each other under the ground.  I need to give them more space.  This will encourage the trees to grow even quicker.  

They have all grown and are looking healthy.

In winter I will dig these junipers trees out, wire them, and then replant them further away from each other where each individual tree's roots are free to suck up as much nutrients as possible as opposed to competing with a tree growing too close to it.

I took the wire off this tree.  The branch has held its shape.  

We will revisit these guys in winter.  Stay tuned.