Restoring an old juniper gone wrong

Рет қаралды 9,774

Growing Bonsai by Jelle

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 60

@IlkkaVuoristo 7 ай бұрын

If a bonsai channel doesn't show the flip side... it's not worth following. Thank you for the honesty.

@jakesnelling8331 7 ай бұрын

That tree was already on it's last legs. Lesson learnt and all that... This is a reality that most people into bonsai will face at some point. Well done for posting this as most would not. 👍

@harrietb2141 7 ай бұрын

That was really nice of Jelle to do

@jakesnelling8331 7 ай бұрын

@@harrietb2141 I think that is why I like his channel. He shows the ups and downs of bonsai. A more realistic view.

@harrietb2141 7 ай бұрын

@@jakesnelling8331 yes, that makes one feel less unsuccsessful , when trees die.

@TheBonsaiZone 7 ай бұрын

A tough tree to deal with for sure.

@davemiddleton4971 7 ай бұрын

fMy Guess ~The fertiliser is what killed it. I experimented last year over fertilising Junipers and the “shimpaku” died where the “procumbens” survived well. My conclusion is stressed junipers don’t like being fertilised. My Junipers were stressed just trying to survive an Australian Summer. Good Luck great videos.

@stevetippin 7 ай бұрын

So glad that you post even when the results are not favourable. These are powerful lessons for us, your followers. It's a shame to lose a nice tree like that but I think you played it right. I would have slip-potted as well.

@notionbonsai 7 ай бұрын

Looked like one that was on its way out anyways! Definitely something we can all learn from too, thank you for sharing this!

@BartoszBassa 7 ай бұрын

Big thanks for sharing this expierience with us. We learn more from mistakes than from succeses. It takes big man to admit his fault even when the excuse is so handidly in front of you. Keep growing Jelle your content is very good :)

@johnholloway691 7 ай бұрын

Like another commenter said: "Evergreens can be dying long before they show the signs of being dead." This was a particularly tough call because your only chance at success involved risky repotting at the worst time of the year. In hind sight, doing that would have just confirmed it was a goner already, but at least it's a promising tanuki! Also, as other commenters noted, thanks for posting something like this. Trees die despite our best efforts, and we need to be reminded of that on occasion.

@TalkingLoon 7 ай бұрын

What a really tough position to be put in. The tree was technically alive but in a seriously desperate situation where you only had enough time to just try one thing to save it. It's also nearly impossible to tell if a different approach would have worked out much different. Top praise and admiration for posting because now many other people have an opportunity to learn what might happen to root-bound juniper, the importance of regular root ball maintenance, etc. I have a love-hate relationship with evergreen bonsai because they are so slow to respond to changes and can look deceptively alive even when they are at a point beyond saving.

@JudyGSD 7 ай бұрын

Sad it’s a goner, but man, at least I don’t feel alone! Thanks for sharing bonsai ups and downs which most will never show.

@bonsaijimmy 11 күн бұрын

Hi Jelle, I admire your honesty. Many bonsai growers are too ashamed to admit their failures. But your attempt was courageous. In hindsight, I could suggest what I would have done. Since the tree is already weak - no air layering ! I would have cut off that middle branch & thin out the other 2 branches. I shall also tease out 50 % of the root ball carefully & plant in corse soil in one of your netted pond containers. & just soak the pot once every few days keeping the soil moist . Thanks for all your informative videos. Chye Tan

@GrowingBonsai 11 күн бұрын

Hi Tan, I have done an autopsy on the tree since then, and a dozen borers were in the trunks, which were the main cause of the demise. Nothing much I could have done against that, with virtually no systemic insecticide availability here..

@KurisuBonsai 7 ай бұрын

Definite bummer! Tree was certainly workable had it lived but we can't win them all. Onward to the tanuki!

@wadewilson9751 6 ай бұрын

Just started my bonsai journey a few weeks ago with a couple of western redcedar I had growing in pots because I had no room in my yard for a big tree. I pretty much just started experimenting and having fun with it. I wanted to get into it more so I bought a few cheap plants. I subscribed to your channel after watching one or two of your videos. I've learned a lot and wanted to thank you for sharing these lessons. Sometimes the lessons come from success or failure. Either way, I am encouraged by you to venture forth unto my own successes and failures. Cheers from the Pacific Northwest!

@GrowingBonsai 6 ай бұрын

enjoy it!!

@sueb1317 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for showing this video. Junipers are by far the worst for giving us glimmers of hope and then giving up the ghost. Even when we are positive we are doing the right thing, they always have us second guessing ourselves - just maddening! Definitely looking forward to a good tanuki project.

@mattlohr3901 7 ай бұрын

The good and the bad. Great try! Appreciate the realism on this one. Thank you Jelle 😊

@JohnThurlbeck 7 ай бұрын

Loved your honesty, my friend! I did the same to my first juniper! 👍

@abydosianchulac2 7 ай бұрын

Oh yeah, that could be nice as semicascade tanuki if the living stem matches and extends the shape of the jin. Good on you for seeing the possibilities in this disappointing situation.

@XaviersBonsaiRetreat 7 ай бұрын

I really enjoyed watching this - despite the bad ending. The Tanuki could be fun though :)

@jeffhurst4744 7 ай бұрын

Guessing we all had a failure similar to this tree. My experience taught me to “really” tease/loosen the brick of roots. I even drilled through whole base block. I was able to save a small, but viable section, about a third. We got to try and learn my friend.

@GrowingBonsai 7 ай бұрын

Yeah, agreed. Being gentle often is worse than being tough and getting it done. Looking back at the video I wonder whether the roots were alive when I got it.

@givetanks 7 ай бұрын

Junipers are a finicky beast - I've had them die for no reason , but just gave up the gas. Junipers happen

@gil123bonsai 3 ай бұрын

Hi Jelle, great video. The only mistake you might have made is to maybe fertilize it. If it’s sick I generally don’t mess with it until I see some new growth. We’ve all got a graveyard of our mistakes. Those that don’t haven’t practiced bonsai very long.

@GrowingBonsai 3 ай бұрын

I have figured out the cause when I decided to start a tanuki... Dozens of borers in the trunk...

@bonsaimania5345 7 ай бұрын

Looking at the root ball, the tree may not have known it was already dead. I wonder if less fertilizer and maybe drilling 3 or 4 holes through the root ball would have helped when you first received the tree?

@PumpkinBecki 7 ай бұрын

Oh Jelle, I see what you meant. I wonder how long ago the tree was last repotted, it looked like a compacted block of coir when you finally got the pot off. I'm not sure you could have saved it, but you did try xx

@Ukeitupmike 7 ай бұрын

guess this happens to all of us sometimes. Will be a great tanuki base

@gratalau 7 ай бұрын

Never fertilize a weak or diseased tree.

@JasperDielemans 7 ай бұрын

Exactly, it’s going to draw water away from the roots instead of helping it absorb more water (& nutrients)

@murray821 7 ай бұрын

Not that it would have mattered, but never work on a unhealthy tree, been there done that, airlayering will only stress it more. I think the tree was already unrecoverable when you got it. Sad that the previous owner neglected it, was a nice juniper.

@ottoman4r 7 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! We all kill trees but sucks especially if it's an oldie like this one. I hope the resurrection goes well. Did the air layer do anything?

@wallygrandpa 7 ай бұрын

you win some, you lose some. For this tree, it's a rather big loss. Good luck on the next buy.

@JadedEvan 7 ай бұрын

I think it was the wet winter we had here in The Netherlands (the wettest winter since records started). I lost a few trees this winter due to the incredibly heavy rain. The combination of plastic pots and poor soil was probably the death sentence. I've moved many plants into wood boxes with more drainage, inorganic soil and larger particle size.

@andrei-silviusontu9911 7 ай бұрын

Hi Jelle, what fertiliser are you using there? Killing trees unfortunately is something that happens now and then. Keep going so that its death will be a lesson on how to better handle the trees I still have and will have - this is how I look at it. I really appreciate you posting a ‘failure’. If other growers had your courage probably 1/10 bonsai videos on youtube would be about dead trees. This is part of educating growers. Owning one comes with the responsability that it fully depends on the owner and the wellbeing of the plant comes before it looking ‘aesthetically pleasing’.

@soberhippie 7 ай бұрын

I took mine out of the cellar when it got warmer, and put them in the greenhouse. But it got a bit too warm and some of them dried up. Looks like a lot of them are no more

@allmetaliswelcome 7 ай бұрын

8.29 killed all my doubt whether you lived in Germany or the Netherlands lol

@rolando10 7 ай бұрын

Hi, what fertiliser do you use for juniperus Itoigawa?

@zachjohnson4472 7 ай бұрын

I think the tree was already past the point of no return when you got it. The roots were already dead and rotten from lack of drainage. Don't blame yourself.

@ToMu29 7 ай бұрын

perfect for a Tanuki project :)

@MarnicAA-i3v 7 ай бұрын

Marcotteren enkel op erg vitale bomen. Voor deze boom maakte het niets uit, maar sowieso was marcotteren niet aangewezen.

@zachjohnson4472 7 ай бұрын

Evergreens can be dying long before they show the signs of being dead. I don't think it is your fault.

@liefdegator1 7 ай бұрын

Bloody stings when that happens 👀 Next time better Jelle 👍

@FrostBiteBonsai 7 ай бұрын

Awe...😢 Honestly, I don't think you killed it. How sad though...

@bonsaikastur 7 ай бұрын

Inaction kills, in every aspect of life

@_mu. 7 ай бұрын

Lose that tree is part of the life, accept it as it is, even if i know that feeling especially if you had put effort in it. my itoigawa are fine, my sergentii (or kishu) are fine. except one that is in terracotta pot. still green but tips are brown and dry, i think i will repot in this week, i hope it survives because in past i lost one in this way. this year for the first time I put manure fertilizer in the pots (only a few grains) and it dried out the tips of the deciduous trees, which however recovered. The conifers seem to be doing well.