I have a very beautiful Sabina juniper but the previous owner let the twigs grow very very long and the look like long fingers with little leaf/needle growth at the tip. I understand that for juniper Sabina i would need to let it elongate in the growth Periode to give the foliage mass more volume, but would back budding / back growth occur on juniper as well?
I’ve never see juniper buds like und picea or pines.
How would that work?
Thanks
The Sabina is a running juniper in that it sends out new shoots first then growth behind the shoot. The opposite of the chinese juniper which produces lots of foliage first before sending out shoots.
The Sabina also likes lots of sun. If yours has needle growth it could be either it has been stressed at some stage (has it recently been repotted?) or it isn’t getting enough sun and is pushing juvenile as a way to create more foliage to aid photosynthesis. I would concentrate on getting it healthy with the correct watering routine and you should see some pretty rapid growth. If it has recently been repotted then protect it from sun hotter than 27C to allow it to settle in.
Thank you for your input.
My Sabina was repotted this spring into a bigger pot, but I didn’t cut the roots, to give it more health to grow this season.
It is standing in my best and most sunny place I have . Around 6hrs of average sun time.
I water it around every other day approx. I might be watering it too much though. I tend to water probably more than would be good for my pines and junipers I guess.
If the topmoss looks dry I tend to sprinkle some water on top, not a whole watering. But I never let my bonsais dry out.
How often do you water your junipers per average?
I live in Germany. Weather tends to be 18-25 degrees Celsius on average in a summer. This summer wasn’t too hot either. Some 28-30 degree days but not that often.
I have two Sabina both lifted from the garden this year. The first was done in march which was way too early but I was actually intending to throw it away as it wasn’t doing too much. It only had one root which was about 600mm long with a few straggly secondary roots. I took pity on it and potted it on in a specially adapted pot and now it’s thriving. It too was only pushing out needle growth until I moved it into a sunnier spot. Now the foliage mass has more than quadrupled and it is scale.
The other is a monster and was lifted in May which is a better time in the UK as frosts are usually finished. I put it on forum q & a 62 to ask Ryan’s advice about when to repot after this year. It too is growing quite fast and looks even bigger than before.
Both of mine are in compost and granite grit which is free draining and provides lots of oxygen aiding faster root growth. Both pots had loads of holes drilled in the bottom to assist this process also. I haven’t put moss on either as compost tends to hold moisture quite well without it. Because of this I can feel and see whether they need watering. When warm it’s generally every couple of days.
With the one lifted in March I let have full sun but with the one done in May I still put it under full shade when the temperature gets above 27C just to be sure. If you sprinkle water on the top then roots will tend to head for that rather than down into the pot. One indicator is the weight of the pot. Next time you water lift it up and feel the weight when ‘full’. Then you should at least know when it’s starting to dry out as it will be not so heavy.
What mix do have it in?
The watering and growth issues have been correctly answered, as I can interpret.
And yes, they backbud, if healthy. If you leave the backbud and prune the foliage in summer, you should be able to replace it. Does take some time tho
Proof:)
“sprinkle some water on” sounds like a bad idea to me. I water when the juniper needs it, but always a full watering, super soaked. Thats the way to maintain a healthy shin. A light watering might cause the juniper to be really stressed and ultimately die
