A Tolurosa juniper I acquired; wondering if I lay the original trunk down in a box when I repot this next spring, what would be the best way to encourage roots to form farther down the trunk. Do I take Peter Adams’ approach to pulling some bark away on the bottom of the trunk to be put in soil and exposing some clean edges of cambium tissue? OR, is there a different approach specific to junipers someone might recommend?
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My experience is that most of the spreading junipers will root in contact with the ground. However, Tolurosa is an upright and may not root as well. I would think that treating it a bit like a layering and opening up some spots and using some slightly more moisture retentive soil might be a good idea.
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I’ll give that a whirl, and see what it yields. the original root mass is quite substantial, so if it doesn’t root along the trunk, I don’t think it will be the end of the world. Bonus, though if it does. So, when you say “opening up some spots”, are we agreeing that peeling some bark away where the trunk will be sub-surface is a good move?
Yes, peeling a patch of bark on the underside like an airlayer should encourage rooting at those locations.
got it. Thanks for your input on this. I’ll revisit this post with some updated photos once it goes into the training box.