Juniper Yamadori Questions

Exactly where my head went.

I have a question. Randy said to put fieldgrown
trees in a sawdust bed for one year after collection. Why?
Fieldgrown would have had a more favorable environment to grow in right? The roots would also have been worked on prior to collecting.

And what’s the difference between fieldgrown and urban yamadori? Part from beeing purposefully planted in growbags, on tiles, root-pruned etc.

Its the ”dont try anything else (but coarse sawdust) especially when collecting from hedgerows…” that’s a bit confusing.

One last thing; can someone explain why coarse sawdust would’nt work in a wood box placed on the ground?
Randy uses coarse sawdust on a weedcloth, rebar’d to a woodframe made from pallets… I dont see the big difference.

field grown will have almost not fine root being grown in pure clay. Its nearly impossible to remove the clay and preserve fine feeder roots. The rapid root development can happen in the saw dust. He never says why it happens so well in the sawdust. As someone with 2 heat beds of “shavings” similar to sawdust I have noticed the ability for something like a mycorrhizae relationship that forms in the shavings. So perhaps you get the benefits of high oxygen exchange, like in pumice but perhaps with a higher capacity for the roots to get nutrients through being able to leverage a “mycorrhizae like” relationship.

You can totally use it in a box, make it with about 1/3 of the bottom being mesh for free drainage. I have 2 large 8ftx4ft Boxes with heatpads in them, 2inches of pumices then about 12-15inches of “saw dust” bed shavings. But I also occasionally make a 1 off box for something and if it calls for sawdust I make sure the drainage is right.

Here is my-take on: Hedge-growers = Bagged and Burped/ B&B= heavy clay

1 Like

Total beginner here

I collected about 20 pines and cedars and I used a mix of white cedar shavings, spag peat moss and perlite.

White cedar shavings are often used in horse stalls and are readily available in my area. I don’t know if red cedar shavings used for pets would be toxic or not.

I used concrete mixing tubs from the home improvement store with many holes drilled for drainage and I mulched the top with more cedar shavings to prevent moisture loss.

Tip for drilling a mixing tub, use a sharp drill bit and drill through the container and into the lawn. This way they are less likely to break.

They overwintered in the Northeast against the protected side of the house, heeled in with leaves and I used leaves to add another layer of mulch throughout the winter.

90% survival rate after two years in this growing mix.

I just transferred them to lava, pumice and akadama so I will see in the long run if they make it

I also used Blue Eden Garden and Super Carb as a spray and the root growth was exceptional.

I am a beginner totally winging it and I am new to Mirai so use your own judgment based on your situation and the value of your plants.

Peace

1 Like