pines/ junipers

[cknmom]

Our neighbor gave us 65 pines/ junipers last weekend! They are all in pots, in various stages of growth/death. The neighbors are occasional weekend people so do not get up often enough to water and/ or plant.

Me and DGD, are watering/ feeding and catagorizing everything. I took pictures of when we got them, today I will take pictures of how they look after a weeks water/ feeding and removal of dead growth.

Most have tags identifying them, some are just sticks in dirt. I have always been very good at bringing plants back from deathsdoor. But I would like to know more about the pines/ junipers we have. I have done research online, but cannot find all of them.

Here is a list of what I know we have, if anyone knows anything about them, or secrets on bringing trees back to life PLEASE share them.

Aleppo Pine
Italian Stone Pine
Westmont Arborvitae
Dwarf Golden Arborvitae
Dwarf Alberta Spruce
Colorado Blue Spruce
Mint Julep Juniper
New Blue Tamarix Juniper
Icee Blue Juniper
Dwarf Japanese Garden Juniper
Sea Green Juniper
Blue Chip Juniper

All the others I have yet to identify.

Thanks,
Monica

 

[patandchickens]

Conifers tend not to have a good sense of humor about being potbound and left to dry out. Anything that looks dead or mostly dead now, is probably destined to stay that way and you might want to save your energy for the others.

Your best bet would be to plant the ones that look like they are in reasonable shape -- either in the ground (ideally a permanent site if you know where you want them to grow - you *could* heel them in for a year or so, but it will set their growth back further to be re-transplanted later) or in new, possibly larger, pots. Pots can be sunk up to their rims in a nursery bed in some sheltered location (out of the winter wind, and ideally with morning sun and afternoon shade) to make them easier to take care of for the next year or whatever, til you know which plants will make it and decide where to plant them - but remember you WILL still have to water the pots even though they're in the ground.

So, whichever plants look mostly alive, water them well and then a few hours later (once the water has soaked in) gently take them out of their pots to inspect the root systems. DO NOT PULL ON THE TREE TRUNK; turn the pot over and pull the pot away from the rootball, instead. If they are really potbound, with roots filling/circling the pot, try to GENTLY tease apart as many roots as feasible so they can be spread out to grow outwards in the new pot or soil.

A totally solid-pot-completely-full-of-roots can be GENTLY slashed vertically about 1/4 of the way in, from top to bottom, in a couple places around the perimeter, to encourage new root growth outwards... but frankly my experience is that if conifers get to that state, they are probably doomed, although it may take them as much as several years to finish the dying process.

Don't worry too much about what the roots look like (unlike other plants you might be familiar with), as many conifers have naturally limp brownish or blackish roots. Pot or transplant them gently, pushing soil by hand in amongst the roots, and water in well.

And then, just be really REALLY super nice to them for the next year, and see how they come through the winter and whether they're able to make normal new growth next year. (Some things, like pines, if they lose their leader can look awful funny for many years thereafter, although sometimes careful pruning can help accelerate a top branch taking over the role of leader)

I would not be highly optimistic about them if they've died back a lot... of the things you list, only arborvitae normally puts on new growth from dead wood, and even that is *slow* and a bit unreliable. (Some juniper cultivars will do it too, but *very* unreliably, and at a glacial pace). So any that look largely dead may be a lost cause. OTOH you may be able to salvage some, and free trees are always a good thing

Good luck, have fun,

Pat