Juniper nursery stock...repot or style first?

[OTown]

I recently purchased some cheep stock (juniper parsoni) and jumped right into styling so, in retrospect I have a question. What do you guys do with juniper nursery stock? Is there a "safer" method between repotting in a small container first and wait one/two years for styling (Ryan Neal style) or jump right into restyling with a repot after the foliage has recovered?

 

[Dav4]

I've always been an advocate of styling (pruning and wiring) first, followed by a re-pot.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

repotting in a small container first and wait one/two years for styling (Ryan Neal style)

Great styling by Ryan

 

[Lorax7]

Depends on when I buy it. Ideally, I’d repot first to get it into a proper bonsai soil mix and get a start on nebari development. However, if I bought it too late in the spring to repot (or summer/fall), then I’ll style it first, let it recover, and repot it in the spring.

 

[River's Edge]

It depends on the stage of development. Starter tree from nursery often require thickening of the trunk, development of nebari and increase in the foliage. Under these circumstances repotting to smaller pots is counter productive. If the tree has the size, foliage for styling then it is a decision based on what stage of development exists in the nebari and root ball.
Keep in mind that professionals do not go the the local landscape nursery for material to style. They are almost always working on material that has been adapted already for Bonsai ( collected) or material that was raised for bonsai purposes. In these cases the root ball is generally advanced, nebari present and the trunk already the size desired.
My preference changes on the basis of the situation. For yamadori that have recovered from collection and have sufficient foliage it can go either way! For nursery stock from a regular landscape nursery, I always work the roots first and begin development to a Bonsai suitable root ball. This may involve a smaller container but often not, they almost always need further development first.

 

[just.wing.it]

Since I tend to go hard on roots when repotting, I now use the HBR method (Half Bare Rooting) with junipers.

Generally speaking, I like to get the tree established in good substrate, as that seems to be the largest hurdle to jump in terms of the health of the tree, then style away.

 

[chicago1980]

Field grown material, or pot grown material? Lots of nuance, but in most cases I repot first to improve roots

 

[TN_Jim]

photos?

 

[Shibui]

Generally speaking nursery junipers don't have much to style so repotting and root work early is my first focus followed by growing to develop trunk size and something worth styling.
Good potting soil as soon as possible will often save a lot of heartache later.

 

[Cable]

For junipers I deal with nursery stock almost exclusively. I usually do a rough styling and repot as the first go-round but sometimes do just the styling and leave the repotting for a different year. This is especially true if the trunk is thin and I want the greater root mass to help drive growth. I've also done some pretty drastic foliage reduction on junipers while leaving them in the original nursery soil/pot and had them recover just fine. I do also regularly bare-root nursery junipers and haven't lose one yet though they do sometimes need a full year to recover.

 

[OTown]

Here is a picture as requested. I have 4 of these. This is the one with the best movement. I slip potted this one in a concrete pot since I can't stand the plastic pots on my bench.

 

[Kadebe]

Great styling by Ryan

Seems video is unavailable?

 

[Colorado]

For nursery stock, I always prefer to work the roots first and get the tree into proper substrate. Then style later.