Replacing Rootball Soil on Juniper

[BeneficialCucumber]

Hi everyone! I recently repotted a Chinese Juniper. Now I have mostly free draining inorganic substrate. As I'm not very experienced and have had mixed results with bare rooting I left most of the middle of the rootball intact. The tree is now showing healthy growth. I've noticed the soil on the rootball stays pretty wet after the rest has dried, forming two very distinct phases. How would you go about replacing this soil in the future? I'd like to start taking care of this and arranging the roots in a more appealing way next spring.

 

[ShadyStump]

Theoretically the roots in the new soil- meaning the outside layer of roots- should begin to grow healthier and faster than the layer in the old original soil, assuming you're doing everything else right. If that includes the uppermost roots nearest the surface, that's a good start for developing nebari.

Still new myself, but to my understanding junipers generally have a much higher tolerance for root work than most other conifers. Though I wouldn't push my luck too much until more experienced.

 

[Japonicus]

In a couple years when you repot and each subsequent repotting
remove maybe 50% of what's left is how I go about this.
This time of year that soil in the crown will stay a little wetter, Summertime it will even out quicker than what
you are seeing now. Don't do any pruning prior to potting up, nor afterwards till following year.
Attach a good picture of your project.

 

[Japonicus]

These are my go to tools for this. The root hook, rake, some scissors or sheers make the work much easier.
In addition, waiting till the soil is almost dry, then misting the roots and foliage from time to time while working if needed.
Work from the bottom and use the concave cutters to remove large roots growing straight down or out of place
so to make flat on the bottom. On top you can wiggle the hook into the mass between roots and aerate the soil,
get to know the root system, and eventually as you work it down, be able to get more nebari out laterally as in pic 4 here.
I never bare root my juniper, but some do. Once I get them worked down over the years, I get pretty close to bare rooting
even with a garden hose eventually.

This is a hinoki, but I used the same method above year after year.