juniperus styling options?

[Linn01]

Found this tree, looked promising to me. I always steered away from juniperus, as I am more a maple man.



But it was inevitable that it would come to this. I was thinking of creating a semi-cascade. Pictures are of what I see as the front- for now.

My questions:

- do u guys see styling options, since this is my first try at juniperus?
- what to do first? Light pruning (cleaning) and then wiring?
- when to do the pruning and wiring?

 

[AshleyMammal]

Interesting, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread as the long bare branching is typical for junipers and will need chasing back gradually.

My initial thoughts would be to get it somewhere in this region:

 

[Linn01]

my idea was to take this as - an impossible to reach - ideal

 

[Linn01]

something like this

 

[Shibui]

All very well wanting a semi cascade but the tree needs the roots to be able to change angle. Looks like the roots on this one are extensive and well developed for upright. When you tip the trunk to semi what will those roots look like? I suspect roots on one side will be buried or roots on the other side will be way out of the soil. The problem is not insurmountable as roots can be removed, moved or regrown but I'm not sure the time and effort will be worth it just to satisfy your desire for semicascade

 

[Ruddigger]

Got any pictures from other angles?

 

[Linn01]

All very well wanting a semi cascade but the tree needs the roots to be able to change angle. Looks like the roots on this one are extensive and well developed for upright. When you tip the trunk to semi what will those roots look like? I suspect roots on one side will be buried or roots on the other side will be way out of the soil. The problem is not insurmountable as roots can be removed, moved or regrown but I'm not sure the time and effort will be worth it just to satisfy your desire for semicascade

Thanks Shibui. I was not planning on tipping the trunk. Would that be necessary to create what I had in mind? I would rather look at the tree and see what direction it suggests. Would that exclude a semicascade?

 

[Linn01]

Got any pictures from other angles?

Will take some from all angles this weekend. I realized too late that one angle only does not provide the necessary insight in the tree.

 

[Shibui]

I was not planning on tipping the trunk. Would that be necessary to create what I had in mind?

I guess that means you intend to bend the trunk even further somewhere around the first curve. Maybe that's possible. There's no real scale in the photos to guess how thick that trunk is. Fo;iage is the only cue and it looks to be more than finger thick. Have you tried flexing the trunk to see if it is even possible to bend it.

Will take some from all angles this weekend. I realized too late that one angle only does not provide the necessary insight in the tree.

add something that's common in at least one pic to give us some scale - beer bottle or aa battery are common scale objects for bonsai shots.

There are some advanced techniques that might make it bend better. How daring do you feel?

 

[Linn01]

Pictures from other angles. The beer - added to give some scale- is a Westvleteren trappist 12 that I intend to drink this evening.

 

[Nybonsai12]

My predictable design that I think should be relatively easy to achieve. Add in some jins and Shari

 

[Shibui]

It is even thicker than I guessed from the first few pics.
It will be a real challenge to bend that trunk so I would look for another candidate for your semi-cascade style.

 

[pandacular]

Pictures from other angles. The beer - added to give some scale- is a Westvleteren trappist 12 that I intend to drink this evening.

View attachment 521852

the base on this thing is incredible. It’s rather hard to get good root spread on junipers, so I’d go with this angle to emphasize.

 

[Linn01]

the base on this thing is incredible. It’s rather hard to get good root spread on junipers, so I’d go with this angle to emphasize.

Considering shibuis and your remarks I guess the angle will stay as it is. If no semi cascade what options do I have? Did I pick a good juniperus tor start with or is this thing too challenging? Never styled juniperus before. Chose this tree because of the base and nice trunk movement. Saw also some long branches that I deemed bendable. Correct choise? Keep on staring at it but Still unclear to me what the tree wants me to do.

 

[Linn01]

My predictable design that I think should be relatively easy to achieve. Add in some jins and Shari
View attachment 521856

This looks like something I can do. Tnx. Newbie on shin and shari level so is it possible to wait a little before I try that? I would focus on getting the design right first. I will give it a try tomorrow. Do you see more options taking the new pics into account?

 

[pandacular]

I think you picked an excellent one to start with! Good material like this is worth taking slow. The more specific advice i’ll leave to the experienced members.

 

[CaptColin]

Excellent starting material! This video had helped me a few times on the past

 

[Nybonsai12]

This looks like something I can do. Tnx. Newbie on shin and shari level so is it possible to wait a little before I try that? I would focus on getting the design right first. I will give it a try tomorrow. Do you see more options taking the new pics into account?

No need to rush the jin and shari. I’m sure there are other design options but I’d avoid trying to make a cascade with this material. To me, it lends itself better for an upright design. Good luck!

 

[bwaynef]

Your results will be drastically better if you follow the wisdom in the video posted above. This tree is ready-made for an informal upright. Don't settle for poor bend angles. Build the tree from branching that appears after you've cleaned it up and cut it back.

 

[Linn01]

After first cleanup. Wired one down just to check if it would be useful