Thoughts on this San jose

[Nybonsai12]

Looking to get ideas on this one. Not much to work with, but my initial thought is to get rid of the right branch, maybe develop the left branch into a slant style? Will probably just let it grow this year.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

The trunk looks good, and it has potential if you can get the foliage closer to the trunk.
The foliage looks a bit more like prostrata. It also looks like it would benefit from a year of sunshine and heavy feeding before working or removing any foliage.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Thanks Brian.
I'll probably just feed the crap out of it this year and see what it looks like next year. I didn't think these would back bud successfully, at least not on older wood. Is that
right? In order to get foliage closer, would that mean bending the branch towards the trunk?

It could be prostrata, it was labeled San jose when i picked it up for a whopping $15 though.

 

[bonsai barry]

I agree with Brian, it is difficult to recognize its full potential without more growth. It is a nice trunk. The structure of the tree may provide a challenge since it has such a large "V" between the two main branches which creates two areas of interest instead of one. I wonder if the higher branches could be wired back toward the lower one to create a windswept look. (I hesitate to suggest windswept since I have never been able to create a convincing one myself.

 

[fourteener]

Strength for junipers comes from the foliage, so this is too weak to work it or remove any foliage. How bendable are these branches? I've never worked on one of these. It certainly needs to become more compact, but only after putting on some more foliage.

If you can get a lot of foliage this year, maybe some pinching next year would push back some foliage. Too much extension is the constant enemy of good bonsai.

 

[Nybonsai12]

The structure of the tree may provide a challenge since it has such a large "V" between the two main branches which creates two areas of interest instead of one.

Kind of what I thought would be the problem. I guess the options will be to remove one branch or try to bend the heck out of one.

 

[Nybonsai12]

How bendable are these branches? I've never worked on one of these.

I've never worked on one of these either so i'm not sure how far I would be able to push it with bending. Guess we'll see next year at the earliest.

 

[fore]

Looks like it's in terrible soil. Maybe just do a partial bareroot and get it in better bonsai soil so that you can fert. the hell out of it?

 

[Nybonsai12]

Looks like it's in terrible soil. Maybe just do a partial bareroot and get it in better bonsai soil so that you can fert. the hell out of it?

Thanks for the thought and probably a good idea. I'm sure it's a basic nursery soil mix and should be moved to a good bonsai mixture.

 

[BigDave]

piece of cake

Thanks for the thought and probably a good idea. .

Perfect candidate for grafting...

Check out My buddy Fred here...
http://youtu.be/bG1vZzEhn-w

 

[jk_lewis]

Probably too thin for grafting???

I've never worked on one of these either so i'm not sure how far I would be able to push it with bending.

But you don't need to do all the bending at once. Bend a bit, let it set, and bend a bit more -- etc.

You may get some foliage closer to the trunk by cutting the existing foliage back to a green stub or two, but it will take TIME.

 

[october]

Hi Ny.. A while back, I saw a picture demo by Dan Robinson. He had a bunch of young, whip like trees. All had small root balls. If I remember correctly, he grafted them on the tree by a different method. He planted the whips in the soil around the tree and then ran them up the trunk. The grafts had their own root balls buried in the soil. I imagine that eventually, not only did the grafts adhere to the tree, but the small roots from the whips basically became part of the host trees root ball. I do not recall what species he used. I think the tree was larger than your tree.

I suppose that you could get a couple of whips and maybe do this method grafting them up along the back of this tree. Then when they take, you can pull them where ever you want. I do not know how much original foliage you would be able to safely cut a way after it is all done. However, if the whips match, you might be able to work with all of it. Also, as previously mentioned, I think this might be a prostrata juniper.

Rob

 

[Nybonsai12]

Hi Ny.. A while back, I saw a picture demo by Dan Robinson. He had a bunch of young, whip like trees. All had small root balls. If I remember correctly, he grafted them on the tree by a different method. He planted the whips in the soil around the tree and then ran them up the trunk. The grafts had their own root balls buried in the soil. I imagine that eventually, not only did the grafts adhere to the tree, but the small roots from the whips basically became part of the host trees root ball. I do not recall what species he used. I think the tree was larger than your tree.

I suppose that you could get a couple of whips and maybe do this method grafting them up along the back of this tree. Then when they take, you can pull them where ever you want. I do not know how much original foliage you would be able to safely cut a way after it is all done. However, if the whips match. You might be able to work with all of it. Also, as previously mentioned, I think this might be a prostrata juniper.

Rob

Thanks for your response. I've never grafted, but if there is ever a tree to experiment on this one would be it. Repot and fert this season. I will post update pics in the fall to see how it has done this season. Maybe tackle a graft down the road.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Out snapping pics so I figured I'd update. Looking a little fuller, not as much as I'd hoped but the sun has been whacky here this summer.

 

[Smoke]

Looks much better. Also looks like its just about ready to turn that inside out.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Also looks like its just about ready to turn that inside out.

Can you explain exactly what you mean? Bending?

 

[Smoke]

I knew this was going to happen. I thinking about how I can explain this so everyone understands.

 

[Eric Group]

Looks a lot better! If you want to start slow, do a few cuts on the branches where you need to chase the growth back towards the trunk- cut as little as you can while still getting back to a hardened off stem, and you might see some growth pop a little lower on the branch! A slow, steady regimen of this over a few years should help you get foliage in a better place... I too am interested to see what Smoke means! I assume it has something to do with bending those branches to look a different way?

Do you intend to make some Dead wood from those nubs at the bottom?

 

[Nybonsai12]

Do you intend to make some Dead wood from those nubs at the bottom?

That was the plan.

 

[jkd2572]

Wrap the long branches in raffia or vet tape. Wire the branch for extra support. Then bring down the branches with guy wire as far as they will go without snapping. You can here the crunch when you reached the max bend. I have done this with San Jose. Some old branches on my San Jose are just not flexible at all. It will depend on if those are bendy or not. You always run the risk of snapping a branch off if you have not done this before. A good exercise would be to go find a cheap one at a box store or nursery. Try this on that tree first so you get the feel of what you are doing. You will also see and feel how far you can go before that limb breaks off. Crunch ok. Snap is bad.