California Juniper Reinvented

[thomas22]

My dad had this tree for 25 years and never did anything with it. I had it for 9 years and never did anything with it. It was probably because the tree was just bad and no obvious direction to take the tree. It did have nice dead wood but all the foliage was to the side and way above the deadwood. About 2 years ago I decided to detach the live vein from the dead wood and bend down and around to frame the deadwood. I actually detached the vein 2 years ago but just fully wire the tree in the last week. Still has a long way to go but I am pretty happy with it. The back looks a little funny but I'm not too worried about it. I post pics of the back in a little while.

 

[misfit11]

Wow! That's some serious Magician level work there. Ryan Neil sometimes does this and he most likely learned it from Kimura. The tree certainly is going to be better for it now that the foliage is brought in to the rest of the tree.

I am curious to see what the back looks like though. As it is, you can't see any live vein from this view. Some might think it to be a Tanuki.

Did you have experience separating live vein from a tree previously?

Bravo!

 

[thomas22]

Wow! That's some serious Magician level work there. Ryan Neil sometimes does this and he most likely learned it from Kimura. The tree certainly is going to be better for it now that the foliage is brought in to the rest of the tree.

I am curious to see what the back looks like though. As it is, you can't see any live vein from this view. Some might think it to be a Tanuki.

Did you have experience separating live vein from a tree previously?

Bravo!

Thanks. Here is the back view.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

well done

 

[PA_Penjing]

damn dude, ballsy move. Turned that nothing tree into something great.

 

[Bu-Jetjet]

My dad had this tree for 25 years and never did anything with it. I had it for 9 years and never did anything with it. It was probably because the tree was just bad and no obvious direction to take the tree. It did have nice dead wood but all the foliage was to the side and way above the deadwood. About 2 years ago I decided to detach the live vein from the dead wood and bend down and around to frame the deadwood. I actually detached the vein 2 years ago but just fully wire the tree in the last week. Still has a long way to go but I am pretty happy with it. The back looks a little funny but I'm not too worried about it. I post pics of the back in a little while.



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That is some mind-blowing work! Great job! Did you show it to your dad????

 

[thomas22]

That is some mind-blowing work! Great job! Did you show it to your dad????

Unfortunately my dad passed 11 years ago. I didn't get into bonsai until I had to start taking care of his 20 or so trees after he passed. After two years of doing a bad job, I started really getting into it. Thanks for the compliment. If I'm being honest, it really wasn't that hard separating the live vein. It was just a matter of taking it slow and being careful.

 

[misfit11]

I actually like the back as the front, TBH. With the current front, you don't see any live vein and it almost reads like a Tanuki. I think with the bold move you made, rather than hiding the the looping trunk, why not make it the focus? I would consider reducing the large piece of deadwood that goes straight up though. It's rather featureless and has no taper. But with the back as the front, it reminds me of this tree of Bob Shimon's that Ryan Neil styled:

Ryan Neil and procumbens

I've had this cascading procumbens for awhile, and the problem was that it had no movement in the first 12" or so. It came straight out then dropped down with movement. Back in Sept Ryan twisted it back on itself, and we let it rest til Dec when I repotted it into a Sara Rayner pot. Last...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[thomas22]

I actually like the back as the front, TBH. With the current front, you don't see any live vein and it almost reads like a Tanuki. I think with the bold move you made, rather than hiding the the looping trunk, why not make it the focus? I would consider reducing the large piece of deadwood that goes straight up though. It's rather featureless and has no taper. But with the back as the front, it reminds me of this tree of Bob Shimon's that Ryan Neil styled:

Ryan Neil and procumbens

I've had this cascading procumbens for awhile, and the problem was that it had no movement in the first 12" or so. It came straight out then dropped down with movement. Back in Sept Ryan twisted it back on itself, and we let it rest til Dec when I repotted it into a Sara Rayner pot. Last...

www.bonsainut.com

I've thought about the current back as a front and although I'm not leaning that direction right now it may end up being the best option. With the current front you will see the live vein on the lower right of the trunk. Thanks for the input.

 

[Carol 83]

Unfortunately my dad passed 11 years ago. I didn't get into bonsai until I had to start taking care of his 20 or so trees after he passed. After two years of doing a bad job, I started really getting into it. Thanks for the compliment. If I'm being honest, it really wasn't that hard separating the live vein. It was just a matter of taking it slow and being careful.

Sorry to hear about your dad, but nice that you got into the hobby by taking care of the legacy he left.

 

[Bu-Jetjet]

Unfortunately my dad passed 11 years ago. I didn't get into bonsai until I had to start taking care of his 20 or so trees after he passed. After two years of doing a bad job, I started really getting into it. Thanks for the compliment. If I'm being honest, it really wasn't that hard separating the live vein. It was just a matter of taking it slow and being careful.

I'm sorry to hear about your dad's passing. I hope I did not upset you when I inquired if he had the chance to see the changes of the tree.

 

[Lazylightningny]

First off, congrats to you and your dad for keeping it alive for so long. Secondly, you had an amazing vision to turn it into what you have. I didn't see that coming when I looked at the tree in the first frame. For the record, I prefer your chosen front. Great job, and looking forward to seeing its progress.

Do you know what kind of juniper this is?

 

[thomas22]

I'm sorry to hear about your dad's passing. I hope I did not upset you when I inquired if he had the chance to see the changes of the tree.

No problem, you did not upset me.

 

[thomas22]

First off, congrats to you and your dad for keeping it alive for so long. Secondly, you had an amazing vision to turn it into what you have. I didn't see that coming when I looked at the tree in the first frame. For the record, I prefer your chosen front. Great job, and looking forward to seeing its progress.

Do you know what kind of juniper this is?

I would have been impressed if you came up with something similar to my idea in a few minutes. I'm sure there are many experienced bonsai guys that could have seen that instantly but it took me about 7 years. This is a California Juniper.