Crazy 6 Way Juniper - Where to go from here?

canadianlights

Yamadori
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Recently just picked up this 3 gallon nursery stock juniper procumbens nana, that was on sale because of the bald spot on the top of the plant. Seeing this wicked trunk made me buy the tree on a whim, but now, I'm unsure of a plan of action.

Wondering if BNut has any insight into where this could go. The trunk goes straight up and spread into this 6-way junction. This is the top view and the red lines indicates the flow of the branches.
IMG_9109.jpeg IMG_9120.jpeg

All the whips go down low, here is a picture from the front of the juniper.
IMG_9116.jpeg IMG_9117.jpeg

Finally here is a shot of the trunk. Super stubby and just grows straight up into the junction.
IMG_9114.jpeg

I would appreciate any semblance of advice on what to do!
 

HorseloverFat

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Nice Nana!

I love finds like this... except when the possibilities become “crippling”...

These are great trees for quiet contemplation. :) “Pop a squat” or “pull up a stool” next to your nana.. and start an open dialogue with the tree.. eyes and fingers. :)

When it comes to PRACTICAL advice, however, my experience with Junis is FAR too limited to offer anything reasonable and/or useful.

I just wanted to say, “Nice Tree..!” (All sarcastically-like, hiding my true inner feelings of jealousy)
🤣🤣🤣
 

Housguy

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First start by cleaning it out carefully until the tree starts to show you what it would want to be style wise. You know, crotch branches, branches going straight down, etc...…..enjoy!
 

Wires_Guy_wires

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Wire it, it'll tell you what can be removed.
Or you can start removing and wire what's left.

I'm a big fan of the first approach. More freedom and more options. If you twist a branch 90° but you removed all downwards hanging foliage, you might have new downwards hanging foliage and no side branches. That's the trick nobody talks about.

Quick note that wiring junipers in summer isn't ideal because the bark tends to slip.
 

canadianlights

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Thank you to everyone for all the advice!

First start by cleaning it out carefully until the tree starts to show you what it would want to be style wise. You know, crotch branches, branches going straight down, etc...…..enjoy!

I've cleaned out the structure but tbh it still isn't much clearer lol. I'm afraid if I go any further I will be overcleaning, and lose some critical branches.

Wire it, it'll tell you what can be removed.
Or you can start removing and wire what's left.

With the way the trunk is basically horizontal and the foliar mass growing downwards, I feel inclined to do a cascade, but I know that I should let the structure tell me where to go, not the foliage. None of the cascade bonsai I've seen have such an odd structure like this lol. But ultimately I have no direction as to where to start placing branches or where to begin the initial structural wiring.

Does anybody have a rough plan to get started with structural wiring or whatever general direction to head? I'm itching to keep going but I don't want to kill another tree or mess up too bad!
 

Shibui

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It is almost impossible to assess a juniper from photos. We cannot see the branch directions under the foliage and cannot assess the 3D movement well enough to make decisions for you.

If you have too many choices start by chopping some off to reduce the options.
Find the least attractive ones first and eliminate those. Leave a stump that could be jin. Easy to cut off later if you don't need it but harder to put back.
When faced with several very good options toss a coin. If all are good it does not matter which you choose but the tree will not progress until you do make those decisions.

Explore possible styles where the tree is tilted as well. The current trunk angle may not be the best option. Trunk growing straight up vertical from the soil is not usually the best design.
Start with the roots. There can be more trunk buried under the soil that would change the dynamics considerably. Uneven roots may dictate a certain trunk angle. Don't just stop at the first thick one. Dig down as far as necessary to find a good set of lateral roots before making any decisions.

You are correct that upright is almost always easier to design than cascade. leave cascade to more experienced or foolish growers.
 

sorce

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I don't dabble in NaNa Nomo.

But bluerugs are kinda the same.

I have a couple where that initial stubby thing makes a good tree, use a couple small crotch growths and you can have a mame.

I don't see that here. But you can chop a couple trunks off to see if you get some budding.

The next thing I look for is a nice literate line in one trunk. If your Sketch is accurate, that doesn't exist either.

So for me, at the store, check out the next plant.

If it's all they have and you need it, it becomes kind of a grow out fest. Which ain't terrible, Frary staked one up for a long time before the VC got it!

I tend to just mindlessly cut stuff like this back to the pot edge every year and see what happens.
Eventually a line will present itself, with enough branching to make a reasonable tree.

Sorce
 

canadianlights

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If you have too many choices start by chopping some off to reduce the options.
Find the least attractive ones first and eliminate those. Leave a stump that could be jin. Easy to cut off later if you don't need it but harder to put back.

I tend to just mindlessly cut stuff like this back to the pot edge every year and see what happens.

Thank you for the tips, I'm going to check tonight after work and see whatever presents itself with the best opportunity. Ultimately, I bought this nursery stock as practice material and will treat it as such, so no more hesitation!

Air layer each trunk for future shohin?

I also like this idea a lot too. As I'm moving to a smaller apartment, maybe it would be interesting to create multiple shohin-sized practice material from this if I'm at a loss of what to do.

Ideas are still very much appreciated if anybody has reference pictures on wire trees that have a similar structure.
 

ShadyStump

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I'd say get a fuller picture first.
Pull it from the pot, and clean the soil from around the trunk down to the top roots. See how tall it really is, what shape it makes. You might find something that makes it click for you.
Remember, the first guiding principal in decent bonsai is trunk structure, then we build off if that.
 

Forsoothe!

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..."Moving to a smaller apartment" where you won't be keeping Junipers indoors. Right? According to Jim Doyle, "find the best feature and accentuate it with everything else." If you bought it because of the octopus branching, and then cut some of them off, what does that tell you?
 

HorseloverFat

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I apologize if this has been said... but have you tried sketching/drawing said tree?

This is a useful process which can help one achieve perspective clarity.
(Especially if you participate in “current” as well as “projection” drawings)

Or use graph paper if your mind functions more mechanically.
 
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