First Juniper - Itoiwgawa

eeeealmo

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After 8 years of growing trees, I finally got my first juniper. I figured that since they were so ubiquitous, I must be missing out on something. I picked up this lovely Itoigawa for $25 from a dealer, and have started working on it.

Here it is before being touched.
IMG_20190526_113227(1).jpg

The main trunk seemed way too straight, so I figured this was also a good opportunity to try using rafia for the first time. I have no idea if it was necessary for the resulting bend, but not knowing how flexible junipers actually are, I didn't want to risk bending without some sort of backup system in place.

IMG_20190628_155516.jpg

I was pretty satisfied with my first attempt, so I put on the thickest copper wire I could manage (another first), and gave the trunk some movement.

IMG_20190628_160749.jpg
IMG_20190628_160757.jpg

I let it sit for a couple of weeks after that to make sure I hadn't killed/damaged anything important. It actually grew like gangbusters after the trunk bend, so today I finally tried to do some structural styling.

IMG_20190717_161736.jpg

There are some obvious structural flaws that still need to be addressed :

a) The lower 2 branches originating from the same point. I like the idea of turning one into a jin at some point, but will see how they grow for now.
b) The thicker branch on the left side of the trunk halfway up is at a super weird angle. Not sure what to do there.

I know it still needs lots and lots of work/clean up, but I'm trying to take it slowly so the tree stays healthy.

Any input, comments, advice, criticism, or praise would be much appreciated. Thanks!
 

Forrestford

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Hard to tell from the pictures but it looks as if the tree leans away from the viewer or the front. I think it's a little off I think it should be slightly bent forward and I agree getting rid of one or both of those low branches. But great movement and good work with the rafia!
Heres some great threads on it
 

leatherback

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Nice little tree. Don't worry about the bending. A trunk this you can do a 360 degree bend in Raffia. The gentle curves you put in did not need the raffia. But all practice if good for practice!

The side-branch on the left, half way up is out of shape compared to the rest of the tree. I would aim to angle it to the trunk as the rest of the branches are.
 

Shibui

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Agree with Leatherback that this bending did not need raffia but it is always good practice for when you do really bend something.
That left branch can just be bent down to a better angle if you put a bit of decent wire on it. Junipers can bend much more than you think. Even if it does break you still have plenty of other great branches to fill in so why not try.

Lower bar branches are a problem visually but they will both help thicken the trunk so if you can bear to leave both for a few years I would allow the right one to grow unrestrained to thicken that trunk. I have some low sacrifice branches that are over 1m long and contribute quite a lot to trunk thickness.
At the moment that branch is far too thin to use as jin. By the time you strip the bark it will be only 1/3 that thickness - toothpick jin - allowing it to grow will give you something to display as jin if you decide to do that, otherwise just cut flat after the trunk is thickened.
Lowest left branch is also very stiff and straight so does not match the other branches or trunk now it has bends. Either put bends in that branch or consider removing it at some stage. Both those branches may be a little low for good visual branching. I know there is a tendency for beginners to keep as much as possible but as the tree develops and other branches fill out those low ones may not be needed.

Good job of wiring and bending so far.
 

eeeealmo

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Late summer update. Been staring at, tweaking, and slowly working on this tree throughout the summer. Just thought I'd post a picture for posterity's sake.

Would love to know if people think it got better or worse, or any other comments/criticisms.

IMG_20190907_171653.jpg
 

misfit11

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Looking great! Way to wire some movement into that trunk. Definitely an improvement. Maybe you could bring the top down and forward and to the right a bit to compact the image. The flow of the tree kind of moves to the right.
 

Mame-Mo

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Late summer update. Been staring at, tweaking, and slowly working on this tree throughout the summer. Just thought I'd post a picture for posterity's sake.

Would love to know if people think it got better or worse, or any other comments/criticisms.

View attachment 261410
Way better! I wish I could find something like this. Every time I've gotten a young shimpaku they have just been a clump of vertical twigs with no trunk to speak of. Having a defined trunk would be nice. The movement you put in the trunk looks like an awesome start.
 

Japonicus

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$20??? you thieved that shimpaku!
Great work!
Keep that mid (3rd) left branch, reduce foliage to weakest branch underneath from the terminal end in.
Needs back budding there though. Let weaker branch under it grow unchecked and shaggy a couple years.
I see you brought the 3rd branch down 👍 Did you rotate it?
 

eeeealmo

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$20??? you thieved that shimpaku!
Great work!
Keep that mid (3rd) left branch, reduce foliage to weakest branch underneath from the terminal end in.
Needs back budding there though. Let weaker branch under it grow unchecked and shaggy a couple years.
I see you brought the 3rd branch down 👍 Did you rotate it?
Agreed on all points. I did rotate that left branch back wards to give it more depth.
 

Japonicus

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Agreed on all points. I did rotate that left branch back wards to give it more depth.
Yeh, 1st pic with the wire on it post #1, the wire appears to be spiraled
properly for a counterclockwise rotation. I don’t see any wire on that branch now
and curious if you’re confusing backwards with actual rotation of the branch.
No matter, I like what you’ve done with it. This time next year you’ll be wiring out the pads
if it has recovered from repotting earlier in the Spring.

Another curiosity...is there wire on that 3rd L branch now?
I just don’t see any, and the branch was wired late June to early July this year
according to your timeline.
 

eeeealmo

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Another curiosity...is there wire on that 3rd L branch now?
I just don’t see any, and the branch was wired late June to early July this year
according to your timeline.
No I removed all of the aluminum wire and replaced it where needed with copper. That branch had held its position enough that I did not reapply there. Thanks for the kind words.
 

Japonicus

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No I removed all of the aluminum wire and replaced it where needed with copper. That branch had held its position enough that I did not reapply there. Thanks for the kind words.
Ah I see copper wire in the foliage but not on the branch.
Just amazed that ~10 weeks of wire did the trick.
 
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