Formal Upright Juniper

Smoke

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This tree has been in the back of a couple collected junipers for two seasons. I had planned on adding it to my Foemina forest, but did not include it due to a nice slow bend in the trunk. I managed to dig it free of the ground and bring it out for a little trim job. A couple shots of the thing before work.
 

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Smoke

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The tree stands 32 inches tall and the basal flare is 3.5 inches and the trunk at the base above the flare is 2.5 inches. It took a 5/8 steeel rod and some clamps to pull the top straight. Tomorrow I will need to change out the tie wires to something wider and less apt to cut in. There is a fair amount of pressure on this puppy. It will also get a wire job and pull some of those branches in where they belong.

I spent 2 hours pruning and plucking brown and dead needles at the base of alot of branches. I was elated to find that many of the branches are covered with pin head small buds all over. Opening up the canopy to the air and sun should help a lot in this matter.

Cheers, Al
 
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grouper52

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Hi Smoke,

Just wanted to say what a mighty attractive tree this is to me. No one much seems to be looking at it or commenting on it, but I for one would be very pleased to see some progression photos over time, and hear your descriptions of the work you do on it. Really nice material, IMO.

grouper52
 

cbobgo

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I agree with grouper, this is a nice tree. We sure dont see formal uprights very often.

I'm seeing this tree with short, tightly pulled in branches, to make it look like a really tall timber tree.

What is your vision?

- bob
 

bonsai barry

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It will be a great specimen. It looks like a High Sierra Tree. I'm wondering how you straightened the top. I would have guessed that it would be hard to secure the bar in the pot enough to help the tree.
 

Smoke

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Hi Barry, the rod is tied to the trunk with heavy wire. A notched block is placed midway on the bulge side. A clamp is placed at the top of the tree and the top is pulled over against the block straightening the tree. I suspect it will be there for a season or two.

In these update photo's I re-tied the tree up on the deadwood top so the wire would not cut in due to the stress on the tree with the rod. I suspect there is around 60 to 70 pounds of tension on it right now. Large zip ties, the kind used for air conditioning pipes just broke. I have no.6 copper on it now.

This new view is after pulling down the branches more, adding some guy wires and cutting back the foliage. The tips of many of the branches were jinned back and the top was cut back hard. In the next few months as it regrows I will need to rewire and re bend many of the branches. They grow pretty fast and do cut in fairly fast. The wire does have to "bite-in" some on these foemina's to stay in place.

I have included a virt of some future progress I can strive for.
 

Bill S

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Agreed Al, nice tree, foemina are one of my favorite trees. Do you wet the foliage before working with it, or use gloves?
 

Smoke

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Hi Bill, welcome to the forum. Are you Bill Strurer? (sp*)

I do not wear gloves. I need to sometimes. I have been working with these foemina's for so long that they do not hurt me much anymore. I used to come in with rash all over my arms and hands. Now I can work for hours and they don't bother me. They do hurt when a stray needle goes under your fingernail though...OUCH!

Al Keppler
 

Bill S

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Thanks for the reply Al, must be too much office work keeping my hands too soft.:D

Hope you aren't too diisappointed, but no I'm a Swain, but for some reason that name does sound familiar, not sure why or where.

Maybe the needle under the nail tortue came from a long ago Chinese soldier bonsaist, ouch I know that hurts.:eek:
 

Smoke

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Dewire, Rewire, prune, repeat as needed.


70 day check up.
 

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Smoke

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comparison from previous page...
 

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Attila Soos

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Good work Al,
You probably did the best that one can do with this material.

(now you need 6 more of these, and you can start a forest..:) )
 

Dwight

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Nice tree Al ! Did anyone else ask what variety of juni it is ?
 

Smoke

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The variety is Foemina. This is the variety used by John Naka to create Goshin. In fact this tree came from a southern California source that had the junipers that John and Umenori Hatanaka used when making their forests.

Atilla, I have thirteen more , but their already in a pot.;)
 

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Nice work on this material Al, I imagine the only option for taper here was jinning the top, carrying the shari down from that adds a bit of realism.

I personally would have wired the jins down to mimic the directional flow of the living branches instead of just leaving straight as an arrow stubs pointing up. Do you have any plans to create nebari on the right side also, such would really add to this formal upright.

On your forest...the branches seem overly long, are you currently working on shortening them as well as lowering them below the horizontal?


Speaking of Goshin...this from his tribute over at AoB, a not often seen blend of art and photography.


Goshin_Cover_Photo_600.jpg





Will
 
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Smoke

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Yes I have seen it. In fact up close and personel in Naka's back yard. I wonder about those overly long branches though....

I have only worked on this tree for 70 days. All previous work has been done by someone else. I have his name, I just need to find it in my file cabinet.

For the fourth time...Please read post 6
 
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Yes I have seen it. In fact up close and personel in Naka's back yard. I wonder about those overly long branches though....

Al, I was not referring to seeing Goshin in person, I was referring to the picture of Goshin I posted, notice it is not in a pot, it is on a rocky crag, surrounded by mist.....a rare picture indeed, from 1969.

As to Goshin's "overly long branches" please notice the greater illusion of height presented.


For the fourth time...Please read post 6
I think this was the first time?


Will
 
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Nice work on this material Al, I imagine the only option for taper here was jinning the top, carrying the shari down from that adds a bit of realism.

I personally would have wired the jins down to mimic the directional flow of the living branches instead of just leaving straight as an arrow stubs pointing up.

ill

Which jins would you have wired down? I have seen many trees in the wild (albeit they were all over about 10,000 feet at Pike's Peak and vicinity) that had tops just like the ones in Al's forest and Goshin, the obvious inspiration for it.
 
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