Good or bad?

[Shay]

I got this juniper from a nursery a couple of days ago.
I thought it had potential when I saw it, but now after a better look it feels like I made a bad choice...
I would appreciate a direction on the design.
Also, I know I should look for a good taper, movement, interesting nebari... But regarding the branches I cannot tell easally if the tree is suitable or not. If there are guidelines for that, I would love to get them.
Thanks!!

 

[Alain]

I'd say your tree isn't bad at all!
I like its bark and trunk and the size of its branches.

I bought a juniper in nursery few weeks ago also and something I could tell you: despite the fact that I love some of the features of my tree I'm still unable to see clearly what orientation I'll give it.
So I resolved to the following: let it grow, in its pot and in me...
All the time it spends like that fattening its trunk, aging its bark, growing its roots ideas are germinating on what I will or will not do and the design of the path I want it to take become clearer and clearer.
And after-all: no rush whatsoever, we are speaking of bonsai there!

 

[berobinson82]

Hi Shay!

Here's a story that might help:

I once picked up a 3 gallon Shimp from a regular nursery. I used it to take air layers and cuttings and once it had given me all it could, I looked at it and thought, "There is no bonsai tree in there". But I didn't have the heart to toss it. So for 2 years it sat on the bench taking up space until one evening a light bulb went off in my head. Ahha!

I pretty sure it was Mach5 who told me very early on (or maybe he just said it in a thread and I gleaned a lesson from it) that if you don't see a tree in your material then you should just wait until you do. Sometimes it takes months and in some cases years.

With junipers like this, perhaps the best thing to do would be get it super healthy and start working that foliage back towards the trunk. It may take a long time but that's what we sign up for in this hobby.

I only chime in because I believe I've been in your shoes very recently and it's still fresh in my mind.

http://www.bonsaikuma.com/2012/03/its-about-to-get-real-for-this-juni.html

Cheers,

B

 

[Eric Group]

I got this juniper from a nursery a couple of days ago.
I thought it had potential when I saw it, but now after a better look it feels like I made a bad choice...
I would appreciate a direction on the design.
Also, I know I should look for a good taper, movement, interesting nebari... But regarding the branches I cannot tell easally if the tree is suitable or not. If there are guidelines for that, I would love to get them.
Thanks!!

Looks like a Parsons Juni... They can make nice Bonsai, but generally are better for medium to larger sized trees. They tend to spit out a bunch of juvenile foliage when pruned which makes people not as fond of them as some other species, but the trunk up quick, have a nice rugged look and are easy to find. Some good and bad there...

This particular tree, I don't see a bunch of potential without creating a lot of dead wood and finding a new planting angle... Take come time, move it around, find the best viewing angle, make some decisions on branch selection and try to work the foliage in closer to the trunk on the branches you want to keep... You might find a great tree in there!

 

[Neli]

You can build a juniper just from one branch...In japan on small trees rarely more than 2 branches are used at the start...
I would wire all the branches and use number 3 left branch as leader and try to bring the foliage back closer to the trunk...
I would wire the rest of the branches and give them as much movement as I can for future gin and away from th new leader so they dont shade it.

 

[Shay]

Thank you all

You all helped me get some faith back in this tree

So as I learned from the do and don't thread, I can And should do some design and pruning work now and repot in spring. Let me know if I am right on that...
Heavy pruning is ok? Or take it slow?

Enjoy your weekend.

 

[jk_lewis]

Hard to rell much in those pics.

The red lines indicate where I would cut. The longest yellow line is my first choice for a trunk line (based on what I can see here). If you don't like that, look at the next longest yellow line, or the shortest one. The dashed red lines are where I'd cut if you choose the longest yellow line.

Once you do whatever you do, just sit and look at it for a few weeks.

 

[Shay]

Neli, is that what you mean?

You can build a juniper just from one branch...In japan on small trees rarely more than 2 branches are used at the start...
I would wire all the branches and use number 3 left branch as leader and try to bring the foliage back closer to the trunk...
I would wire the rest of the branches and give them as much movement as I can for future gin and away from th new leader so they dont shade it.

I like this direction...

Thanks.

 

[larlamonde]

Me too, nice eye.

 

[Shay]

This is the current status

I need to finish carving the corner.
The right branch is too thick for wiring. I'll use a bender for it later on.
Any suggestions? Thoughts?
Thanks!!