How should I proceed with this juniper?

Funakoshi

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So I bought this juniper about a year ago when it was very small, and I wired it into a cascade shape. I put it in a deep pot, and just removed all the wires from it about a month ago. I was wondering if anyone had any idea, stylistically, about where I could go with this juniper, and maybe some practical advice about getting this done. It is getting a little leggy, and eventually I want it to have a lot of nice pads. I was also wondering if I had to repot it and trim the roots, as it's been in this pot for about a year, although the pot is very deep so I'm not sure if it is necessary.

here are some pics of the tree :)

Thanks in advance for the help

All the best
 

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Leo in N E Illinois

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Nice,
The pot is a "Cascade Pot" a style that was really popular in the 1960's and 1970's for bonsai in USA. It is used for full cascades, where the descending trunk or branch is longer, or descends deeper than the height of the pot. I happen to really appreciate this style, so I would not shorten your descending trunk at all. Just visually estimating the size of the pot and the tree, that pot is sufficiently large enough to allow the juniper to double or triple it's volume of foliage.

Junipers do not like to be repotted every year. Trees are not like orchids and other houseplants that like annual repotting. The most frequent I would repot a young juniper is once every other year, and my more mature junipers I will allow to go 10 years without repotting. Your tree will grow better if you allow it to go 2 to 4 years without repotting.

for pruning or wiring, I would remove some of those little branches that are growing perfectly vertical, especially in the upper third of the tree. I would not wire in spring. I would wait until middle or late summer to begin wiring out this juniper. So you have plenty of time to contemplate how you would do this. So for the next couple months, just let this continue to grow, pruning only a few of those perfectly vertical little shoots, and that is about it.

Eventually, when you wire in late summer, you want no section of trunk to be perfectly straight. The length of the trunk should curve back and forth, with no straight runs. The branches should move to the sides and front, not curve upwards. Watch videos, and visit or join a local bonsai club if you can.

Nice little tree.
 

Funakoshi

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Nice,
The pot is a "Cascade Pot" a style that was really popular in the 1960's and 1970's for bonsai in USA. It is used for full cascades, where the descending trunk or branch is longer, or descends deeper than the height of the pot. I happen to really appreciate this style, so I would not shorten your descending trunk at all. Just visually estimating the size of the pot and the tree, that pot is sufficiently large enough to allow the juniper to double or triple it's volume of foliage.

Junipers do not like to be repotted every year. Trees are not like orchids and other houseplants that like annual repotting. The most frequent I would repot a young juniper is once every other year, and my more mature junipers I will allow to go 10 years without repotting. Your tree will grow better if you allow it to go 2 to 4 years without repotting.

for pruning or wiring, I would remove some of those little branches that are growing perfectly vertical, especially in the upper third of the tree. I would not wire in spring. I would wait until middle or late summer to begin wiring out this juniper. So you have plenty of time to contemplate how you would do this. So for the next couple months, just let this continue to grow, pruning only a few of those perfectly vertical little shoots, and that is about it.

Eventually, when you wire in late summer, you want no section of trunk to be perfectly straight. The length of the trunk should curve back and forth, with no straight runs. The branches should move to the sides and front, not curve upwards. Watch videos, and visit or join a local bonsai club if you can.

Nice little tree.

Thanks for the advice :)
I live in the Caribbean, where the temperature is always constant, where the only real seasonal differences are rain/wind. I keep my plants outdoors, and I was wondering if this had any impact on when I should prune/wire the tree. Does this mean that I can do this at any time of the year?

All the best
 

sorce

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I absolutely love how the picture made the little house look like a model.

Amazing.

Sorce
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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@Funakoshi
What a beautiful area to live. I love the scenery in the background of your photos. Even though your climate is fairly constant, you will notice your tree going through cycles where it flushes with growth, and periods where it seems to stall a bit. I would say you could do anything just about any time of year, but best for pruning and repotting would be while there is some active growth, best time for wiring would be when there seems to be less growth, or a partial dormancy of growth. But you are right, it probably doesn't matter much when you do things. Put a date on a tag or in a notebook, so you remember when you did what. Allow sufficient recovery time between major stressors, such as repotting and the next round of pruning.
 

Funakoshi

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@Funakoshi
What a beautiful area to live. I love the scenery in the background of your photos. Even though your climate is fairly constant, you will notice your tree going through cycles where it flushes with growth, and periods where it seems to stall a bit. I would say you could do anything just about any time of year, but best for pruning and repotting would be while there is some active growth, best time for wiring would be when there seems to be less growth, or a partial dormancy of growth. But you are right, it probably doesn't matter much when you do things. Put a date on a tag or in a notebook, so you remember when you did what. Allow sufficient recovery time between major stressors, such as repotting and the next round of pruning.
Yes I'm very lucky to live in such a scenic place with such a nice climate year-round. Thanks for the advice :)

This is a good forum, full of very knowledgeable people. I'm glad I brought my questions here

All the best
 

sorce

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You're welcome!

How's the little feller doing?

I like the way that glaze drips off the lip too.

Can we see that better? In another tiny house pic perhaps!

Sorce
 

Funakoshi

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You're welcome!

How's the little feller doing?

I like the way that glaze drips off the lip too.

Can we see that better? In another tiny house pic perhaps!

Sorce
The juniper is doing great :)
Not much change since the last pics I posted, but I'll take some new ones today and post them here :)

Hahaha I'll try to get the houses in the background again.

And I got lucky finding this pot. Nobody on this island knows much about bonsai, and I've had to improvise my entire time in the hobby with my limited resources here. There are no true bonsai pots, other than the ones I brought with me when I moved here a few years ago, and even this pot is one that I found at a hardware store as part of a succulent display.
 

Funakoshi

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You're welcome!

How's the little feller doing?

I like the way that glaze drips off the lip too.

Can we see that better? In another tiny house pic perhaps!

Sorce
Sorry for the delay, I'm a medical student and was just finishing up my finals, it's my first day of break now :)
Here are a bunch of new pics of the tree, with some nice backgrounds as well. Some are less flattering than others, but I wanted a realistic depiction of the tree so you can see it from every angle, not just the front. I'm thinking that I'm gonna just let it grow for maybe another year without wires or trimming it at all, it seems to really like this sunny and breezy spot it's in. Let me know if you agree with that approach, or you think I should do something different.

I've also added a couple of photos close up of the rim of the pot, so you could see the glaze drip

:)

Thanks for all the help and advice
 

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sorce

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Nice! thanks!

Those colors on the lip are great together!
I love the flamish effect.

Yeah let it go!

I can't grow these well at all, but some folks have em healthy as hell, all greeny and such.

This one seems healthy but perhaps just under the vigor necessary for a worry free styling sit-down.

I reckon you'll know when it's extra good in your climate.

Best Skill on your Finals!

Sorce
 
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