How would you go about styling this juniper ?

[Njyamadori]

So I got this juniper for $50 and I want to make it into a decent bonsai . How would I go about styling this ?

Normally for trees with shorter lower branches on the trunk I would know what to do . This has branches all near the apex .

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Normally, I would not have chosen this for bonsai, because I would need branches on the lower parts. The long straight trunks with no branches are indeed the problem.

You could "pray to the Backbudding Goddess", this would require repotting to a larger pot, with minimal root disturbance, set it out in FULL SUN, ample water and fertilizer, then let it grow. Sometime early next summer or summer 2024 after some significant growth, then prune EVERY branch leaving just a tuft of green. You need to keep green on any branch or sub-branch that you want to keep. If you remove all the green, branch will die. Leave more green on weaker or thinner branches that you want to keep and less green on robust branches. Jin rather than cut off branches you don't see a future use for.

An alternate approach is a bale or two of wire. You can wire in movement and compact size. Juniper branches will bend, even if it takes effort. The thicker branches will require bending in steps and stages. You won't be able to compact it all in one move.

But really, you were right, you did not see an obvious route, because it is already too leggy, for there to be an obvious route to bonsai. If you still have the receipt, take it back to the nursery for return or exchange.

 

[Shogun610]

If you don’t return, you tree is somewhere in here. Hard to go off these photos but your tree I think is somewhere in here along that centra trunk line .. w some careful manipulation using heavy bends and raffia , using those branches to cut off as Jin

 

[Njyamadori]

Normally, I would not have chosen this for bonsai, because I would need branches on the lower parts. The long straight trunks with no branches are indeed the problem.

You could "pray to the Backbudding Goddess", this would require repotting to a larger pot, with minimal root disturbance, set it out in FULL SUN, ample water and fertilizer, then let it grow. Sometime early next summer or summer 2024 after some significant growth, then prune EVERY branch leaving just a tuft of green. You need to keep green on any branch or sub-branch that you want to keep. If you remove all the green, branch will die. Leave more green on weaker or thinner branches that you want to keep and less green on robust branches. Jin rather than cut off branches you don't see a future use for.

An alternate approach is a bale or two of wire. You can wire in movement and compact size. Juniper branches will bend, even if it takes effort. The thicker branches will require bending in steps and stages. You won't be able to compact it all in one move.

But really, you were right, you did not see an obvious route, because it is already too leggy, for there to be an obvious route to bonsai. If you still have the receipt, take it back to the nursery for return or exchange.

Yeah I was actually excited about this but now today after looking today it’s gonna be a more literati style that I’m not good at . Good trunk movement that I like but horrible branching

 

[Joe Dupre']

I'd say you would have to make one of two hard choices. Cut and/or jin the branches marked by Shogun610 which would give you something maybe decent in a couple of years. The long-term choice would be to put it in a wider, lower pot, trim all the branches back a bit, wire it, feed it and water it heavily. I would pinch back the really vigorous tips and let everything else just bush out. I'd give that route 4-6 years. The "wild card" suggestion would be to make a MUCH smaller tree by chopping it above the second or third branch and hoping it will back-bud like crazy.

 

[Paradox]

Grafting shimpaku onto it could also be another option

 

[Lorax7]

If it was mine, I would do a bit of cleaning up now (cut off weak, leggy branches & cut off branches that are going straight up or straight down from the branch they originate from) to thin the canopy a bit and let some light penetrate down into the interior in the hopes of stimulating some backbudding on those areas that are currently barren. I’d up-pot it in the spring and just let it grow for a season or two, fertilizing heavily, to build vigor. Then cut back hard (but keep some green on each branch) and hope for backbudding.

 

[Firstflush]

You may consider tipping a few inches off the branches and feed the shit out of it to see if you can budding lower on the branches.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Would let grow to HUGE trunk size while maintaining usable low branches/foliage, contorting/bending branches. Then after those years passed would be doing all possible to make look like contorted Yamadori tree. If not wanting big trunk....meh.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Nice video @Potawatomi13 , but really......what are you trying to say? ....... don't dis NJYamadori, he's one of us,

seriously I do subscribe to Ben B. Seattle 's YouTube channel, he has some interesting videos, his vids on culinary figs are what caught my attention first.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Actually @Paradox 's suggestion of grafting branches on is a fairly good idea. If you use just the tips of your tallest branches as your scion sources, you will have "same" foliage grafted down low or wherever you put your grafts. Or you could pick up a 'Kishu' or 'Itoigawa' cultivars of Shimpaku and do a complete "change of clothes" grafting new foliage type onto every branch you plan to keep. Then jin all the branches you plan to remove. Grafting is a good technique to learn if you have not done it. Late summer is a good season for grafting, as is late winter.

 

[James W.]

If it was mine, I would do a bit of cleaning up now (cut off weak, leggy branches & cut off branches that are going straight up or straight down from the branch they originate from) to thin the canopy a bit and let some light penetrate down into the interior in the hopes of stimulating some backbudding on those areas that are currently barren. I’d up-pot it in the spring and just let it grow for a season or two, fertilizing heavily, to build vigor. Then cut back hard (but keep some green on each branch) and hope for backbudding.

This is what I would do. I think in a couple of years you would have a whole lot to work with.

 

[Njyamadori]

If it was mine, I would do a bit of cleaning up now (cut off weak, leggy branches & cut off branches that are going straight up or straight down from the branch they originate from) to thin the canopy a bit and let some light penetrate down into the interior in the hopes of stimulating some backbudding on those areas that are currently barren. I’d up-pot it in the spring and just let it grow for a season or two, fertilizing heavily, to build vigor. Then cut back hard (but keep some green on each branch) and hope for backbudding.

When is a good time to cut the bigger branches ?

 

[Joe Dupre']

When is a good time to cut the bigger branches ?

Well, Walter Pall says a good time to cut a branch is when you have a saw in your hands. My take is this. The more foliage you leave, the more energy a tree has. The more energy it has, the faster it can grow more foliage, which gives it more energy.......which lets it grow faster. To my way of thinking, pruning a tree always slows it down. It may make certain parts of the tree grow faster, but it slows the tree down overall. Depending on the branch, if you cut it now or cut it 2 years from now may not make much difference to the design, but may make a big difference in how fast you get to the finished design.

 

[Lorax7]

When is a good time to cut the bigger branches ?

I prefer to cut junipers when they’re actively growing because the bark is easily separated from the sapwood at that time, which makes creating a jin from the leftover stub really easy. So, spring or summer is my preferred time to cut them.

 

[James W.]

When is a good time to cut the bigger branches ?

Shortening strongly growing branches in July or August (summer) can induce backbudding.