Juniper cascade 2nd styling

[maroun.c]

Got this juniper since 2019, nursery material repoted in pumice and clay balls. In Nov 2020 I styled it (bad timing for styling and a novice mistake) it survived styling and grew a bit in 2021 yet nit that aggressive growth i guess as wire is still in and didn't bite in yet.

Was advised to add bends to my initial styling which I did after those pics and had a couple cracks of the trunk that tree survived. Also made the branches angle a bit tighter exiting trunk also after above pics .
Heres how its looking today

Site of trunk break healing and u can see how much curves I was able to add. And wire still not biting in since Nov 2020

Top or now bottom of tree seems to be growing the best but its all posterior growth

crazy buds as u can see in pics this year which leads me to think tree recovered energy and will grow well this season.

What tree needs at this stage:
- Better pot as this one sucks water and has moss growing on it. Also need to remove a small portion of remaining nursery soil. Not urgent as tree is still fine.
-unwire rewire and style side branches better? Whats best date to do that as I'm afraid with growing season wire will bite fast.
- should I make.more bends in trunk going down or is this enough. And should I do that with existing wire or unwired rewire to get more time before having to unwire.

In which sequence would you do the above and what time if year?
Any other advice on how to make this tree better is appreciated.

 

[Shibui]

So many questions in one post!
Hope I can manage to do them all......

You have had good growth on this tree for just 18 months. J. chinensis is usually slow to grow and develop.

What tree needs at this stage:
- Better pot as this one sucks water and has moss growing on it. Also need to remove a small portion of remaining nursery soil. Not urgent as tree is still fine.
-unwire rewire and style side branches better? Whats best date to do that as I'm afraid with growing season wire will bite fast.
- should I make.more bends in trunk going down or is this enough. And should I do that with existing wire or unwired rewire to get more time before having to unwire.

Probably best to unwire and rewire if you need to add more bends as, even though junipers grow slow, wire will bite at some stage and better to be safe.
Best time for wiring and bend for juniper is in dormant season. Sometimes bending juniper in growing season will break bark and kill parts of the tree as bark slips most when active growing. maybe that's what happened last time as the pics look like just bark damage rather than trunk break.
Better wiring will allow much more bends without damage to the tree. Long loops like you have used do not support the wood so breaks are more likely. Wire should turn closer to 45 deg = distance between turns = thickness of trunk.
More bends is up to you. You have to look at the tree every day, not me. If it was here I would go lots more bends because I see juniper as mountain tree that experiences lots of storms and avalanche, etc so twisted, contorted and dead wood is what I expect from juniper.
I'd be happy to wire and repot in one operation if you need to. The tree is healthy enough to cope this time but if the tree is still happy and healthy repot could wait for next year. I think teh pot has plenty of room for this tree so more depends on soil condition than size.

crazy buds as u can see in pics this year which leads me to think tree recovered energy and will grow well this season.

The new, white buds are likely developing flower (I know juniper is conifer and does not 'flower') buds - cones. New growth is from green ends but new growth is also good so tree = healthy and happy.

Top or now bottom of tree seems to be growing the best but its all posterior growth

Top growth is usually best because of apical dominance. Upper parts usually grow better than lower parts. cascades need special maintenance to stop the top becoming dominant and tail gets weaker.
Where does it live? Better growth on one side is often due to more light on that side. Try turning the tree so all sides get better sun. If that's not the problem it could just be the way you style d the branches with all the strong ones at the back? It is possible to twist a long trunk to realign some branches from back to front. Otherwise simply wire and bend some branches to the other side where possible.

 

[maroun.c]

So many questions in one post!
Hope I can manage to do them all......

You have had good growth on this tree for just 18 months. J. chinensis is usually slow to grow and develop.



Probably best to unwire and rewire if you need to add more bends as, even though junipers grow slow, wire will bite at some stage and better to be safe.
Best time for wiring and bend for juniper is in dormant season. Sometimes bending juniper in growing season will break bark and kill parts of the tree as bark slips most when active growing. maybe that's what happened last time as the pics look like just bark damage rather than trunk break.
Better wiring will allow much more bends without damage to the tree. Long loops like you have used do not support the wood so breaks are more likely. Wire should turn closer to 45 deg = distance between turns = thickness of trunk.
More bends is up to you. You have to look at the tree every day, not me. If it was here I would go lots more bends because I see juniper as mountain tree that experiences lots of storms and avalanche, etc so twisted, contorted and dead wood is what I expect from juniper.
I'd be happy to wire and repot in one operation if you need to. The tree is healthy enough to cope this time but if the tree is still happy and healthy repot could wait for next year. I think teh pot has plenty of room for this tree so more depends on soil condition than size.



The new, white buds are likely developing flower (I know juniper is conifer and does not 'flower') buds - cones. New growth is from green ends but new growth is also good so tree = healthy and happy.


Top growth is usually best because of apical dominance. Upper parts usually grow better than lower parts. cascades need special maintenance to stop the top becoming dominant and tail gets weaker.
Where does it live? Better growth on one side is often due to more light on that side. Try turning the tree so all sides get better sun. If that's not the problem it could just be the way you style d the branches with all the strong ones at the back? It is possible to twist a long trunk to realign some branches from back to front. Otherwise simply wire and bend some branches to the other side where possible.

Apologies for the million question, first of my trees to get beyond potting/initial styling so hate to kill it by one of my typical mistakes.
Yes potting can wait as its just esthetics (pot change) that are bothering and the bit of remaining nursery soilndoesnt seem to be causing an issue so far.
Great to know growth isn't typically fast as I was expecting much more growth.
Guess will let the tree be for this growing season, I'll just unwire any section of wire that seems to bite in. At end of growing season next fall I will unwire the rest, rewire, add bends and guess will reposition and bend the side branches and work on the lower part as advised. Tree does get good exposure from all sides. Ill make sure to turn it as advised but believe it might have been my mistake positioning branches a bit to the back plus apical dominance as you mentioned.
Thanks again for all your advice