Juniper styling assistance

[Zac chandanais]

Hey guys!
been a while since I’ve been on but it’s good to be back. The last three years I have been traveling to ND for work 6 months at a time. Long story short, I left my girlfriend in charge of watering my trees and came home to a bunch bacon in pots.... luckily I was (and still very much am) a beginner and none of my trees were very far along. I am home (in NC) for good now and have been getting back into bonsai. I found this older juniper at a nursery for $8 and had to buy it. Wasn’t sure what to do with it but this is where I’m at. Probably won’t do anymore until the next growing season but I’m curious what y’all’s opinions are as to how I should proceed or what I should do differently
P.S the shari (if you want to call it that) was already very much dead. I’ve done nothing but (poorly) stripped the bark.

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

I like where you laid the foliage! Focus some more time on wiring. It is good to have things move where you want them, but you can save on wire and get a better bend if you space out your coils more.

 

[Zac chandanais]

I like where you laid the foliage! Focus some more time on wiring. It is good to have things move where you want them, but you can save on wire and get a better bend if you space out your coils more.

Thanks a lot. I will be the first to admit my wiring is terrible. That is something I need to do more YouTubing on lol. Hopefully after Covid I can join a local club and get som help.

 

[Housguy]

Zac, just make sure your wire angles around the branch are between 45 and 60 degrees with good contact to the branch and you will get better. Seems like that big jin needs to be cut down a bunch to give more attention to the tree, that jin draws my eye away from the tree. Good start, keep it up.

 

[Zac chandanais]

Zac, just make sure your wire angles around the branch are between 45 and 60 degrees with good contact to the branch and you will get better. Seems like that big jin needs to be cut down a bunch to give more attention to the tree, that jin draws my eye away from the tree. Good start, keep it up.

Thanks a lot. I absolutely agree about the jin. I do plan on chopping it down for sure. I appreciate the feed back a lot.

 

[BunjaeKorea]

Pic 1: Are those two branches from the same point? Thats a no no and you will save some time if in Picture 2
You remove the lower, and compact the tree inward making three layers, crown, mid, lower.

 

[BunjaeKorea]

Base wiring is too loose and the angle is too steep. Ideally 45 degree angle is best. The gauge is also too low. You can use a higher gauge but if you dont have it then use multiple layers.

 

[Trenthany]

Base wiring is too loose and the angle is too steep. Ideally 45 degree angle is best. The gauge is also too low. You can use a higher gauge but if you dont have it then use multiple layers.

I’m totally self (YouTube etc.) trained on wiring so I have a question. You say their wire gauge is too small, shouldn’t they use the smallest wire that gets the branch to move? That’s always been my understanding.

 

[BunjaeKorea]

Good question. The smallest gauge to get the branch to stay put is a better description. If you use too small a gauge it may initially look like it is holding in place but as the wind blows and the natural pressure from the wood goes against the wire it will straighten out. It also largely depends on if you are using aluminium or copper. You can get away with quite thin copper but not aluminium. If you have a look at the last pic I posted, he is trying to bend the trunk but that wire is never going to work. It may work for higher in the tree but the mid-section isnt going to bend well at all, the branches seem okay too.
And here's another factor to take into consideration, the springiness or hardness of the wood. In super flexible species you may need to "overbend" that is, bend past the point you actually want, because they are so flexible they spring back almost to the same spot.

 

[Trenthany]

Good question. The smallest gauge to get the branch to stay put is a better description. If you use too small a gauge it may initially look like it is holding in place but as the wind blows and the natural pressure from the wood goes against the wire it will straighten out. It also largely depends on if you are using aluminium or copper. You can get away with quite thin copper but not aluminium. If you have a look at the last pic I posted, he is trying to bend the trunk but that wire is never going to work. It may work for higher in the tree but the mid-section isnt going to bend well at all, the branches seem okay too.
And here's another factor to take into consideration, the springiness or hardness of the wood. In super flexible species you may need to "overbend" that is, bend past the point you actually want, because they are so flexible they spring back almost to the same spot.

All of that makes sense it’s just not the judgement call I can make with such little wiring experience. This is very helpful to know. Thank you!

 

[Zac chandanais]

Base wiring is too loose and the angle is too steep. Ideally 45 degree angle is best. The gauge is also too low. You can use a higher gauge but if you dont have it then use multiple layers.

Thanks so much! All of your posts were a huge help and I will definitely take this advice.

 

[BunjaeKorea]

Thanks so much! All of your posts were a huge help and I will definitely take this advice.

Most welcome. This is a good first attempt and wiring is never easy.
My advice is to take advice from the old timer's here. The noobs are well noobs, and while they do occasionally make a valid point, why not learn from the best. This site has about 1o or so world class level individuals and some not far below them.
The other point is dont give up. This hobby takes time. I look forward to seeing some updates

 

[Zac chandanais]

So I’ve pulled the tree in and up as well as shorten the jins based on y’all’s suggestions. I also thought I’d provide a “before” picture. It has a lot of filling out to do (it’s a bit leggy) but I’m happy with this as a starting point. Thank you all for your advice and suggestions.

 

[HamburgerTrain]

So I’ve pulled the tree in and up as well as shorten the jins based on y’all’s suggestions. I also thought I’d provide a “before” picture. It has a lot of filling out to do (it’s a bit leggy) but I’m happy with this as a starting point. Thank you all for your advice and suggestions.
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wow you went hard! I think it looks good, but i'm new so I don't know what good looks like yet, lol. I'll be following along to see what I can learn, please keep us updated. -Ham

 

[Zac chandanais]

wow you went hard! I think it looks good, but i'm new so I don't know what good looks like yet, lol. I'll be following along to see what I can learn, please keep us updated. -Ham

Thanks Ham. I am also very new so I rely a lot on the opinions of those who know better on here. Lol. I hope it fills in this growing season

 

[Jure_v]

Thanks a lot. I will be the first to admit my wiring is terrible. That is something I need to do more YouTubing on lol. Hopefully after Covid I can join a local club and get som help.

Mirai bonsai ( Ryan Neil ) have good videos about structur wiring and fine branches wiring. He goes trough very detailed and with great explanations.
Then just take some branch in the wood or park and practise.