Thanks for the advice, Rob. Honestly, a big part of the reasoning behind contemplating these junipers came from admiring your trees. Do you have any idea how long (if ever) these might take to get that rough old bark look? I have read that colander/pot grown JBP bark up faster than ground grown stock, but I wonder if that also applies to junipers?
Thank you. Actually, it is not necessarily the bark, it is the branches and overall look of the tree. I see these trees at the Lowes and Home Depots. I actually check out some of them just to see if there is anything worth while. Usually, the branches are still young and thin with little, if any ramification. So after they are styled as a bonsai, it still does not have the essence of an older tree.
I can use this example from my collection. My arborvitae bunjin was created from yellow tag Lowes stock. It took me about 8 years to get the branches to mature. Notice in the second and third pics. Even though the trunk is thin and tall, the branches are mature, proportionately thick, ramified and have taper. So although the trunk is the main feature of this tree, without the maturity of the top section, you would not have a convincing bunjin. You would still have a young looking tree. Of course, this tree will improve more with age.
One of the beautiful qualities of Bunjin is that it does not have the thick powerful trunk you would expect on an ancient tree. However, it still conveys an ancient tree. It is a beautiful contradiciton.
Rob