Juniperus squamata 'Blue Alps'
- Thread starter amkhalid
- Start date
berobinson82
Omono
Great piece from humble beginnings.
wireme
Masterpiece
Nice Aaron, when and why did you decide to get rid of the branch stub rather than keep it for a jinn? Not saying it would have been better, just curious.
Mp
Mp
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Exceptional piece of work, what more can I say it's perfect.
Nybonsai12
Masterpiece
First pic I think wow that tree is amazing. Second pic I think whoever did this wiring is amazing.beautiful tree!
october
Masterpiece
This is extremely impressive. How much did it take between pic 1 and the last pic? Also, the foliage is perfect. For this variety of juniper, this is not an easy thing.
Rob
Rob
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
Really nice. Of course, now I have the urge to go looking for one of these...yet another species added to the list!
Chris
Chris
Wow - thanks for the amazing response everyone!
It is a good species, sort of like a dwarf common juniper but much tougher. The foliage is only needle form, which is good as opposed to something like, say, san jose. They are VERY prickly though. I don't go near this thing without nitrile gloves on.
Thank you Rob. The last pic was taken spring 2011. This variety grows ridiculously fast. It is unbelievable. The last pic is after its first rough styling. Since then it has been detail wired 3x (once again in late 2011, then 2012 and 2013). This has certainly helped its development.
Thank you, although it certainly is not perfect! It will look better by the autumn once it fill out more. The apex is a bit congested too.
I'm not too sure. Probably because I am consciously trying not to style this as a deadwood juniper. I just want it to look really lush and elegant with an unbroken trunk. Sure, it doesn't look as old as it would with some deadwood... but I like the simplicity of this tree.
From the back is another story! This deadwood is the fallout of the reductions, since it was a piece of nursery stock with multiple trunks. I am pretty sure this will be the front one day, once I am bored of the current front.
This is an older pic (October 2011). Practically everyone who sees this tree thinks the deadwood side should be the front. I understand where they are coming from, but I am in love with the elegance of the current front.
It is a good species, sort of like a dwarf common juniper but much tougher. The foliage is only needle form, which is good as opposed to something like, say, san jose. They are VERY prickly though. I don't go near this thing without nitrile gloves on.
Thank you Rob. The last pic was taken spring 2011. This variety grows ridiculously fast. It is unbelievable. The last pic is after its first rough styling. Since then it has been detail wired 3x (once again in late 2011, then 2012 and 2013). This has certainly helped its development.
Thank you, although it certainly is not perfect! It will look better by the autumn once it fill out more. The apex is a bit congested too.
I'm not too sure. Probably because I am consciously trying not to style this as a deadwood juniper. I just want it to look really lush and elegant with an unbroken trunk. Sure, it doesn't look as old as it would with some deadwood... but I like the simplicity of this tree.
From the back is another story! This deadwood is the fallout of the reductions, since it was a piece of nursery stock with multiple trunks. I am pretty sure this will be the front one day, once I am bored of the current front.
This is an older pic (October 2011). Practically everyone who sees this tree thinks the deadwood side should be the front. I understand where they are coming from, but I am in love with the elegance of the current front.
Nice work! This is exactly the inspiration I needed to work on mine. 
I have a similar "Blue Alps" from Brussels. I took a workshop with Marco Inverinizzi at the Rendezvous in 2011, but we didn't have time to finish the styling. I removed all the wire last year because it was biting.
I agree with your choice; the simple elegance is beautiful. -- In the future you may be able to use a round pot and make both sides work... ?
I have a similar "Blue Alps" from Brussels. I took a workshop with Marco Inverinizzi at the Rendezvous in 2011, but we didn't have time to finish the styling. I removed all the wire last year because it was biting.I agree with your choice; the simple elegance is beautiful. -- In the future you may be able to use a round pot and make both sides work... ?
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Wow - thanks for the amazing response everyone!
It is a good species, sort of like a dwarf common juniper but much tougher. The foliage is only needle form, which is good as opposed to something like, say, san jose. They are VERY prickly though. I don't go near this thing without nitrile gloves on.
Thank you Rob. The last pic was taken spring 2011. This variety grows ridiculously fast. It is unbelievable. The last pic is after its first rough styling. Since then it has been detail wired 3x (once again in late 2011, then 2012 and 2013). This has certainly helped its development.
Thank you, although it certainly is not perfect! It will look better by the autumn once it fill out more. The apex is a bit congested too.
I'm not too sure. Probably because I am consciously trying not to style this as a deadwood juniper. I just want it to look really lush and elegant with an unbroken trunk. Sure, it doesn't look as old as it would with some deadwood... but I like the simplicity of this tree.
From the back is another story! This deadwood is the fallout of the reductions, since it was a piece of nursery stock with multiple trunks. I am pretty sure this will be the front one day, once I am bored of the current front.
This is an older pic (October 2011). Practically everyone who sees this tree thinks the deadwood side should be the front. I understand where they are coming from, but I am in love with the elegance of the current front.
I agree with your thinking here. I would like to remind you that there is no reason this tree cannot have two fronts. If you get tired of showing it one way turn it around and show it another. Don't try to make one view dominant over the other. With few exceptions choosing to do this usually makes for a design that is less-------
Poink88
Imperial Masterpiece
I wish that can be done easily...and maybe with more experience I will find a way but for now I cannot seem to create proper illusion of depth w/o sacrificing one side. To have flexible (dual or more) fronts I find that I always need to compromise but that is it...a COMPROMISE and not the best possible front. For now, I choose the best possible front, others may go the other way.
Multiple front might work well with broom style though.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
When you look at a tree in nature what do you see? You see a tree that has no front or back you see a tree. Your eye may find and angle or side, what ever you want to call it, that you find more pleasing than the rest of the tree but still, the tree has height, width and depth. The problem with bonsai is we look at trees that have been photographed from one side (2 dimensions) and we do not see the rest of the tree.
We tend to develop our bonsai designs from that same one side or point of view, the two dimensional point of view. We will sacrifice everything to achieve this idea. You should always design with the best relationship of trunk movement and branch placement that you can find, but you should always pay attention to what is happening 360* around the rest of the tree at the same time you are trying to develop your chosen front. If you do this diligently I think you will be surprised at how good the finished tree will look. You may or may not wind up with two fronts but as long as the rest of tree looks like a tree you probably will. If you adhere doggedly to the old rules of branch placement from one side that's when your trees become contrived looking.
For better or worse a bonsai is a 3 dimensional object. It should not look like a bill board with a beautiful message on the front and a bunch of support beams and posts in the back; and that is the way many of us have been trained to design bonsai.
I want to thank He Who Shall Not be Named for the guts to bring this issue up in the first place, many years ago.
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Poink88
Imperial Masterpiece
I agree Vance and that is my goal and what I am doing. What I am saying is that to maintain 2 or more fronts you have to compromise and it may not give you the best front.
My trees will be trained to be as best looking viewed 360* possible, BUT most will likely have a chosen FRONT where it's best features are showcased.
My trees will be trained to be as best looking viewed 360* possible, BUT most will likely have a chosen FRONT where it's best features are showcased.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
That's probably true but if you accept that concept as an axiom your creative vizion will most likely never go beyond that limit. This takes time and experience to fiddle it out, first in your mind then in your hands. Maybe if you start thinking of "Your Front" as the display front you might come to accept in your mind that, though your tree is a 3 Dimensional item it does not in a display have the ability to move on its own so it must have a display front that looks the best--------------------------------on one specific day. Try showing a tree from some other point of view and see what people say.
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Poink88
Imperial Masterpiece
Believe me, I will consciously try not to.
The beauty of having lived some is that part of your old experiences cross over other hobbies. I also got this covered. I deal a lot in drawings...flat to 3-D, concepts to reality, etc. and I have a bit of advantage in that area over some.
Lets look at the tree in this thread. Nicely done and it can be viewed both from front or back and will look good all around BUT the branches are unmistakeably created to support and frame the chosen front. The back, as nice as it is, cannot compete with the front for now. It can be, if the branches are re-positioned (ruining the current front) but it is NEVER (or rarely) going to be equally good at the same time.
That is what I meant.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Believe me, I will consciously try not to.
The beauty of having lived some is that part of your old experiences cross over other hobbies. I also got this covered. I deal a lot in drawings...flat to 3-D, concepts to reality, etc. and I have a bit of advantage in that area over some.
Lets look at the tree in this thread. Nicely done and it can be viewed both from front or back and will look good all around BUT the branches are unmistakeably created to support and frame the chosen front. The back, as nice as it is, cannot compete with the front for now. It can be, if the branches are re-positioned (ruining the current front) but it is NEVER (or rarely) going to be equally good at the same time.
That is what I meant.
Who says those branches have to be repositioned? You can make an argument that they cross the front of the tree but that, in a sense, is only valid if you think the "Old Bonsai Rules" must be followed without deviation. In this case the artist has designed the tree in such a way where the crossing branches are more than two thirds up the span of the trunk and if I remember the old rules says this is acceptable.
Another issue this tree is such that one could look at it as nearly a Yamadori style; in which case the rules don't count at all. Most importantly this tree could be displayed with the last view as a front and be accepted by most judges I have encountered. it certainly is as good as most and better than many from this point of view.
Poink88
Imperial Masterpiece
Thus another proof that beauty really depends on who is looking at it.
I stand by my observation and opinion but also respect yours.
I stand by my observation and opinion but also respect yours.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Thus another proof that beauty really depends on who is looking at it.
I stand by my observation and opinion but also respect yours.
Absolutely, beauty is really dependent on who is looking, no argument.
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
What a lovely tree. Thank you for sharing it here, I adore simple elegance when it works.
Nice work! This is exactly the inspiration I needed to work on mine.
I agree with your choice; the simple elegance is beautiful. -- In the future you may be able to use a round pot and make both sides work... ?
Interesting... I had no idea this was a variety being sold by bonsai nurseries. I got this one at a regular garden center and had never heard of it prior. I would love to see a picture of yours!
