juniperus squamatta

[Underdog]

Loving this thread. I have 3 and landscape friend just gave me 6 more which were going to be trashed. Mine are all Blue Star.
Thanks Dirk for all the time.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Nice combo.

 

[Vance Wood]

Loving this thread. I have 3 and landscape friend just gave me 6 more which were going to be trashed. Mine are all Blue Star.
Thanks Dirk for all the time.

I have found Blue Star Junipers to be difficult.

 

[Underdog]

Came home to these the other day. Lol easier when they're free!
That one above was pounded out for the fall contest last year. Bare rooted almost and stuffed into that tiny pot. Wired and hacked in October. Blew into the pond and wife snatched it out by a branch. Still looking well today. Instant gratification for a newbie.

And to the OP original questions. Follow the advice of the others and don't try this at home. LOL Just got lucky but find them quite hardy. They mine won't back bud on old wood so it can get leggy.

 

[defra]

Today i had the time to thin this one out

Before

After


I repeated this with every branch with foliage on it

This was pruned off


Now ill let it grow and need to get some wire to wire the secondairy branches as @dirk hoorelbeke adviced

This how it looks now



On the photo it doesnt look that open as it is when it stands in front of you

Not sure what path to go yet but next year it needs a repot to adjust the planting angle and to get rid of the previous owners dirt leftover from last repot sesion

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Picture 2 looks a good start for a pad. Overall most of the pads are far from the trunk, but nothing you can do about that. You can remove the yellow needles now. If some bark comes with it when you pull them just wait, they will be brown in fall. Make sure they are gone before wiring and wire everything. On that same photo there are some new buds. These will grow up and will form your pad. You need a lot of them. Where there are old needles, there will be less buds. When the bottom of the pad is established (fall) it is important that you keep cleaning old needles, but always keep cutting back to growing tips on approximately the same height.

 

[defra]

saturday i will take this one to class and see what way to go!
its growing very strong !

 

[defra]

Removed the old wire and fully rewired and styled the tree today!
The left part of the tree will probably get removed in the next round!

 

[Crizzi Questions]

Am I the only one who thinks the right side should go instead of the left? Leave as Jin though. It’s more rounded out on the right. The left gives it more interest and gives nice strong shapes and more movement to the whole tree. Imo
I’m brand new at this but I know what I like when I see it.
I have a blue star I’m going to start a thread on to seek advice before I start in on it. But if you do prefer the right side could you explain why that is.
I really like the design and where it’s headed but I strongly feel the left side is much preferable to the right. The left needs angled upward on the lower branch though a bit.

 

[defra]

Am I the only one who thinks the right side should go instead of the left? Leave as Jin though. It’s more rounded out on the right. The left gives it more interest and gives nice strong shapes and more movement to the whole tree. Imo
I’m brand new at this but I know what I like when I see it.
I have a blue star I’m going to start a thread on to seek advice before I start in on it. But if you do prefer the right side could you explain why that is.
I really like the design and where it’s headed but I strongly feel the left side is much preferable to the right. The left needs angled upward on the lower branch though a bit.

Totaly forgot to answer your question!
Because i liked the taller elegant tree more than the smaller wich could be build from the left branch.
Also after removing/jinning the left branch later on i am able to make the tree to be suported by one live vein that spirals upwards.

Please do note the tree looks nice but the branches had to be bend strong and allot to get the foliage in closer to the trunk i dont mind but others will say its bad and bend to much but i value this tree since its the first bonsai i bought.

 

[Vance Wood]

Am I the only one who thinks the right side should go instead of the left? Leave as Jin though. It’s more rounded out on the right. The left gives it more interest and gives nice strong shapes and more movement to the whole tree. Imo
I’m brand new at this but I know what I like when I see it.
I have a blue star I’m going to start a thread on to seek advice before I start in on it. But if you do prefer the right side could you explain why that is.
I really like the design and where it’s headed but I strongly feel the left side is much preferable to the right. The left needs angled upward on the lower branch though a bit.

I disagree, the right side is the better tree. If you go with the left side you will have a totally unbalanced tree that will take several years to adjust including changing the planting angle.

 

[defra]

Update time!
This one loves the hot weather we are having in the netherlands

Looking back at page 1 and at the pics from this post i realize that my patience and instructions i followed from
@dirk hoorelbeke and @Vance Wood are paying off its healthy and (imo) set onto the right path !
Nice vance wood quote

every body wants results now. There are some things that take imediate action this is not one of them.

Keeping this in mind, i will only prune the left side and leave the right side untouched because the branches are rather thin and are allowed to gain some girth.

In 2019 i want to repot the tree and probably do some deadwood work







These runners are everywere troughout the tree

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Happy tree! I like! Don't forget it's a needle juniper. Let it grow to long and you will have trouble later on to build compact pads. The tree is strong enough to have a next cutback, for thickening the branches you let a single runner per branch run. Keep the rest short and start building ramification. Where you have 1 now, you will have 2 next fall. Normally you can cut back 2 (or this year) 3 times per growing season. Keep in mind you will be fanning out and selecting the secondaries a bit more next time you wire. The pads will gain some height coming years, so keep that in mind while you style. Based on your last photo's, give your wiring and above all the cleaning a bit extra attention. The tree is doing great under your care so you are doing the right thing right. It's all in the details now...

 

[Paulpash]

Yours looked quite similar to mine as raw material - a bit gangly with floppy foliage (see post #21 which was planted then dug up and restyled)

Dug up
2018-08-01_12-00-49 by Paul Pashley, on Flickr

As it looks now:
2018-08-01_12-01-46 by Paul Pashley, on Flickr

 

[Vance Wood]

Yours looked quite similar to mine as raw material - a bit gangly with floppy foliage (see post #21 which was planted then dug up and restyled)

Dug up
2018-08-01_12-00-49 by Paul Pashley, on Flickr

As it looks now:
2018-08-01_12-01-46 by Paul Pashley, on Flickr

Potentially a great tree given a bit of time and some skillful maneuvering.

 

[defra]

Tree is repotted
Planted way more upright and the left branch is removed it Wil either become a Jin or completely removed but time will tell!

Its being treated against aphids but other than that it's doing fine!

 

[Dav4]

Much better! I'd consider reducing the cut-off branch/future jin considerably as I really like the negative space created when you cut that branch off.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Man, you have aphids as well? Those black/brown ones?
I have never seen those before on junipers, didn't even suspect that junipers could be affected.
Looking good though!

 

[defra]

Man, you have aphids as well? Those black/brown ones?
I have never seen those before on junipers, didn't even suspect that junipers could be affected.
Looking good though!

Black brown indeed
Never had them in my juniperus too but climate is changeing huh?
Gonna spray with promanal-r tonight and repeat in two weeks should do the trick

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Hey Dennis, did you get rid of the aphids? How is this tree doing?