Procumbens Nana Ideas

[Scriv]

Hey guys,

My wife bought me this Garden Juniper as a Christmas gift and I was hoping for some feedback on what directions I might be able to take this in.

As you'll see in the photos, the tree already went through an initial styling years ago at the place she bought it from, and there are essentially two trunks emanating from what currently looks like a big knot at the base. The vertical trunk was clearly wired at one point, while the other was allowed to just creep horizontally unimpeded -- or so it seems. The second trunk is coming out of the base at an almost 90 degree angle (180 degrees from the main trunk) and is currently functioning as more of a branch as there is very little foliage on the right side of the tree. Right now it stands about 12 inches tall and the diameter of the vertical trunk is roughly 1.5 inches near the base with a modest taper as it continues upward.

I've been trying to find a comparable looking tree to draw inspiration from, but I honestly haven't seen any other Procumbens Nana with a similar structure.

Any ideas or guidance on how to approach an initial styling this tree would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Looks straightforward to me, keep both trunks and try to make the movement and the pads flow between them, a nice semicascade pot and should be a awesome tree

 

[sorce]

I'd want to dig down and find what angle is going to make the base look more connected to the soil, rather than uncomfortably floating above it.

This should determine everything else.

Sorce

 

[Shibui]

I would also start with the roots but for junipers nebari is not quite so important so roots is not make or break this time.
Really hard to style juniper long distance as it is so hard to check where branches start and finish under all the foliage. Looks to me there are plenty of possibilities though. I know it is easier to copy another tree when starting but it does not matter if there are other trees this shape. Each tree can, and should, be an individual and different.

Just from what I can see I'd consider a couple of possible styles;
Windswept toward the right making use of both main trunks but thinning out the dense branching and foliage.
Informal upright - with or without the lower trunk. From the angles shown I'm not sure if the apex of the main trunk should be moved back further to the left or if it would still be OK as is.
And that's just from the one side you have showed. There is bound to be more options when the tree is checked in person.
Also look at other trunk angles before deciding. As mentioned, juniper roots are not critical in design so junipers can be tilted in any direction, even all the way over to cascade if you want and check all angles from all other sides as well.

Always consider converting redundant branches to jins on junipers. Shari can also add a lot of interest to trunks and can help give taper to otherwise untapered trunks.
Branches can be redirected to fill spaces and 'dropped' branches can fill lower spaces if necessary but don't always look for balance or symmetry. Junipers are so much more striking when asymmetric.

This is the sort of material with lots of possibilities I would consider taking to a workshop to get some more experienced points of view.

Ultimately any tree can only be styled in one shape so don't let lots of options stop you making decisions. If you can't decide between several options that just means all are equally good so it does not matter which one you choose. What is important is to get on and start working toward one (any one) of the possible trees within.

 

[Scriv]

I would also start with the roots but for junipers nebari is not quite so important so roots is not make or break this time.
Really hard to style juniper long distance as it is so hard to check where branches start and finish under all the foliage. Looks to me there are plenty of possibilities though. I know it is easier to copy another tree when starting but it does not matter if there are other trees this shape. Each tree can, and should, be an individual and different.

Just from what I can see I'd consider a couple of possible styles;
Windswept toward the right making use of both main trunks but thinning out the dense branching and foliage.
Informal upright - with or without the lower trunk. From the angles shown I'm not sure if the apex of the main trunk should be moved back further to the left or if it would still be OK as is.
And that's just from the one side you have showed. There is bound to be more options when the tree is checked in person.
Also look at other trunk angles before deciding. As mentioned, juniper roots are not critical in design so junipers can be tilted in any direction, even all the way over to cascade if you want and check all angles from all other sides as well.

Always consider converting redundant branches to jins on junipers. Shari can also add a lot of interest to trunks and can help give taper to otherwise untapered trunks.
Branches can be redirected to fill spaces and 'dropped' branches can fill lower spaces if necessary but don't always look for balance or symmetry. Junipers are so much more striking when asymmetric.

This is the sort of material with lots of possibilities I would consider taking to a workshop to get some more experienced points of view.

Ultimately any tree can only be styled in one shape so don't let lots of options stop you making decisions. If you can't decide between several options that just means all are equally good so it does not matter which one you choose. What is important is to get on and start working toward one (any one) of the possible trees within.

Thank you for the detailed feedback!

I decided to just start by separating the pads of foliage and made decisions as I went along. I chose this as the front for now, based on the movement of the vertical trunk. Then whipped the branch coming straight forward out to the right towards the second trunk. As it stands now, the pad of that branch is level with the pad second trunk and blends with it as well. Not sure that is the best aesthetic choice, but I wasn't sure what else to do. I decided to leave the jins that came with the tree alone as I can always refine those as time goes on.

One thing I noticed is how the bottom of the foliage pads on the lower half seem to sit at a 45 degree angle whereas the apex and branches on the upper half are more horizontal. I'm assuming that is not aesthetically ideal, right? Should I look to wire the ends of those branches up so it looks more geometrically uniform?

Any more thoughts/feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Shibui]

You appear to have already chosen a front and style so maybe not a lot of point asking for ideas???

Those lowest branches could become a problem when this tree goes in a bonsai pot. The lowest branch looks like it will run almost along the soil so maybe too low for this tree. he other part of that lowest branch/trunk appear to rise up at a different angle to the main trunk and then comes close to the branch above it. I think that interferes with the space outlined by the main trunk and branch above. The alternative to moving branches into a new position is to just remove them or convert to jin. Without being able to see the tree in person I'm inclined to think the lower branch/es are actually redundant. I know it can be traumatic for beginners to remove entire branches, more so when those branches are significant but often it can be the best move.
Try to imagine what it would look like without those.

One thing I noticed is how the bottom of the foliage pads on the lower half seem to sit at a 45 degree angle whereas the apex and branches on the upper half are more horizontal. I'm assuming that is not aesthetically ideal, right? Should I look to wire the ends of those branches up so it looks more geometrically uniform?

I cannot make out what this means but usually reasonable uniformity through a tree is good but there's often some minor differences from lower branches to apex.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

I dont like how these lines flow almost parallel, maybe bend or eliminate the lower trunk