Removing Juniper Bark

[Excalipoor]

Hey all,

Got this nice One seed juniper for a great deal. I am currently removing the bark carefully. I have two questions:

First, are these the remains of termites? (First two pictures)

Second question, how do I know when I’ve completely removed the bark? I’m seeing two shades of red. A cinnamon red and a pinkish red. Do I stop when I see the pinkish red live vein?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

If you continue past the pink, you should find white.
I've come across various shades of cinnamon and found that there were four layers below. If you hit the white, you know the layer above it is the final one.

Actively forming saw dust patches are a sign of an active infestation. I don't get termites here but I have seen borer beetle larvae that I had to dig out. The tunnels were about two inches long, but squiggled all across the trunk. It was not pretty. I looked up some data and tried permethrin spray (for silverfish) inside the holes and it worked for the local species of beetle, but I don't know if it can be universally applied.

 

[Shibui]

I don't see termite damage in the pics.

We remove bark for different reasons - to create shari, to improve the look of live parts. The tree already has good shari so I'm guessing you are just cleaning the older bark from the live section, aiming to keep that area live.
Juniper bark is actually quite a bit thicker than we imagine. Under the reddish bark is white (phloem). That layer is important because it transports food (carbohydrates) around the tree and down to the roots but phloem is relatively quickly replaced from the cambium if damaged so a little scrape here and there should not endanger the tree. Under that is cambium which is the reproductive part. Provided you don't go through the white it should still be OK.
Stop peeling when the trunk looks nice.

 

[Excalipoor]

@Wires_Guy_wires @Shibui

Thank you both

Here is my progression so far. I’ve managed to nick the live vein a little and I covered those areas with cut paste to keep it moist.

Still need to do a lot of cleaning and take out some more bark on the more difficult areas. The pros make this look easy or maybe I’m just bad at bonsai /shrug

 

[Shibui]

Nicking the live bark won't hurt. Small cuts will just heal over anyway.
Are you planning to continue out onto the smaller branches?

FYI. I don't bother cleaning juniper trunks now. I tried it, but prefer the more natural, aged look of flaky bark. Also frustrated that, after all the work, the bark soon reverts to grey again so now I just let them be natural.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Nice work! I'm bad at bonsai too, because whenever I start removing bark I stop after two hours.
Even though there's six more hours of peeling and sanding ahead of me, I give up.

Did two larger trees entirely, twice. Nowadays I do it maintenance wise: crotches, bends, flaking stuff, bark that looks like it doesn't fit the rest, but that's it. If I ever want to enter a plant in a show, I'll put in the extra work. Until then, I have more fun stuff to do.

 

[Excalipoor]

Nicking the live bark won't hurt. Small cuts will just heal over anyway.
Are you planning to continue out onto the smaller branches?

FYI. I don't bother cleaning juniper trunks now. I tried it, but prefer the more natural, aged look of flaky bark. Also frustrated that, after all the work, the bark soon reverts to grey again so now I just let them be natural.

Yes, I'm planning to stop after getting the bark out of these branches that split from the trunk.

This juniper looks better with the bark on but the person I bought it from suggested I do it and I wanted to check for insects hiding beneath the bark. I will probably leave the bark on next time.

Nice work! I'm bad at bonsai too, because whenever I start removing bark I stop after two hours.
Even though there's six more hours of peeling and sanding ahead of me, I give up.

Did two larger trees entirely, twice. Nowadays I do it maintenance wise: crotches, bends, flaking stuff, bark that looks like it doesn't fit the rest, but that's it. If I ever want to enter a plant in a show, I'll put in the extra work. Until then, I have more fun stuff to do.

Yeah I stopped after two hours as well, my body started to hurt lol... Maybe I need a height adjustable bonsai turntable in the future.

 

[Ruddigger]

I suggest the hydraulic lift cart from Harbor Freight. It’s invaluable for moving large trees and having an adjustable work table. I have two now.