Shohin Okinawa Juniper

Shun

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Hello guys.. this is my newest project..

I'm still in doubt about the species and maybe some of you may know it!

It was sold as a 'hainezu' juniper.. which upon my searches is either Juniperus conferta (as the seller told me) or Juniperus lutchuensis (also known as juniperus taxifolia.. any pf you guys know what do I really have?




And here is the subject:



I've bought it for its potential but have not seen on the internet a good picture of a conferta/lutchuensis bonsai so I dont know how it will end up!

Any advices or criticisms I'm all ears!
 

Velodog2

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Well that certainly has potential! Will be fun to build foliage to balance the deadwood. Never heard of those species, but the needles look soft and lush. Reminds me of common juniper somewhat. All jelly here!
 

Shun

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Thanks guys! The foliage is soft to the touch. I've seen some shore junipers pictures and it does seem similar..

But I wonder why I havent seen any good bonsai pictures of a mature one... is it not good for bonsai?
 

petegreg

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... is it not good for bonsai?
I wouldn't say that. Interesting tree. The trunk looks good and a needle size is very acceptable. At least it's not prickly like common or tosho.

Trully this is the first time I see this juni species... Gather as much info as you can, like a type of foliage - whether it's a needle juniper or it can grow juvenile needles, watch it grow for a while and then you'll come to conclusion how to care and prune the tree.
 

Smoke

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They are not very popular because of the foliage. A shohin will be extra hard since the foliage is quite large and grows in tufts. I have seen a few larger trees of this type and they look OK but never really detailed. This one is nice but has been treated as a Tosho or foemina and is probably around 36 to 48 inches tall..

b1lenzp75jun.jpg
 

Shun

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Hey Smoke! Thanks for he picture but I believe it is not from the same species... the one in your pic has scale-like foliage..


I do believe it will be hard to pull off being the needles on this juniper on the large side, specially if I try to make it into a shohin / chuhin size
 

Velodog2

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It never occurred to me that the needle size would be a problem with this. They are not huge, and I think smaller than the ones in smokes pic (it is a little difficult to tell if those are needles or scale foliage, but I think needles).

Besides the larger needles I think smoke's example doesn't work well because it is attempting to appear as a very large tree seen from a long distance, where you would not expect to be able to see detail like individual needles. The tree that is the subject of this post will not have that problem, I think.
 

Shun

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So I've decided to remove the long branch and positioned some branches.

Now im going to fertilize it heavily and get it bushy to style and repot next season (we're in spring down here)

What do tou guys think? I still need more branching to make the apex and set a few pads but hopefully its going to come along in the next few years
 

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defra

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Nice !
I like the last pic as front awesome deadwood but also the live vein of the living side is visible
 

Shun

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Hello @defra ! thank you for your comment!

I`ve studied the tree for a bit and what makes it difficult to see on pictures on your choice of front is that all the tree is leaning away from that front, and I also believe the deadwood is poor compared to the current front! Even tilting the tree is hard to make do with that as a front.

The live vein really is more visible from that side but turning just a bit on the current front photo the live vein is also visible.

Maybe I will do a quick 360 of the tree so you guys can see what I mean!

Thanks again!

What do you guys think the pot should be? rectangular with lots of masculinity? stout feet and all? Anyone else suggest something different?
 

chicago1980

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So I've decided to remove the long branch and positioned some branches.

Now im going to fertilize it heavily and get it bushy to style and repot next season (we're in spring down here)

What do tou guys think? I still need more branching to make the apex and set a few pads but hopefully its going to come along in the next few years
I enjoy this tree
 

Vance Wood

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Thanks guys! The foliage is soft to the touch. I've seen some shore junipers pictures and it does seem similar..

But I wonder why I havent seen any good bonsai pictures of a mature one... is it not good for bonsai?
You don't see many Bristle Cone Pine bonsai either, it just means no one has produced a good one and limited availability.
 

Vance Wood

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It never occurred to me that the needle size would be a problem with this. They are not huge, and I think smaller than the ones in smokes pic (it is a little difficult to tell if those are needles or scale foliage, but I think needles).

Besides the larger needles I think smoke's example doesn't work well because it is attempting to appear as a very large tree seen from a long distance, where you would not expect to be able to see detail like individual needles. The tree that is the subject of this post will not have that problem, I think.
If you have access to the first Kimura book there is a Japanese Garden Juniper in the book that is quite nice with needle folieage.
 

Velodog2

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If you have access to the first Kimura book there is a Japanese Garden Juniper in the book that is quite nice with needle folieage.
I don’t have that book but I love needle junipers in general and find them far easier to style than scale junipers. I really like mature foeminas (or the like) with dense, graceful foliage pads, but I don’t seem to see them in pictures from shows very often these days.

Looking back I can’t tell if Smoke’s tree has needles or scales, but it is a beautiful tree and I regret sounding critical of it.
 

Adair M

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There ya go. I was wrong about what I said then.
Smoke has me on ignore, but I would like to know more about that particular tree if he knows anything about it. The foliage looks like shimpaku, which doesn’t usually grow on a straight trunk. In fact, the foliage looks like it was grafted on. Even the deadwood branches don’t look “natural” to me. They look as if they were created by drilling a hole in the trunk, and gluing them in.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the image it makes is beautiful! I just wonder how much of that tree was “engineered”. Whoever did it was really good.
 

Bonsai Nut

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I have two shore junipers by my koi pond. I cannot distinguish any difference between them and a "tosho" needle juniper that I got from Gary Ishii. I don't think Gary's tree is a true tosho like you would see in Japan because the needles are too soft. I have always heard that real tosho is quite prickly and the needles are stiff and can even draw blood like a cactus spine. I love the way it looks however even if it is not a true tosho.

The problem I have with my big shore junipers is they run long but don't put on any girth in the trunk. The larger of the two is at least 8' long and trails down to the koi pond where the koi munch on it and keep it short - otherwise I think it would try to grow across the top of the water. Yet the trunk caliper at the roots is probably only about an inch.
 
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