small juniper

[catfish chapstick]

i'm relatively new to this but i'm having fun
about 9cm from the soil. seems to be healthy.
j. virginiana

what i want is to wire the branches :/
should i just throw it out? is it too wimpy??

 

[Ross]

what i want is to wire the branches :/
should i just throw it out? is it too wimpy??

Don't throw it out Where did you get this one?

 

[Klytus]

Brootal,lol.

 

[the3rdon]

I would throw it out... I mean send it to me and I'll throw it out for u.

Haha! That tree has nice movement, keep workin on it.

 

[treebeard55]

I'm closer -- OK, I'm not.

This tree has definite potential as a shohin: nice trunk movement, decent taper, enough branches. Collected?

 

[HotAction]

Wow, looks good, and nice pictures as well. How long have you been at this, and how did you come across this material? (collected?) Also, what are the dimensions? If it is healthy enough go ahead and put a bit of wire on that bad boy.

-Dave

 

[grouper52]

That's a nice little tree! You're off to a good start. And yes, the photography is nicely done as well!

 

[catfish chapstick]

thanks for the responses! i'm glad if you like it.

its about 9cm from the soil, the pot is about 5cm wide at the rim, and the tree's canopy is about 8cm at its widest point.

this small juniper was collected from a rocky slope in northern kentucky, 2008. i have a few others collected around the same time.

in spring i put some wire on to get the branches more horizontal but i have no idea where to go from here so i'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions. shouldn't the branches have more downward movement eventually? i want it to look like a real tree!

here are the other angles.

 

[catfish chapstick]

here is another small one

 

[catfish chapstick]

finally got it wired. probably pretty sloppy...

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

finally got it wired. probably pretty sloppy...

For being a newer learner, it's not sloppy at all... looks nice.

I know it's very cool to have trees in bonsai pots... but one thing you may want to consider is letting them have more growing room in significantly oversized bonsai pots, or in pond baskets etc. Keeping developing trees in bonsai pots slows them down greatly. That's one reason it's nice to have a variety of trees to work on, some more advanced than others... so that you have some things to work on to develop your advanced styling techniques, and others you work on your horticulture and structure building.

It'll be a very enjoyable shohin, though don't be surprised if you outgrow it aesthetically speaking. I think you've got a natural talent, so as your eye matures in the art, the caliber of tree you want to work on will progress as well.

I look forward to watching your progress, thanks for joining us....

Kindest regards,

Victrinia

 

[Bill S]

Catfish, ditto what Victrinia had to say. I will add that you should spend some time looking at other bonsai, and bonsai picture galleries, as well as good ole Mother Nature. The styling aspect comes with vision, yours or whomever should work on the tree. The more visual memory you have to work with the esier it is to style a tree. Having seen a lot of good bonsai gives you a base for working on your own.

Good start.

 

[october]

Hello catfish chapstick... I will say that for someone new to the art, you seem to be grasping the concepts of balance and movement quite well. The material you are working with is young, so you have done all you can to it for now. Now, you can apply what you have learned to older material.

One thing I can tell you, on branches that you want to thicken up.... It is a good idea to let that particular branch and foliage grow, somewhat, freely, without pruning. If the branch is left alone to grow, it will thicken faster than if you prune it. If you trim the folaige and the branch, it will slow the growth of that branch. Branches that are relatively as thck as you want and in the right proportions, can be trimmed up. However, overall, with younger material..generally, the whole tree should be left to grow somewhat...Once again... good eye structure.

I hope this was helpful

Rob

 

[catfish chapstick]

thankyou Victrinia, Bill, and Rob, for sharing your insights. gives me a lot to ponder. it had crossed my mind that it could one day outgrow itself aesthetically. could i not take measures to prevent that or is it doomed?? i don't want it to thicken up quickly so i thought the small pot slowing it down would help keep internodes as short as possible. when it was in a larger pot it grew very quickly. plus i was under the impression that the smaller pot could somehow help the plant develope adult foliage. i will let it grow out but i don't know if i can resist thinning it for fear or it outgrowing its delicate taper.

here is the pot it was in before

 

[october]

Have you heard the term. a watched pot never boils...lol........ you can sometimes apply this to junipers

Actually, it is very likely, that even in 3 years or more, you will look at this tree and say..hmmmmmm, doesn't look like it's really thickened up at all. so speedy growth and losing your taper and proportions, isn't really a big deal, at this point.....The secret is actually to have many trees..... Good material though. Just having a bunch of trees is not the answer.. It is the situation of having different projects to work on which makes it easier to have patience.. Thats how the masters do. It is relatively easy to train a tree for 10-20 years when you have got 300 more that need your attention.

Rob

 

[64jein]

Beautiful and delicate, great job

 

[Vance Wood]

I too think you have demonstrated a really good eye, and in reality that's an important part of the entire process. If there is one lesson you could benefit from at this point is not to feel guilty if you find a tree that seems to not need a lot of work, just a little chiseling off rough edges. Don't feel that it is necessary to do too much to a tree. Let your eye be your guide and lean to trust it.

From that point you will discover where you need to be aggressive and where you need to say look what I found after all you other guys walked right by it. I have seen more than one really fine piece of material ruined by the compulsion to hack and slash away at a nearly recognizable bonsai rendering it down into what is politely called a potential bonsai. There is no crime in finding a nice tree and realizing that it just needs a pot and a little artistic tweaking to make it into a bonsai.

 

[catfish chapstick]

I too think you have demonstrated a really good eye, and in reality that's an important part of the entire process. If there is one lesson you could benefit from at this point is not to feel guilty if you find a tree that seems to not need a lot of work, just a little chiseling off rough edges. Don't feel that it is necessary to do too much to a tree. Let your eye be your guide and lean to trust it.

From that point you will discover where you need to be aggressive and where you need to say look what I found after all you other guys walked right by it. I have seen more than one really fine piece of material ruined by the compulsion to hack and slash away at a nearly recognizable bonsai rendering it down into what is politely called a potential bonsai. There is no crime in finding a nice tree and realizing that it just needs a pot and a little artistic tweaking to make it into a bonsai.

thank you. this is what the tree looked like the day i collected it. all i did was reduce the height, trim the branches and wire twice. i have never been involved in any bonsai clubs, have never seen a demo except in photos, and literally not know anyone in life that practices bonsai. i hope that those things give me a fresh perspective. what knowledge i do have comes from the internet and hands-on experience.

 

[Anonymous User]

These appear to be Eastern Red-cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and nice material. The foliage should be turning purplish about now. Nice work!



Will

 

[catfish chapstick]

These appear to be Eastern Red-cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and nice material. The foliage should be turning purplish about now. Nice work!



Will

thanks Will

thats exactly what it is. i don't understand why more people don't collect these... strong grower. i only collected it last december and immedietly started working on it, so this week really marks its one year progression from ground to pot. i'm suprised how fast its developed. these can be collected virtually year-round! someday i'll post some of the others.

it is purple now!