Styling advice for shimpaku
- Thread starter Rid
- Start date
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
I have a number of shimpaku pre-bonsai like this one, and they are usually not going to be "instant bonsai". When they get leggy like this with thick branches and most of the foliage at the branch tips you have to watch how much you chop off, how quickly, because it is easy to kill the tree if you prune off too much in one session. Try to take off no more than 50% of the total foliage mass without letting it rest and regain strength. Make sure you don't remove any interior buds right now, because they may be the future branch structure of this tree.
First step is the lowest branch, which you would only want to keep if you were thinking of a semi or full cascade. I don't think this is the best tree for a cascade, but it is still young enough you could try to bend it down. If you went this route, be extremely careful because the crotch between the first branch and the trunk is very weak and already appears to have a healed split in it. It will require an extremely light touch to bend that branch into a cascade without applying stress to that crotch and splitting it.
Rather, I think you need to think in terms of that first branch going away longer term. Because it is so substantial you won't want to try to cut it flush with the trunk, rather when you do remove it (in a few years) consider leaving a jin as a design element. So if you agree the first branch is going to go longer term, right now I would look up that branch to the first place it splits, and you will see it splits into three branches. You typically want your tree structure to split into twos, so I would go to that junction and remove the largest of the three branches - leaving two behind. This will weaken that first low branch without stressing the tree overmuch.
Next I would look at the remaining branches and determine my main trunk line and the front of my design. Make sure you look at the tree from all sides, and consider leaning it one way or other in the pot. The trunk line may not follow one main branch, but may in fact go up a branch, shift to a second branch, and then be a tertiary branch that you wire upwards. An effective design trick with a juniper is to choose a shorter branch to the side of the apex as a new apex (that you might have to wire upwards), and jin the old apex. In this way you can shorten the tree while adding interest and a sense of age.
Once you have determined your front and main trunk line, try to leave as much foliage as possible (for now) along this line even if you don't plan on keeping it longer term. Now clean up and wire all all the other branches, pruning away bad branches and reducing outer foliage and opening up the design to allow sun and light into your interior buds. These secondary branches are what you want to reduce - and you don't want to leave any branch as long as the main trunk or as tall as the new apex.
Now step back and let the tree rest for a year. In a perfect world the main trunk will gain much more strength because you left more foliage on it and kept it larger and taller than all other branches. Additionally your interior buds should be longer and stronger giving you confidence to push the outline in a little more. Be sure to wire new growth and not let it run away from you. Ultimately you want to eliminate all the big branches except the main trunk line and replace them with newer, thinner growth... but this is a long process. However if you take this type of conservative approach, you won't kill the tree.
First step is the lowest branch, which you would only want to keep if you were thinking of a semi or full cascade. I don't think this is the best tree for a cascade, but it is still young enough you could try to bend it down. If you went this route, be extremely careful because the crotch between the first branch and the trunk is very weak and already appears to have a healed split in it. It will require an extremely light touch to bend that branch into a cascade without applying stress to that crotch and splitting it.
Rather, I think you need to think in terms of that first branch going away longer term. Because it is so substantial you won't want to try to cut it flush with the trunk, rather when you do remove it (in a few years) consider leaving a jin as a design element. So if you agree the first branch is going to go longer term, right now I would look up that branch to the first place it splits, and you will see it splits into three branches. You typically want your tree structure to split into twos, so I would go to that junction and remove the largest of the three branches - leaving two behind. This will weaken that first low branch without stressing the tree overmuch.
Next I would look at the remaining branches and determine my main trunk line and the front of my design. Make sure you look at the tree from all sides, and consider leaning it one way or other in the pot. The trunk line may not follow one main branch, but may in fact go up a branch, shift to a second branch, and then be a tertiary branch that you wire upwards. An effective design trick with a juniper is to choose a shorter branch to the side of the apex as a new apex (that you might have to wire upwards), and jin the old apex. In this way you can shorten the tree while adding interest and a sense of age.
Once you have determined your front and main trunk line, try to leave as much foliage as possible (for now) along this line even if you don't plan on keeping it longer term. Now clean up and wire all all the other branches, pruning away bad branches and reducing outer foliage and opening up the design to allow sun and light into your interior buds. These secondary branches are what you want to reduce - and you don't want to leave any branch as long as the main trunk or as tall as the new apex.
Now step back and let the tree rest for a year. In a perfect world the main trunk will gain much more strength because you left more foliage on it and kept it larger and taller than all other branches. Additionally your interior buds should be longer and stronger giving you confidence to push the outline in a little more. Be sure to wire new growth and not let it run away from you. Ultimately you want to eliminate all the big branches except the main trunk line and replace them with newer, thinner growth... but this is a long process. However if you take this type of conservative approach, you won't kill the tree.
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Like BNut, I’d probably head it back, making cuts about where the red lines are. Half now, and when the cuts have resulted in new growth at those branches, I’d cut the remaining. You want to force growth back closer to the trunk, and keep branches emerging in pairs, not 3s. Pick a trunk line at some point, and next spring, you’ll have some new shoots to wire as branches.
Rid
Shohin
Wow, thanks guys. As always y’all go above and beyond with providing your expertise.
