october
Masterpiece
This is a shimpaku juniper I have had for 4 years....It has 1 million problems...lol.....I saw it at the nursery 4 years ago, it had been almost compeletely stripped down (for a juniper) and repotted. It was for sale, but the nursery would not release it for at least 1 more month.
I liked the tree very much at the time, actually, still do, even with all the flaws. Anyway 4-5 years ago, I had about 3-4 years in bonsai. However, was not serious about it until year 4-5. I kind of didn't see all the flaws at the time.
Anyway, pic 1 is the tree shortly after purchase. The tree had grown out some and started to thicken in the foliage area almost immediately. The flaws are well hidden even in this first pic.. The flaws are as follows......first, the branch on the top right, underneath the branch that is directly under the apex, is not really there. It is not a side branch, it is front branch pulled over. The trunk has a nice base, but almost the entire middle section of the trunk is straight. Also, when the straight section ends, the trunk then curves abruptly to the right. Also, the apex, is not structured like the typical apex. The top of it is a branch that is swung over to the side so the side branches, so to speak, are forming the apex. Also, the first branch is a bit too thick and too straight for the design. Also, another problem the tree has is the that branches and foliage are facing to much towards the viewer. Unfortunately, I let it grow for a season and lost some of the design, not enough to make any big changes though. Most of it was lost in the apex, which I had to break up and divide into side branches and then an apex a couple months ago. It gives the tree a taller look as you can see the difference from the middle pics to the last one
I showed the tree to the owner of the nursery to which it was purchased 4 years ago, just so he could see it. At which point he proceeded to list and seemingly never ending list of things wrong with it....lol.......Even came up with a few flaws I didn't see...(Some were mentioned above).
Anyway, the owner had suggested doing some heavy work, maybe bending the straight part of the trunk with a bar etc......and some other suggestions.. However, before I do any serious work to it. I wanted to try a more subtle and natural approach. I have stripped down the whole tree and I am, essentially, starting from where it was 4 years ago. I am going to attempt to grow pads in the areas to mask the straight trunk and other issues. If the final result is at least satisfactory to me, I will keep that design, for a while. If not, I will explore other options.
Here is the 4 year progression
Any comments on the tree would be appreciated...
Rob
I liked the tree very much at the time, actually, still do, even with all the flaws. Anyway 4-5 years ago, I had about 3-4 years in bonsai. However, was not serious about it until year 4-5. I kind of didn't see all the flaws at the time.
Anyway, pic 1 is the tree shortly after purchase. The tree had grown out some and started to thicken in the foliage area almost immediately. The flaws are well hidden even in this first pic.. The flaws are as follows......first, the branch on the top right, underneath the branch that is directly under the apex, is not really there. It is not a side branch, it is front branch pulled over. The trunk has a nice base, but almost the entire middle section of the trunk is straight. Also, when the straight section ends, the trunk then curves abruptly to the right. Also, the apex, is not structured like the typical apex. The top of it is a branch that is swung over to the side so the side branches, so to speak, are forming the apex. Also, the first branch is a bit too thick and too straight for the design. Also, another problem the tree has is the that branches and foliage are facing to much towards the viewer. Unfortunately, I let it grow for a season and lost some of the design, not enough to make any big changes though. Most of it was lost in the apex, which I had to break up and divide into side branches and then an apex a couple months ago. It gives the tree a taller look as you can see the difference from the middle pics to the last one
I showed the tree to the owner of the nursery to which it was purchased 4 years ago, just so he could see it. At which point he proceeded to list and seemingly never ending list of things wrong with it....lol.......Even came up with a few flaws I didn't see...(Some were mentioned above).
Anyway, the owner had suggested doing some heavy work, maybe bending the straight part of the trunk with a bar etc......and some other suggestions.. However, before I do any serious work to it. I wanted to try a more subtle and natural approach. I have stripped down the whole tree and I am, essentially, starting from where it was 4 years ago. I am going to attempt to grow pads in the areas to mask the straight trunk and other issues. If the final result is at least satisfactory to me, I will keep that design, for a while. If not, I will explore other options.
Here is the 4 year progression
Any comments on the tree would be appreciated...
Rob