When to deadwood

[SantaFeBonsai]

Should I wait until all the pads have grown in? Late May early June is the time for creating Shari, correct?



I haven't finished wiring. My first attempt is taking far longer than expected and have no idea how to do an apex.

 

[Dav4]

Creating shari on a living trunk is best done during the growing period, so now would be fine. One other piece of advice is to take your time working the deadwood. The best man made sharis were created over years and years, removing some bark, allowing the tree to heal for a year or two, then reworking and expanding the feature. Simply removing the bark will give you a fairly featureless stripe of deadwood. You can remove fibers of the newly exposed wood to give texture, but it won't give you the rolling, muscled character that yamadori trunks have, which is exactly what we're trying to emulate. @Brian Van Fleet has a nice write up on developing shari on shimpaku and I'd give it a read before doing anything. God luck.

 

[SantaFeBonsai]

All great advise! Link to bvf?

 

[Dav4]

Go check out some of his progression threads on his junipers... it's in there somewhere.

 

[Lazylightningny]

Brian does juniper sharis using ovals, a little at a time.

 

[LanceMac10]

All great advise! Link to bvf?

https://nebaribonsai.wordpress.com/


https://www.bonsainut.com/forums/junipers.9/

 

[my nellie]

Brian does juniper sharis using ovals, a little at a time.

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/shimpaku-project.4389/

 

[zelk]

I'm super into shimpaku junipers so I appreciate the link. I'd encourage you to go slowly and keep your tools sharp and clean. You don't have to define the perimeter of your final outcome with the razor. I will just cut out a thin sliver down to the hardwood to start off.

Anyone wrap the new Shari with long fiber sphagnum moss to keep it from desiccation? I think this is particularly important on smaller trees