Big squamata

[Reece]

Really really nice......

[bodhidharma]

Looks really nice. Well done, keep an eye on it for drying out foliage as these are notorious for dieback. Maybe give it a spray with copper oxychlorate.

[Real Bonsai]

very nice tree

[dansai]

Looking good Kez.

2 things that I can see (keep in mind I have little experience with Juni's and it's hard from a single photo)
- the foliage on the left and right could finish at different levels
- the branches in the top part of the tree appear to descend steeply, whereas the bottom left branch is much straighter. It's a bit hard to tell whats happening with the right branch, but it looks like it goes up then curves over and down?!

But awesome work none the less. Maybe some experienced eyes looking at it in person could give better fine tuning advice.

[Timothy]

Hi kez. Stunning tree. I don't have a lot of experience with junipers , or i'm very tentative at least . Did you do a lot of root work ? If yes , is it not a big risk ? (for the season)

[kez]

Thanks for the replies and kind words folks,

Dansai,

Bit hard to tell from the pic but all branches do come down in sympathy, that being said lately with junipers I have been trying harder to create shape with the foliage pads rather than by arranging branches like one would on a deciduous tree. Keep in mind that this will fill in and branches will become for most part hidden.

For anyone stuck in rigidity regarding rules on form, take a look at some of the trees out there that on the surface appear to be very well styled and see how many rules are broken upon closer inspection, you will be surprised

In person this tree is also much more orderly, hard to convey it in photos I'm afraid, the left foliage also starts slightly lower than the right, but I agree with what you say.

Timothy,

This is the start one of the seasons that juni's can be potted here, I am in a temperate region climate wise and the temps have been quite mild for the last couple of weeks. Regarding the amount of root removal, yes it was alot, but with the right aftercare I am not worried, and as I learnt over the summer, we can do all the styling in the world on our trees, but at some point to become bonsai they must go into a pot.

Once again thanks folks,

Kerrin

[kez]

Today I did some more work on this tree,

There had been a few things that had been bugging me and I had thought a few times about trying to rectify them but the size of the tree, amount of wire on it and volume of work has meant that I have put it off.

Yesterday I was mowing the lawn and something about the view of this tree from the back struck me so I made my mind up and decided today I would do what I could. The issues I wanted to address were the amount of branches in front of the trunk, the lack of back branches, the heavy apex and the uniformity in the foliage pads.

I ended up removing a couple of heavy branches, rewired and re placed some branches and here is the result

IMG_3738 (1024x683).jpg

I would love to hear any thoughts on whether you think this is am improvement,

Cheers,

Kerrin

[Reece]

[Elmar]

Nice tree Kerrin.

Just wondering if it is meant to have so much trunk? As in be so tall...

I don't know much about the trees you have chosen to specialise in, so forgive my question.


Cheers
EZ

[kez]

sorry elmar but I think you are putting to much store on what is "meant to be

The tree is "meant to be" styled in such a way that is is pleasing to look at, to say is it meant to have so much trunk implies that there is a rule saying that junipers shouldn't have this much trunk, or that trees shouldnt be this tall, or that the tree has to have this much of this in order to have this much of that etc. To say that you don't know much about the trees I "specialise in" implies that these trees should be styled a certain way, and as you have no experience with them you can't make an assessment of the way it is styled.

A tree should be styled in such a way as to look good as far as I am concerned, regardless of species. If you wanted to follow set rules then the first branch should hit around a third of the way up the trunk, which this does, but that is besides the point as I had no intention of following any rules, I just want my tree to look good to me, I just thought it relevant as this is an example of what a tree is meant to have.

Whether the tree has to much trunk or not is a matter of opinion, opinion which you are entitled to have, and of which I asked for. If you feel this tree is too tall then to you it is, regardless of whether I meant it to be this tall or not. If every tree fell into a category of what should or shouldn't be, then everything that was considered a good tree (that is to say had everything a tree was meant to have) would all look the same, and anything that did not have these things would automatically be a bad tree, regardless of whether it was pleasing to look at. This is not bonsai as I hope to practice it.

Cheers,
Kerrin

[Elmar]

Sorry mate,
I meant no disrespect! I follow your posts as a given as I tend to like what you do; this question came to me so I asked.

As I started off, I like the tree.

Once again,
My apology if I put it in such a way to have upset you.


Cheers
EZ

[kez]

Not upset at all, just trying to give a different perspective

[macca66]

[kez]

Just a shot from across the garden

IMG_3866 (1024x683).jpg

Hope you all enjoy

Kerrin

[mountainman]

look's a bit top heavy,refinement needs to be done.