Newb! first procumbens juniper *advice please*

[Jamie.bonsai]

Hi all the names jamie and im fairly new to bonsai and I'm after some tips and adice on how to care for the tree i just picked up.... also looking for some input on styling... thanks heaps for any replies

[Daluke]

What are you thinking?

[Jamie.bonsai]

Honestly have no idea but seemed like a good buy. had my eye on it for a few weeks, the price got dropped and the plant looks quite healthy... just looking for some opinions from some more knowledgeable people

[tgward]

if you can get some major bends happening and let the base fatten up -possibly an interesting literati

the trunk seems to have a couple of reverse tapers--so possibly two air layers and have three smaller trees ..........or something else

[Daluke]

I didn't mean to insinuate it was a poor buy, what I meant was what ideas do you have?

[benbonsai]

Haha^^
I knew what you meant

[Jamie.bonsai]

Hahaha all good Daluke! Didnt take it in a bad way the pics aren't the best. Been thinking about what to do with this tree all day I had a good look at the trunk today and its pretty much the same thickness the whole way up to the top side of the bend then narrows under the top... I like the height but as you had suggested it does need a bit more structure to the trunk and the foliage on the branches needs a bit more filling out... i may try and bend the trunk a fair bit more where the bends are already which should drop the height a bit. Then twist the top a bit and also maybe a repot onto more of an angle...

Not really sure on what "style/catagory" that would fall into though... Thoughts?

Also wondering if i shortened the branchs around the center, whats the best way to beef up the foliage to be more pad like?

Gonna keep it in a grow pot for the next few years to let it fatten up some more, I appreciate any and as much input on this tree as i can get!!

Will get some more detailed pictures tonight to show the branches and trunk

[shibui]

whats the best way to beef up the foliage to be more pad like?

Time and pruning are the only ways I know of. Plenty of feed, water and optimum care will speed the process fractionally. Junipers are just slow to develop.

Not really sure on what "style/catagory" that would fall into though... Thoughts?

It does not matter which style it fits into. All the styles grade into the next and sometimes you can have a combination. The name of the style does not matter anywhere near as much as whether it looks good.

[Jamie.bonsai]

Thanks heaps mate, really helped with all that i needed and i think ill start with checking out the roots and maybe getting it into a bigger pot to thicken up some more... when is the best time for this and some wiring n bending?

[Jag001]

Hi Jamie,

let me start by saying you have a good tree there to start with.

If you are relatively new to bonsai Juniper Procumbens are an excellent tree to learn some valuable lessons. In its current form it has some appealing movement in the trunk (perhaps a little monotonous as the curves are all of similar shape and radii), a reasonable basic branch structure, in so much as it is fairly typical pre-bonsai material that has been pruned and trained in a basic structure awaiting the new owner to further select the final branch structure and commence secondary and tertiary branching. It also appears to have a good volume of healthy foliage, so you have a lot to work with.

I guess what you need to ask yourself when deciding what to do with this tree is what is it you want to achieve!

You could develop this tree from where it is with basic pruning and wiring and end up with a very attractive looking bonsai, that may have some faults but still look visually pleasing.

However if you want a tree that is truly outstanding then it would require a significant amount of work and some fairly harsh decisions to be made.

As has already been pointed out, this tree has a trunk which lacks taper. If we take a closer look, after the forth trunk curve the remainder of the main trunk is relatively straight to the apex. I suspect (cannot see clearly) that the main trunk has then been bent downward to effectively form a branch. As can been seen in the picture the apex of the tree is very heavy with foliage and this will in the long term cause the lower branches to develop slowly or even die off. It will also exacerbate the problem of a trunk lacking taper as all of the energy will be drawn up the main trunk to support the heavy foliage pad and cause the whole length of the trunk to thicken. Also if the main trunk which I suggested may have been bent downward to form a branch is allow to grow unchecked this will only cause that branch to thicken more than the lower branches.

I suspect it already is thicker than any of the lower 3 or 4 branches on the tree.

So I suggest take a long hard think about what your future outcome for this tree is, because that will have a huge impact on the design choices you need to make at this stage!.

cheers,
Jeff

[Jamie.bonsai]

Thanks jeff, thanks for your input and you are correct about the apex being longer and larger than the rest... to fix this problem is it as simple as deciding on the desired lenth and position and just cut it back and wire it in place?

Also i am thinking there are to many branchs aound the middle on the left

[shibui]

maybe getting it into a bigger pot to thicken up some more... when is the best time for this and some wiring n bending?

You can wire and bend at any time of the year. Some people avoid early spring when the trees are actively growing but I have not noticed any problems at that stage.
I generally root prune and repot from mid winter through to mid spring but I see other very experienced bonsai growers are repotting in autumn and achieving excellent results. I suspect that junipers can be repotted any time of year, especially if you don't chop too much off, but I have not tried this yet.

Also i am thinking there are to many branchs aound the middle on the left

You have not yet specified a front so we can't tell which branches are on the 'left' There are far too many branches all over this tree but you are the one who needs to decide what looks good.

[Jamie.bonsai]

Thanks for the advice shibui, i will have some time this weekend to sit down and decide what will look best for this tree... will also decide on how much more of an angle i want to achieve and how many branches will go!

[Jamie.bonsai]

Have had some time to think about what i am goin to do with my tree ( Also heavily inspired by benbonsai's "Big squamata" thread) i started by re-potting onto an angle so when it comes time to start the bending process ( I'm thinking about adding 30°+ to bend 2 3 and 4) it will end up in an upright position...

Will be cutting back the apex soon then will let it rest and grow trough out the next few months...

Blanked out the branches i intent to remove, going to leave a couple small branches to try my hand at some jin's... lines drawn where the small branches will be bent for jin's...

Any more input is welcome as this is my first attempt at a major overhaul

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[Jamie.bonsai]

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