Literati Juniper - Entry No#1

[kvan64]

Species: Juniper Squamata
Date Obtained: Monday 26 Oct
Cost: $18
Height: ~50cm
Trunk size: 15mm from base - very little taper
Reason of choice: Cost effective, reasonable flexibility and dense upper folliage (hard to establish well within a year time with other species)
Additional Information:
My original sketch was drawn to accommodate the existing movement of the elongated trunk. I thought that exaggerated movement and dramatic change in direction would assist in shortening the appearance of the trunk. After discussing with Jamie, we agreed that the movement seems to be a bit "forced" (thank you Jamie). I also found Jamie's sketch to have more natural movement near the base of the trunk. I finally decided to combine the positive points from the two sketches. I.e. less forced movements and also keeping the sharp kick near the apex.
Yesterday, I started cleaning out the unwanted branches and wiring the trunk and realized that it is harder and less flexible than I thought so grafting tape was applied and I also doubled the 2.5mm wire. I also realized that most of the folliage were not in the correct places and the design didn't look like intended shape (This is my first major wiring ever). In frustration, I stopped half way.
I attempted wiring again today and after a few attempts, I had the idea, asking myself: "is it possible to combine windswept style to literati?" I still haven't got the answer and just hope that it won't be disqualified
Any way, this is what it turned out to be. I think the next step would be removing more branches and creating some jins. Any suggestion is much appreciated.

[kvan64]

Below is Jamie's sketch for my tree. Thanks Jamie!

[Jamie]

first off, no drama's mate

second the initial style has turned out well, i do agree with do though, dont worry about calling it "windswept" it is simply bunjingi, whether it has a slant, cascade or more upright, the style is just bunjingi(literati) i am sure pup will push this point

i think the 2 bottom branches arent necessary for sure. turning them into jin will cause drama because you wont have much actually wood to play with once the bark has been taken off

where you have the red line in the apex to take off/turn to jin, i wouldnt, that will come in handy later on in refinement.

this is interesting, someone else has entered a pine and the lean is going to the left hand side as a preferred viewing angle, (i think, i cant remember who's it is, sorry ) i found the opposite side more appealing, it worked for me more.
on yours which is leaning to the right, it looks more unrealistic than the opposite that is leaning to the left.
in other words i think your back should be your front, then with some tweaking it will be quite convincing

thats just my opinion anyways

jamie

[kvan64]

Thanks ant and jamie for your encouragement. I'll do some research on styles and give it a go as suggested. I'll also consider the backside as well. It's interesting that when we try to do the front, we sometime overdo things and make it unatural whereas the back become better just because we didn't pay much attention to it

[kvan64]

hi great start to the tree the only thing i can notice is that it looks very right sided have you toyed with dropping just a couple of short branches back and down to the left maybe the 3rd and 5th or 6th just a thought or just tell me to jump
like i said tho great start very aged look for its actual age

Thank you for the suggestion Dayne. I will definitely drop a few branches as mentioned when the tree has recovered. I have also changed the direction the initial movement to create more dramatic looks. There is some bark damage from the excessive use of the homemade trunk bender (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2714 ) but will heal relatively easily.

Edit: The plant now looks more like a windswept than literati at the moment and at some stage I want to keep it that way and also thinking about withdrawing it from the competition.

[Jamie]

here ya go mate, heres a couple of options for ya both similar, one more upright ish the other more like its getting swept by the wind...

jamie

[kvan64]

Thanks Jamie, that looks a lot cleaner. I like the apex there too but it's a bit too skinny and won't be able to thicken within 12 months. I may need to loose it too.

[Jamie]

here ya go pal


any other requests ????????

jamie

[stymie]

I reckon that's the way if you're going Literati buddy.

[kvan64]

Thanks Jamie, that looks a lot cleaner. I like the apex there too but it's a bit too skinny and won't be able to thicken within 12 months. I may need to loose it too.

Just to Clarify it does not have to be fully developed. Some trees will take a lot longer than 12 months to get to there full potential.

We as Judges need to see the development potential and your ability to get it there. What is happening with this post is what we want to see.

Again well done and good luck Pup

Ps the banter that is not necessary please leave it out.

Thanks for clarification Pup. I'm much clearer in what I need to do now.

[kvan64]

Just realized that when I tried to twist the trunk around, some part of the wires got over-twisted and dented the bark. This will cause some scaring later on if not attended quick enough. It would cause the plant too much stress if I rewire it now. I've decided to just loosen the wires to sove the prob. This may affect the current shape of the design.

[kvan64]

looking great DK, if you are gonna go bunjin with it the you will need to lose some of the pads... the unfortunate thing is i like it like this too
i wouldnt be too concerned about scarring, one way or another you can make it work to you advantage, it could eventually be part of a shari

jamie

jamie, I will definitely lose a lot of the foliage. The only reason I keep them now is to try and fatten the branches of tree as much as possible.

[kvan64]

Just some more update. I've decided to repot the plant and also prun the roots. This probably the second last pot of this tree. This was done a couple weeks ago and the tree has recovered well. There are a lot more new growth than in these pics.

There are some issue that I hope I could get some good suggestions/comments here. It's the base of the trunk which was under the soil line that has no flare. My excessive bending has also cause some swelling at higher points. It's doesn't look too bad now but to improve the final image, there must be something done about this. I am thinking of two possibilities:
1- Trunk splitting at the base and inserting some object in between then cover with cut-paste.
2-unfinished airlaying (damamaging and healling - my failed airlaying of a crabapple project has caused a lot of swelling in the ring area has inspired some thought viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3155 )

What do you think guys???

[Pup]

Kvan, I see little of what you speak in the pictures. To me the progression is looking good so with out further ado.

Cheers and good luck Pup

[kvan64]

Kvan, I see little of what you speak in the pictures. To me the progression is looking good so with out further ado.

Cheers and good luck Pup

Thanks for the suggestion Pup. I just let it grow and got some new improvement for the folliage.