Hi, I’ve had this juniper squamata for ~1.5yrs and want some advice on the health and potential direction for this tree.
I’ve noticed some yellow tips on the outmost needles and wanted to know if this was due to from insufficient watering. It currently sits outside in full sun and gets brought in for watering 1 to maybe 2 times a day (in Sydney, have had some quite hot days).
Also I’m happy with the size of the treee and would like some advice on how to style the tree if it’s not dead. I’ve been mostly focused on learning about the tree and bonsai before pruning and styling it
It looks healthy enough to me. Squamata can be grown into a hundred different shapes. Maybe look at pictures of juniper bonsai and try to emulate one that you like? You will have to wire the shape you want before it thickens up. They rapidly loose flexibility as they get thicker.
I can't see any real problems either. There's possibly a few discoloured tips but not enough to be concerned about IMHO.
You are likely to start to see some brown needles low down on most shoots at some stage. That's normal as individual needles only have a lifespan of 2-3 years then they die and drop off. In order to maintain a bushy, compact tree long term we need to regularly trim the growing shoots to force them to make more side shoots back along the branches to provide new internal growth.
Style of this tree is in your hands. It has the potential to make almost any shape so you get to choose. It's pretty hard for us to offer suggestions as we can't clearly see where branches start and finish. Depth and 3D bends are also hard to see in 2D photos so even if someone draws a really good suggestion your tree may not be able to make that shape.
I remember the early difficulties making style decisions - What if I choose the wrong one? What if I cut the wrong bit off?
Recognising that there is not one right answer is the first step to getting on with it. Whenever you are undecided between 2 options that means both are equally good so it doesn't matter which is chosen. If necessary toss a coin to decide. As long as you don't decide the tree is not developing its full potential.
Next thing to remember is that once a decision is made it is the correct decision. Only look forward, not back at what may have been, and work towards the goal. If the goal changes along the way be flexible enough to change direction as our trees are alive and changing so we need to also move and adapt styling to suit.
If you are still having problems deciding you should take the tree to a more experienced grower or to a workshop and get some guidance. The people you talk to are probably not any better at seeing the tree within, they just don't care as much because it's not their tree but a decision will be made and the tree will be moving forward.
Practical techniques are mostly trimming. Without regular pruning the shoots just get longer and longer. Pruning makes more buds which will make the tree and branches more compact and bushier.
With most J. procumbens we probably need to remove around half of the main branches that are already there to open up the shape and let the remaining branches develop better. It is also likely you'll need to remove 1/3 to 1/2 of the secondary shoots on chosen branches to allow the secondary and tertiary shoots to develop.
I also usually reduce the length of most branches to develop better taper and ramification.
With junipers it is better to stagger the work. Sometimes they cannot cope with lots of foliage reduction in one sitting so maybe remove excess branches in one session then a few months later do the branch shortening or shoot reduction.
Wiring is usually needed to refine the shape of trunk and branches. As already mentioned, wire when shoots are still younger and thin because they do get pretty stiff when older.
