[evan] Juniperus chinensis

[evan]

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Species: Juniperus chinensis (Shimpaku)
Height: 65cm
Source: Padre Pio Bonsai
Cost: $45

[Rory]

you've set yourself a challenge with getting foliage that low for shohin. Good luck.

[kcpoole]

you've set yourself a challenge with getting foliage that low for shohin. Good luck.

Raffia and wire will fix that in no time.
Be interested to see where this one ends up

Ken

[evan]

First thing after posting the initial picture of this tree, I cut off and jinned the largest "branch" coming from the base. Then a few days later (sometime in early June) put in grafts close to the base.

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Since I had the dremel out while doing other stuff today, I decided to do some work on the Jin. Still not looking right though, so I may have another crack at it after the grafts hopefully take. Decided to also repot it today, so I cut the branches back to about 3 branchlets. Then did a drastic repot into a nice little rustic pot I got from Japan.

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Plans for the future are to let it rest until it's throwing out shoots everywhere and the grafts have taken. After the grafts have taken, I'll cut the branches back to where the grafts are, and then begin an initial styling. I'm looking for this tree to be under 10cm when I'm finished, so fingers crossed everything else on this timeline happens correctly.
Also beginning this spring and summer, put in some small shari's on the trunk.

[Andrew Legg]

Wow that's a lot of work in one day. I'm going to be very interested to see how this one pans out!

[Steven]

Nice work Evan. Really pushing the limits with this one. Did you graft foliage from the same tree or from another one? Do you know what variety of Shimpaku it is?

Regards,
Steven

[evan]

The scions for the graft came from the same tree and I'm fairly sure that the variety is Kishu.

[Grainer]

nice work there..

[evan]

Some good and bad news for this tree. The good news it that the tree has survived and is pushing out a lot of new growth. The bad news it that the grafts failed.
I suspect that I may have taken the grafts out of their humidity baggies too soon, so I'll try again in the new year using approach grafting instead.

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I've also begun developing the shari on the trunk using the same technique that the Japanese use. This technique involves opening up the shari, allowing them to heal over a bit, and then opening them up again (usually in the same growing season). The idea behind this is that you develop a layered effect in the deadwood.

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A good example of the effect given from that shari technique and the kind of tree I'm trying to develop.

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[evan]

DEAD

As is the case when trying to push the limits, sometimes it fails spectacularly.

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[Raging Bull]

Cheer up, it's not a total failure. I'm sure you have learned a lot from this trial. We learn and remember more from our mistakes than from our successes.
Frank.

[anthonyW]

Try we must Evan,I have found watering with that much (so little) foliage is a whole new ball game...ditto Raging Bull

Anthony

[Jarad]

Sorry to hear mate.

It really did struggle at the end there, looks like it threw out some juvenile needles in a last ditch effort to save itself.