Advice on a new Juni please

[JulzD]

Hi all.

Firstly, please allow me to thank everyone that contributes here.
This resource is very helpful.

With that said, and as much as I would love to be able to join a local Bonsai club and gain this advice and training locally, my closest club is at least an hour and a half away from me and between work and children the time to travel is extremely difficult to find.

Thus, I am asking for advice.



I have recently purchased this Juni from the closest nursery to me - the same place as the club - and have done little to it.
The reason for this is that I live more than an hour outside of Brisbane and I want to ensure that I can keep it alive in the conditions in which it must survive.
Hence, I have decided to keep it in the pot until at least the end of this year, and perhaps a little into the next, just to get it used to the environment and it's position.

However, I've repositioned it a little in it's pot, and I have wired the lowest branch only to try to give some balance to it's current shape.
Please go to my gallery for more photos of this one.

Personally, I see an informal upright, or perhaps even a cascade it the future for this tree, given that the foliage on the top is all courtesy of a branch structure that bends downwards from the main trunk by more than 90 degrees. (I will add photos of this to illustrate in the near future.)

Please give any advice that will assist me. I love this artform and this is not my first tree, but my first significantly large one. All others have been rather small and unsuccessful - Japanese Maple, a "mallsai" Juni and another small Juni from the same nursery that I relied on someone else to water properly for me...bad mistake.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide me. It is ALL greatly appreciated.

[FEX]

i reckon, you could make a very nice cascade out of it,you might have to be a bit rough with it ,with lots of twisting and bending,,(but no shouting)

[Gerard]

You have a nice piece of material there, some serious bending in the heavy part of the trunk could work for you.
Drilling ot trunk splitting then wrapping with raffia before making the bends.
Exaggerate the first bend and create some new sharp bends toward the apex.
I picture something like this.

image.jpg

[LLK]

.....you might have to be a bit rough with it ,with lots of twisting and bending,,(

some serious bending in the heavy part of the trunk could work for you.
Drilling ot trunk splitting then wrapping with raffia before making the bends.
Exaggerate the first bend and create some new sharp bends toward the apex.

The above seem to me to be most unhelpful, considering that the owner of this juniper is a beginner.
I'll have to have a serious think to come up with something feasible, please allow me some time.
Advanced bonsai artists, where are you?

Lisa

[Guy]

first up ,take some time to research designs- look at as many possibles as you can(e.g. literati,semi cascade, slanting ,informal upright) I would deal with ground level and remove or uncross any messy, small roots and try to get a radial root spread--the lower branches should be jinned or removed( or left and used as sacrifice branches to help thicken the trunk and then removed much later)-the upper trunk could use a bend or two for interest(with heavy branch benders)--the canopy should be opened up and cleaned out so some structure can be seen---of course all this with your general design in mind.Just make it look like a really old tree

[alpineart]

Hi JulzD, welcome to Ausbonsai , Mate that is some very nice stock to play with .As a new comer my advice /suggestion would be similar to Guy's . Never be in too much of a hurry to hack and chop . First one must walk before he/she can run . I would increase the bend already there and the bring the upper section back down on itself bending in the opposite direction to the bend in the lower section , this in time would or could make for a very nice semi-cascade or cascade .A Google search on Bonsai junipers will give plenty of idea's . Try Googling various names of Junipers , this will give you a broader look at all the possibilities this tree has . good luck and take the time .

Cheers Alpineart

[bodhidharma]

Hi Julz, I have a lot of Chinese junipers and they can be very rewarding. I can visualize the top section as these are a prostrate form and become top heavy. To give yourself some input and inspiration i think your first move should be to get hold of some electric wire, the plastic covered type, and attach it to the top, large branch. Then drill a hole in the pot itself just under the rim and thread the other end of the wire through it. Slowly start pulling the branch down until you think it cannot go any further. Tie it off and the tree will give you a whole different perspective to look at. If it needs to come down further , leave it for a couple of weeks and then repeat the process. You will find it will give further. If it splits a tad dont worry these guys heal well. The tree will look different and inspire you to keep working on it.

[LLK]

Guy, alpine and bodhi, good on you!!!!!
Personally, I'd also search for the main structure in the crown, and then I'd think about airlayering.
In due course I'd continue by cutting back the trunk to just above that nice low thick branch.
I'd end up with 2 junipers that way. However, I'm not saying that that solution is superior to the three above my idea here.

Lisa

[JulzD]

Hi all.

Thank you very much for your suggestions above. They are all extremely helpful, no matter my level of experience.

As for bending in the upper part of the trunk, there are a few bends that are not visible here and I'll take photos to indicate this and post them here for your perusal, or simply for your interest so that you and others can follow the progress of this specimen.

Guys, please don't stress that I'm going to make rash decisions and/or actions with this tree. I have been a student of the "hasten slowly" paradigm for many a year.

Studying of styles begins now. I have spent some significant time googling already, but one can never take too much time to make the right decision for a Bonsai I say.

I will keep all posted.
If anyone has any further advice in the interim, please don't hesitate to post up. No advice is insignificant.

Thank you all again, and stay tuned.

[Gerard]

One important thing which people do not often mention.
If you manipulate the tree you can damage roots beneath the soil this often results in branches dying because the corresponding roots have broken.

[JulzD]

Thank you for that Gerard.

[Andrew Legg]

Hey Julz,

Where does your trunk go? Something Like this?

juni.jpg

Can you please try to get 2 new photos taken from what is now the left and what is now the back of the tree? On the one taken from the left, try to tilt the tree back to expose the trunk-line, or drop the camera position down to get a view under the foliage.

Cheers,

Andrew

[JulzD]

Hey Andrew.

Can do.
I was planning on putting up a couple of photos of the trunk structure underneath.
The silhouette that you've put in there does accurately indicate the line of the main trunk from the front.
I'll put up a couple from exactly the same rotation around the trunk; one showing the normal left view and another showing the underside of the foliage.
If you go and have a look at the album that I've started for this tree you will find one there from the rear. Not much use I'm afraid.

I won't be doing this tonight though Andrew but I will within the next couple of days.

Thanks for your interest mate.

[JulzD]

So here's a few photos to add to those above.

This one is from the left of the tree. I have spun this around today so that the rear gets more direct light and thus solves the yellowing of the foliage seen here...


This is from the left, from above to show the branch structure...


From underneath. The picture Andrew posted above accurately depicts the downward slant of the main trunk...


Another from under there so you can see a few different details...


As you can see there are a few smaller branches under there that could either go or be encouraged. I don't think they're going to amount to much use, but again, hasten slowly...

Thoughts?

[JulzD]

Anyone?