New Juniperus Africana Nana advice

[SammehSAMURAI]

Hi there!

I'm new here, the name's Sam.
I am Fairly new to the art of Bonsai though I have been interested in learning for many years. I have finally started getting more serious and decided, If I want to ever do Bonsai, the best time to start is many years ago, alas I was to late, so I thought I'd start today!

I recently purchased a reasonably priced "Juniperus Africana Nana" which I think is actually a "Juniperus Thurifera" (which yet again maybe the same thing) I'm not too sure.For reference, the pot is 200mm and the tree stands from base of the visible trunk to tip of the top leaf at 450mm (18 Inches)

IMG_0354.JPG

I started cleaning out most of the dead leaves and messy branches from within the dense mass to see what surprises the little tree had in store for me.

front back.jpg

I discovered a stocky little trunk that splits into 3 main branches with the addition of a smaller one off to the side (which I quite like) There are also 3 previous cuts where the Juniper has been trimmed to once before just below the halfway mark. At this point I thought I should decide where the front of the tree should be, before I go ahead and do anything drastic like remove anything I'd later regret.
Here are 4 views from each angle, I hope it is enough to help identify any characteristics.

trunks.jpg

My amateur senses make me feel like A or B cold be the best choice for the front, but I feel unsure how best to deal with it at this point. Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much ^^

[Jarad]

In angle "B" what's that dark and rough looking bit?

[shibui]

Hi SAm. I grew some of these many years ago. I put them into the ground and grew some great trunks. They grow quite quickly. When I tried to train them into bonsai I discovered they are not easy. Apart from the sharp needles which puts you off pruning and pinching they have a very upright habit so making spreading foliage pads is very difficult. After trying to tame them for nearly 10 years I resorted to grafting shimpaku on to all the branches. This link is the thread I started after taking one to Hiro's last workshop in Melbourne viewtopic.php?f=25&t=18163&hilit=+shimpaku

In angle "B" what's that dark and rough looking bit?

Junipers often produce these proto roots from the trunk. The little lumps are all the beginning of roots and I think that dark patch is just a mass of them in one spot. If there is enough moisture they will grow as sort of aerial roots. You can see a couple in A that have grown into the soil down lower on the trunk and others in various lengths higher up. I get the same thing on the shimpaku, especially where the foliage is close to the ground making a high humidity shaded area around the base of the trunk. In drier conditions they don't seem to form.

[dansai]

Side A seems to give the widest base. Might be worth gently raking back the soil a bit following the base down and seeing if you have any large roots radiating out from the base. These may also affect the final choice of front.

[Elmar]

Side A seems to give the widest base. Might be worth gently raking back the soil a bit following the base down and seeing if you have any large roots radiating out from the base. These may also affect the final choice of front.

Hah; beat me too it!

Welcome Sam,
you should also take into consideration what shibui said ... he's been doing Juni's for a while now ...

[SammehSAMURAI]

Thanks all for the prompt and helpful feedback!
I was feeling strongest about side "A" I'll try taking some soul as you said.

Thanks for the comprehensive write up Shibui, I will take notes and keep you posted! Does the prickly needle foliage ever mature into scaled leaves? I was under the impression the needles are juvenile. I've already learned hiw prickly they are the hard way :p haha

Also thanks for clearing up jarads question about the ariel roots

[Jarad]

Junipers often produce these proto roots from the trunk. The little lumps are all the beginning of roots and I think that dark patch is just a mass of them in one spot. If there is enough moisture they will grow as sort of aerial roots. You can see a couple in A that have grown into the soil down lower on the trunk and others in various lengths higher up. I get the same thing on the shimpaku, especially where the foliage is close to the ground making a high humidity shaded area around the base of the trunk. In drier conditions they don't seem to form.

Thanks Neil, you should plug your brain into google so we can all search it for the information we need at once and save you typing all the time

I prefer angle "C" as it provides the tallest thick trunk before it splits into the multiple trunks.

[shibui]

I have never seen these with scale foliage. Some species and varieties never seem to get to mature foliage and I reckon this is one of them but maybe it just takes more time than I have had.