Newbie

[Byrnes]

Hey everyone new to the hobby and wanted to say hi
so got my first bonsai a PJF from south nursery a few weeks ago and had a great time repotting and wiring it, so went back to south nursery and got myself a juniper squamata prostrata on week end.

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first time wiring not so good haha

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waiting for spring to defoliant it

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took my time wiring felt like i did a better job didnt cross any

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sofar after wiring it i finger pinched the tips and have been misting and had it under shad cloth for a few days will put it back in full sun soon.
any tips on how i can get my pads looking better or do i pretty much have to wait spring and back budding.
Next time ill take better photos and use the white brick wall as a back drop so it easyer to see wants going on

[Kevin]

Hello Byrnes,

I am glad you have found Bonsai and joined AusBonsai. AusBonsai is full of resources covering all aspects of Bonsai and all plant genera, all you need to do is search via the links above. I suggest starting with Wiki (top line of every page), then there's the search link for specific items of interest or just browse the posts under prefered genera or plant types from the Index Board.

I'm not sure what you started with, that is, before images, you haven't mentioned pruning but i can see fresh cuts.

Now for the HELPFUL, Constructive Criticism:

Generally

1. Be patient, very hard i know all too well. Correctly maintained with lots of TLC your bonsai will survive many human lifetimes.
2. Styling, true Bonsai is defined / designed within parameters (details - Wiki).
3. Vision, the best Bonsai are created within the artist's mind and then sketched and re-sketched and re re-sketched long before the cutters are touched

Your Plants

1. Your Ficus requires a leader / apex branch
2. Your Juniper.... ? Personally, i see no vision and no 'flow' within the tree. My first thought was - that tree needs a valium, it's too tight, angles are too sharp, especially the first bend. Maybe a Cascade Style would be more fitting. Turn your tree on it's side (if possible) and place over a ledge and stand back to look, it will take on a new shape. You have just repotted, better to get a pen and paper and drawn what you see sideways.
3. Always remember - Your plants health is paramount above all else. Read Wiki for the best times of the year for different activities.

But hey, what do i know other than trying to help with my opinion. Do please remember that while Bonsai is defined within parameters, these are your trees and can look whatever darn way that you'd like them too.

I love Bonsai and have been trying to get better at it for the past 30 years. Two of my oldest plants, only a mere 20 to 30 years of training are about to be completely restyled come spring and the following 5 - 20 springs before they 'conform' to Bonsai requirements, but until then.... I'll still be on my learners.

Only trying to be helpful in directing you to information which wasn't available to me many years ago. Neither was the Internet , come to think of it.

Good luck,
Kevin

[Byrnes]

Thanks Kevin for the good info. I found styling to be the hardest part it took me two hour to pick the juni at south nursery looking at different styles on the phone and then looking at each plent he had to offer I'm still not sure if I made a good choice. Your right I didn't mention pruning I did buy some nice pruning shears at south nursery but no branch cutters yet I did have trouble pruning I was just trying my best to take of stuff that was growing straight up or to thick up high.

It probably would of looked better as a cascade style.. I wanted to bend the trunk but was to scared haha my know how and technic isn't at that point. I was trying for a informal upright guess I failed lol peace out
I will spend my long week end going through the index

[Daluke]

Hi and welcome.

Everyone starts somewhere and the only way to learn is to get your hands dirty.

Good work on the wiring.

I see lots of potential with the juniper. It has interesting movement - you could compress the branches to bring the needles closer to make them look less leggy and fuller?

Good luck on your journey.

[Bougy Fan]

Hi Byrnes and welcome. Great to see you jump in and have a go - all of us did that in the beginning. I feel the tree is a little conflicted - the bottom of the trunk has that great movement and then the top part doesn't reflect it. Neither does the branches - they should mirror the movement (or lack of) in the trunk. Not sure if you cleaned back any foliage from the branches but traditionally you want to keep the foliage closer to the trunk - not way out on a limb.

Keep going and look at lots of trees and ask lots of questions

[Jarad]

Welcome mate!

First try is always the hardest.

I'll add a coue things to what the other guys have said. Firstly, join a club you'll get plenty of information from them that will compliment what you find on here.

Secondly, buy MOAR TREES! If you have the space, if not buy them anyway and make space. Spend a day or two getting around all the nurseries from Caringbah to Jilliby.

The more trees you have to work on the better.

[Kevin]

Hello Byrnes,

They are all starting to come out of their own little trees with help now, and it's about time too - there's plenty of Juniper lovers in here - come on, give Byrnes your favourite tip.

To be truthful, i am not a juniper lover as yet - i am too busy concentrating on my small collection, which up until recently only consisted of a few genera. There is a lot to learn, firstly and most importantly is the plant's health - Horticultural requirements of each genus, then the Bonsai components in growing them in an artistic style - Ahhhh soooo much to learn (I am talking about myself). So....

I found styling to be the hardest part

Get in line - ha ha. Seriously, I am constantly reading Wiki, searching through posts and trying to keep up to date with the latest info and stories of others similar to my own. As with all new areas of study, at first it is overwhelming - so much info to absorb, but again, as always, with time it all begins to take shape.

Personally, I believe one step at a time, focus on what you have now and learn about their proper care over the next few months. Winter's approaching and while your plants are resting from their shock - yes shock of moving to your place, transplanting and pruning Spring will be here and believe me they will need all your new found knowledge in tending to them. Bonsai can be expensive if you allow it to be OR there is so many freebies available all around - you'll be amazed.

Air layering is a gem of a way to score fat trunks with great branching - sooo easy and very small dollars to obtain dozens of new plants. Most people love sharing their gardens, start visiting / inspecting all your friends gardens and study their trees for possible future air layerings. Again winter is a dormant time for most plants except Eucalyptus. So get that coffee / hot chocolate / tea and get cozy with your PC.

Also, i do know your Juniper has plenty of potential, whilst a plant is healthy it will continue to grow and grow and grow. Restyling is extremely common in Bonsai and depending on your care, your Juniper will look brand new after next season. So start planning a style now. There are many talented Bonsai growers who regularly post on this site and they all love Junipers. I don't dislike them, just too busy learning to tend other genera right now.

One step at a time, is my philosophy.

Good Luck,
Kevin

[anthonyW]

Okay,as others have said for a tree to work we have to have a flow,rhythm if you like,what happens at the bottom we try and replicate at the top,a presence that conforms to many bonsai styles (ie uniformity) but sometimes we get a trunk that is what we call contrived (in between this and in between that)not conforming to a general style in other words,as Bougy has pointed out huge movement to straightish,in other words very hard to convince a picture.....so lets think of this piece as feminine, slender, lady in waiting...so she has the booty,we must now remove the dags off the booty and front bit ,for obvious reasons(very low branch and jins)....give her a good front end,long locks at the back flowing,now she is dancing....our eyes are now focusing on the flow not the upper trunk as much.

Just a MUCH different take, analogy to a imagination and .....?lol

Welcome to Bonsai mate,enjoy there is plenty of great information in Ausbonsai,this a good start,As you can see using your parts and tweaking the branch lines and a little imagination with pads in more growth you have something you might like,just a quick sketch for you,is the right way ?well it is just what I see, always your call.

Hope that helps ,how did I go Kev.

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[Kevin]

G'Day, Byrne, Anthony,

Anthony, you are a legend - as usual.

I really enjoy viewing your sketches, as i'm sure all other members do as well.

Your Bonsai knowledge combined with your insightful, intuitively creative and impeccably drawn sketches is truly an inspiring talent in which you possess.

Thank-you,
Kevin

[kcpoole]

Like what you did there andrew
Nice vision for this tree


Ken

[anthonyW]

Very kind Kevin,thank you brother.

Thanks Ken,call me anything,just don't call me Sue

cheers ANTHONY

[Byrnes]

Hey guys thank for all the post
Where to start mmmm first of I would like thank Anthony for his sketch nice work mate it's pretty much what I had in my head. The jins and lower branch I had always planed to remove them in the future I just thought it would be a good idea to get some practice in why the material was there in front of me. I do agree that they upset the flow

Not sure if you cleaned back any foliage from the branches but traditionally you want to keep the foliage closer to the trunk

Nah the branches didn't have any foliage on them that were close to the trunk. I'm hoping they will back bud in spring.

I'm sure I'm going to buy may more tree and lots of different types when I went to the store I was planning on buying a maple and walked out with a juni haha.
My plan for the tree is to bend the trunk so the first turns less sharp and so it has more movement in the top would be best if rap the first two turns?? Sorry i forgot the name of the rapping material.

One step at a time, is my philosophy.

I think this is a great philosophy mate.. I alway want try and do everything at once when really I should just slow down.

So I'll try my best to keep everyone up to date.

[kcpoole]

Very kind Kevin,thank you brother.

Thanks Ken,call me anything,just don't call me Sue

cheers ANTHONY

My Humblest apologies but I read the post as andrewW wrote it
Stupid me for not confirming which is what i usually do when replying

But still, Nice drawing

[melbrackstone]

You're in the right place, Byrnes!

I know I've been reading books on bonsai for years, but it's only been since I've been here on the forum, soaking up the directions and pictures that I've started to actually make sense of it all.

Good luck!