My other Juniper

[jgmansell]

After the help I received yesterday I thought I would post some pics of my other Juni and ask for more advice. I am posting some before and after pruning pics, any advice on direction and alternate front appreciated.

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The front before pruning.

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LH side

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The RH side

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The back

And after pruning

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Front

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LH side

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RH side

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Back

As you can see I am very much a novice, and I particularly have trouble with the apex.
The tree stands 250mm or 20 inches high.



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[jgmansell]

That should be 10 inches high

[Ryceman3]

Hi jgmansell,

I think you've done a pretty reasonable job pruning this juniper back. It has a lot of really dynamic movement down low (the blue bit), I would look to try and continue that by compressing the top part to compliment it ... (the red bit). I think you're front looks pretty good, I drew on your "back" image because I think it is easier to see from that what I am talking about. You might consider wiring this forward as well so the apex is not leaning away from the viewer. I'm sure others will probably have more to add but I think it is looking pretty good.

[jgmansell]

Thanks Ryceman for not only taking the time to answer, but also for making it easier to visualise with your mark up. After looking at that top section again it does seem quite clear that I need to create more movement, I don’t know why it wasn’t so easy for me to spot before.
The trouble is, that section is less than 4 inches long with a few branches and quite rigid, so I expect I would need raffia and fairly heavy wire to achieve that, and I haven’t done that before, so will need to buy some and give it a go if there is no alternative.


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[shibui]

I agree that the top section is straight and lacks taper.
There are always other options in designing bonsai. Wire and bend that section is only the first possibility. Bending it won't give taper (in fact, strong bending often causes bent sections to thicken as fractured areas heal under the bark)

Converting that section of the trunk to deadwood could work. Deadwood is often seen as an integral part of junipers and could certainly be used here, with or without shari trailing down the trunk.

You could remove some of that section completely and move one of the branches upward to form a new, more compact apex. Those branches should be flexible enough to get plenty of bends to compliment the lower trunk. Because wild junipers are collected from the mountains in Japan the growers have had to learn to work with the amazing shapes of the wild trunks and it is not seen as a fault if juniper trunks and branches don't follow neat lines. The trunk may go down a little before rising again. Branches growing from the apex are wired down to give foliage pads lower on the trunk, etc so don't worry too much if the new lines are not perfect. The lower trunk on this one should carry some wild movement without any problems if needed.

[jgmansell]

Wow, thanks again for another option to consider, I will need to have another look with this in mind, trouble is, more options means more chance of making the wrong one. It would be easier if there was always a "right way", but I guess that would make it boring.
I had a try doing a vert for the first time, how does it look either with or without the top section?
Thanks again.

[Ryceman3]

I reckon that works pretty well with the jin - I like the reduction in height. The good news there is you can have a go with raffia/bending etc. if you want to get some experience. If it all goes pear shaped and you snap/break/crack/destroy the trunk, you can always fall back on the jin option and you still have a nice tree!

As Shibui always says, if you're spending a lot of time going back and forth between options it most likely means both are good so whichever you pick - you can't be wrong!

Enjoy.

[Mbunro]

there's been some great replies from people much more skilled and experienced than me but if it were mine i would keep it simple and only slightly reduce the canopy back similar to my virt.

EDIT: after a second look maybe a very gentle tilt to the left also. (providing it wont obstruct your nebari)

[jgmansell]

Thanks for joining in Mbunro, and for the vert, it has shown me that there are a few options and as Ryceman3 has just said, even if I make the wrong choice, it is not the end of the world or even the tree, I can always have another go. Thanks for your input.


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