juniperus squamata options?

[PWC]

Part of the learning process Terry, how is yours going?

Separated in February and hasn't missed a beat. Still very bushy. Will need to thin it out a bit to let the light in. Also need to repot, to clean out the sphagnum moss. Have read that roots can be a bit brittle after layering, so have let it recover.
juniper_layer.jpg
I suspect the large foliage mass helped push it along.

Good to see it done successfully

[PWC]

While it is not quite as important in juniper as some other species you should always look at the nebari before starting on styling. It is no use having an excellent trunk if there's one big root sticking straight out the front. That would negate all of the trunk above. I have also found trees where the roots are well down in the pot making the trunk much longer than it appears and making the design above look like a lollipop. Finding the roots is a critical part of bonsai design.

There is one largish root at the current soil level facing toward the back. I intend to give it a root prune in spring and remove about 30% and hopefully find a better root spread not too much further down. Then let it grow pretty much untouched for the next 12 months.

Did a bit of an inspection of the upper root mass today and found that what I thought was a large root was in fact a old branch that had been buried. Th new base luckily has good movement and I think is an improvement.

IMG_1811 (Large).JPG

Please no comments on the wiring, I know it looks like I have put it in a straight jacket. It is not permanent just a quick adjustment to see how it looks.

[PWC]

Unsure How to proceed with this one opinions welcome, my thoughts are there two possible fronts that show the trunk with the best movement. Still haven't had a good look at the roots yet, that will come at the next repot. I have yet to decide what to do with the chop site at the top of the trunk, should I carve it out to represent a broken trunk or cut it off and continue the trunk line with a new leader? Red line cut, black line new leader.

Any thoughts, suggestions always welcome

IMG_2878 (Large).JPG

[shibui]

From those photos the first option all the way for me but the 2D photos do not give a good view of depth so difficult to see how the trunk actually flows?.
Middle branch is at the back in the first but straight out the front in option 2.
Lowest branch is quite dominant but way too low in option 2 but is out of the way in 1. Perhaps remove it entirely?
Trunk flow appears to be better in 2 but sometimes just a small adjustment to viewing angle could give a better flow so explore that for 1?

The jin is certainly dominant. Probably too dominant at the moment. You could try paring it down a little - try to reduce thickness first by peeling off the outside layers. Extending a shari from the base of the jin down the side of the trunk could also add visual taper to that otherwise taperless trunk. To add interest and autenticity it could possibly spiral down behind and end at the lower jin on the left side.
That lowest branch is still in conflict with lower right branch in option 1. Better that it should go

[PWC]

From those photos the first option all the way for me but the 2D photos do not give a good view of depth so difficult to see how the trunk actually flows?.
Middle branch is at the back in the first but straight out the front in option 2.
Lowest branch is quite dominant but way too low in option 2 but is out of the way in 1. Perhaps remove it entirely?
Trunk flow appears to be better in 2 but sometimes just a small adjustment to viewing angle could give a better flow so explore that for 1?

The jin is certainly dominant. Probably too dominant at the moment. You could try paring it down a little - try to reduce thickness first by peeling off the outside layers. Extending a shari from the base of the jin down the side of the trunk could also add visual taper to that otherwise taperless trunk. To add interest and autenticity it could possibly spiral down behind and end at the lower jin on the left side.
That lowest branch is still in conflict with lower right branch in option 1. Better that it should go

I agree with your thoughts on the option one for the front, the lower branch near the base will be removed, it didn't go this year as I removed the one opposite and didn't want to remove too much foliage as the two lower branches at the time were the most vigorous parts of the tree. I did reduce the one in question hoping that it would induce new budding in other areas, this did occur but not sure if it was a direct result of the reduction lower down or would have happened any way.

There is very little movement from back to front.

IMG_2880 (Large).JPG

IMG_2881 (Large).JPG

Definitely need to do something with the deadwood at the top and possibly remove the top most branch as it is quite heavy in relation to the new leader, I think something a bit finer would be preferable as this would be my desired start of the apex. Extending the shari would certainly add much needed character and once the final trunk base and my experience/ confidence level improves will be something to consider.


Come spring and in the warmer Qld weather it will be getting a more serious root prune and I will have a much better idea where I will be going with this one. Thanks again for your thoughts much appreciated.