Cascade Style??? Need help

[Ryan1979b]

Hey all,

I know its not a native but it is one or my Nursery stock collections, I have had it a few years now & am stuck of what to do with it. Its is a Juniper Procumben nana. Not sure what direction to take with the fella, was thinking full cascade or even removing the lower branch? hope the photo's help?

I'm pretty stuck, been staring at it for a fair while now & nothing...hehehe

[teejay]

I'm not big on cascades Ryan so my input might be a little biased, but I'd probably remove the cascading branch and create a little shohin out of the top. Or I'd at the very least shorten that branch fairly dramatically, maybe to the foliage above the gap and have it leaning out rather than falling.

But I'm no pro.

[MelaQuin]

I agree... maybe I'm biased because cascades are not me even tho I have two but there is a long stretch of naked branch between the top section and the tail and I would be inclined to remove the lower area and work with the top section. I guess it could be whether you want to wait the years it could take for some buds to maybe form in the bare area and grow them on or make a smaller tree. And face it, cascades are a pain even tho there are some stunning ones... just try to take one to a show, repot it or hydrate the soil.... what to do with the tail, what to do with the tail. Me, I'd shorted the juniper.

[Jamie]

if this was my stock tree i would remove that longer branch to under the top section of foliage, tilt it a bit to the right and create a semi cascade, that bare section is distracting, like mel said, either cut it of, wait for buds to grow, if the do grow in that section, or use the branch as a jin.
by tiltinging it slightly to the right and removeing that branch, which is completly unecessesary now that i look at it again, will balance the tree better, improve its taper, and give the tree a better flow.

done a quick virt. of what im thinking, follow the red arrow to tilt the tree on its side. will make the begginnings of a nice tree

[kcpoole]

if this was my stock tree i would remove that longer branch to under the top section of foliage, tilt it a bit to the right and create a semi cascade, that bare section is distracting, like mel said, either cut it of, wait for buds to grow, if the do grow in that section, or use the branch as a jin.
by tiltinging it slightly to the right and removeing that branch, which is completly unecessesary now that i look at it again, will balance the tree better, improve its taper, and give the tree a better flow.

done a quick virt. of what im thinking, follow the red arrow to tilt the tree on its side. will make the begginnings of a nice tree

I had the same thought too

Litte semi cascade tree
Ken

[Jamie]

great minds think alike!

[MasonC]

i think that that is the best option, or you could thin out the top and rotate it to the left but i still like the other idea. nice plant

[Ryan1979b]

Cheers all,

Yeh I think I was a bit hesitant to chop the lower branch of, mainly because I have two similar tree which I thought I would try & make something a bit different. But I think there is no use trying to force it into something it doesn't suit. I will have a good look at it tonight But I think the lower branch will be going & a slight tilt to the right will be done as shown in jamie's diagram. I will probably let the top leader go for a while yet & see what it produces this season before I chop it to much.

Here is a pick of the other juniper Semi Cascade I have going at the moment. Throw any options at these ones two as the potted ones too & styling possibilities.

Thank you for all your help everyone, just hope in the future years I will be able to give back some constructive comments.

[Jamie]

hey mate, that top one would suit a semi cascade windswept style, to achive this you will need to take off mosth ofthe left hand side foliage, even leave the branching for juin.
this will ballence the tree better, right now it just seems to be a bit symetrical. or wire the left hand side up to create an apex, and thin it out. its hard to tell what branching there is there

as for the plastic pot one. it has quite a thick trunk with a thin leader, have you though about putting this one up? making it an informal upright? im not sure where or how, but i can just see something other than a semi cascade or cascade in that one


regards jamie

[teejay]

as for the plastic pot one. it has quite a thick trunk with a thin leader, have you though about putting this one up? making it an informal upright? im not sure where or how, but i can just see something other than a semi cascade or cascade in that one

I agree. You've shown three now and you've designated them all as cascades. These prostrate junipers will always want to cascade, but you aren't limited to one style because of this. You could change the planting angle on both and make two nice little uprights I reckon.

But I'm biased, remember?

[Jamie]

I agree. You've shown three now and you've designated them all as cascades. These prostrate junipers will always want to cascade, but you aren't limited to one style because of this. You could change the planting angle on both and make two nice little uprights I reckon.

But I'm biased, remember?

exactly what i was thinking mate... but i am not so much biased

[Ryan1979b]

Hey Jamie, I like the idea of the wind swept for the top one, I will have to havv a look at the branch Structure. Do you think it would be worth while tilting it more to the right & then angle the branches more horizontal then thin them out? I'm hopeless at being committed to cutting back foliage, but it something I think I will have to get use to I guess...hehehe

The bottom tree is a bit of a bugger it has a solid root mass close to the surface & when it is tilted it pops out of the surface, not sure hoe to deal with this cause an upright style could be a good option.

Maybe could try & achieve something along these lines...sorry about the dodgy quick photoshop skills...hehehe

[Jamie]

looks good to me mate. with the windswept definatly tilt it a bit, but i would try and get the foliage pads a little less uniform in step downs, size etc. but i got the idea of what your trying to show.
it looks lie that has more potential like that then what it was mate
and the root mass being solid is not a problem its just a mater of bare rooting it then spreading the roots out to where you want them to change the angle
as for cutting folaige its a part of bonsai. its something that is a necessaty (? that speeling doenst look right ) if you want to acheive good shape i love pruning myself. it gives a lot of satisfaction when you see the end result

[teejay]

i love pruning myself. it gives a lot of satisfaction when you see the end result

Yeah, it's almost the best part of the hobby.

[Petra]

cool, i like the photoshop one. Iwas thinking along these lines also. Another idea i would have done is broom style, dont know if its appropriate for junipers as ive never seen one.