A Juniper from left field

[MJL]

Interesting tree. Not classic bonsai stock. I am going to enjoy working this nursery purchased tree nonetheless.

This Juniper (Juniperus X media aurea variegata) is interesting. A nice thickish trunk, the roots aren't too bad, it's budding back down low and will provide a few different design options.

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Anyway ... no rush, I'll consider angles and options and move ahead over time.

[MJL]

My first post in this thread had corrupted photo files (I think). At least I cannot see them in the original post - so here's another crack.

I stumbled across the mature juniper at a nursery recently. I thought it was an interesting tree. Not classic bonsai stock but I am going to enjoy working this nursery purchased tree nonetheless.

This is Juniper (Juniperus X media aurea variegata). I was intrigued on a number of levels. A nice thickish trunk, the roots aren't too bad, it's budding back down low and will provide a few different design options.

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Hopefully these photos work as a record of where this tree started.

I look forward to working this tree over the next few months.

Cheers,

Mark

[MJL]

Do you ever think, "Oh sh!t, what have I done?" I do ...and too often.

It was cold, wet and I just kept cutting away....

In the end, I raised the phone to take a shot and just thought ... "Oh Sh!t"

and then had a shower, dropped some whiskey and dry on ice and thought ... at least I haven't butchered super expensive stock.

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Still learning...

[anthonyW]

Do you ever think, "Oh sh!t, what have I done?" I do ...and too often.

What are doing Mark, lets call a spade a spade, its looks shite alright, middle of a cold wet winter nailing a juniper, you can not be doing that my friend, the foliage is its life blood, you will need to keep it warm and protected for it to survive now,....with junies we feed early spring to get them ( when healthy and a bit sparse) strong then we push back slowly in growing mths, their are many designs in there....here is one, don t know if is too late now...you need to relax in winter and definately not drink and Bonsai LOL..Mark, Mark, Mark

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[MJL]

Yep. I knew I blew it mate and I appreciate the spade being called. Just showing others the disaster so that they learn from my incompetence. One step forward, two steps back.

[TimS]

Sorry to say it Mark but you might struggle to save that at this point. I made a similar mistake removing too much foliage on my first shimpaku and have avoided them ever since; it just went downhill and never came back again, and that wasn't even in winter i don't think.

Ah well, see if you can find a warm(ish) spot for it and see what happens. If the worst does happen then just view it as a lesson learned and try again with the knowledge gained!

[Miikeboyle]

I wouldn’t stress over it. Just look after it and feed well coming into spring and it will either grow back and give you more options, or it will die and it will be a lesson learned not to trim so hard on a juniper. It’s all part of learning.

[MJL]

I wouldn’t stress over it. Just look after it and feed well coming into spring and it will either grow back and give you more options, or it will die and it will be a lesson learned not to trim so hard on a juniper. It’s all part of learning.

I can confirm that this tree is doornail dead ... as in... dead as a ...

Oh well. Embarrassing but live and learn.

Or as the song states ... "Live and let die" ... cue the guitars.

[Ryceman3]

I can confirm that this tree is doornail dead ... as in... dead

Yep... might’ve been a bit much over winter. BUT... thanks for following through with the post mortem, stuff that goes downhill sideways is just as important to hear about as the success stories, probably more so to be honest.
Have a beer and reflect!