AusBonsai

Hey guys, purchased this little Juni on Thursday (day off sick, head up to the bonsai nursery haha!). It's a prostrate Squamata, obviously, approx 8 years old.
I was VERY picky when lookimg for this little bugger, because I have a certain pot in mind.
This is it how saw it at the nursery (albeit in a smaller nursery pot, I slip potted into into an 8in when I got home) Overall, very happy with this effort today ^_^

nice work on this little fella pal i like it, well done

on your intended planting angle, i dont think ya need to do that, i think with it sitting flat like it is in the pot you could bend the apex around a bit and get the same effect with much more dynamic movement
the little branch under the stub i take is intended for a sacrifice? thats what i figure otherwise it is not neccessary, overall though pal nice work, now ya just gotta let it grow out some and then work it over again, i have been wanting a little tree like that to work on for a while something with a bit of size but not to big so i can get a nice little shohin/mini

look forward to seeing more


jamie

Yeah, I actually thought the same thing about the planting angle after I finished. And it's got a couple of nice roots sticking out that probably wouldn't work with the angle anyway.
If I just bend the apex back a bit sharper, it should come together well.
It will probably stay int his pot for a while. I'll reduce the roots over the next 12-18 months I think. It's got a large rootball now and is destined for a very small pot.

I haven't commented here as I thought you had done a half decent start. Not The way I would have gone though.

You went for a taller tree than I would. What I would do now. Is wrap the main trunk in Raffia very tightly and put in some serious bends and twists. Be very careful though Squamatas have a nasty habit of separating the bark from the xylem. By the time you realise it has happend too late.

Nathen you asked for my comments. Remember it is what I would do. What you have to do is, work out if that is what you want, also can you do it ( please do not take that the wrong way ) as I said you have started in the right direction.
The thing to remember is when you are going to twist a trunk or branch do it as you go along with the wire.
Not wire the whole thing then twist that is a sure fire way of separating the bark. The other very important thing is that you wire the way you wish to twist and bend. In other words do not wire, clock wise then twist anti clock wise, all that will happen is the wire will get loose and not hold properly.
Another thing to remember is use the right size wire to do the job. An easy way to test is to bend what you wish to wire with your fore finger and thumb. If the resistance, is the same then that is the right size wire, so go to the next gage up and you will be right.
Cheers Pup ps I hope this has helped I know my fingers ache

Edit after looking again at the pictures I notice there is not much foliage along the branches. Just at the ends. That is not a good look.
When you first start, in Bonsai you are either told or read, that foliage pointing up or down is eliminated. That is a big problem with some Junipers. Because when you do that you are left with not a lot. So what can you do about it do the twist, it goes like this. As stated before as you wire you twist the branch slowly so that the foliage pointing up or down is now coming from the sides. That way you end up with a lot fuller looking tree quicker. Also you can shorten the branches by putting bends in them, which in you case now would bring the foliage pads closer to the trunk. My fingers are aching now Pup cheers

Thanks for the feedback Pup, very much appreciated. Haha my apologies for the sore fingers.
I understand what you mean about the tree being a bit taller than necessary. I've just had another look at it myself, and while I do quite like it how it is now, I do agree with you. I could remove about an inch from the top and use one of the remaining small branches-in-making as a leader to form the apex. That would definately be doable. I'll also bend the branches a bit to bring them towards the trunk
I'm certainly not opposed to trying to get some more movement in the lower part of the trunk. That's something I'll have to look at on saturday up close and try and work out a plan of atttack I will be very careful though.
Thanks again for your feedback/guidance/ideas/help
And, for the record, I dodn't take much to heart, so no offence taken by anything. It was all said to help me, so it's all good

Removed most of the wiring last weekend, pinched it back a fair bit as it had a lot of growth, removed some uncessary growth and did some fine wiring on the bottom two branches. Pic: