bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - San Jose Juniper styling help needed

Darrel,

You've just ruined a great material!
(no, just kidding).

One thing that isn't said enough here: when examining your options, almost always look for the smallest possible tree. Except when the material presents some exceptionally great options at its current height. Whenever I talk to visiting masters from Japan, that's the first thing they look for when examining a new tree: how can I make it shorter, in order to add more power to the existing trunk?

Whether or not you've done that, I leave it for you to judge.

Unless you indend to leave that sacrifice branch there for another five to ten years, it will not make a difference when growing the juniper in a pot. It's good to leave it there for now for health reasons, but as soon as the tree starts pushing new growth all over, you can take it off, leaving a couple of inches of dead branch for future jin (with the bark taken off).

If you leave it there to grow for the next few years, it will use up precious energy from other parts of the tree where you so desperately need more branches. So, leaving the branch will cost you many years of waiting for the right branches to grow.

Just a thought.

20-Sep-2005	#6
Attila Attila Soos Join Date: Jan-2002 Location: Los Angeles, California Country: USA Posts: 2,003	Darrel, You've just ruined a great material! (no, just kidding). One thing that isn't said enough here: when examining your options, almost always look for the smallest possible tree. Except when the material presents some exceptionally great options at its current height. Whenever I talk to visiting masters from Japan, that's the first thing they look for when examining a new tree: how can I make it shorter, in order to add more power to the existing trunk? Whether or not you've done that, I leave it for you to judge. Unless you indend to leave that sacrifice branch there for another five to ten years, it will not make a difference when growing the juniper in a pot. It's good to leave it there for now for health reasons, but as soon as the tree starts pushing new growth all over, you can take it off, leaving a couple of inches of dead branch for future jin (with the bark taken off). If you leave it there to grow for the next few years, it will use up precious energy from other parts of the tree where you so desperately need more branches. So, leaving the branch will cost you many years of waiting for the right branches to grow. Just a thought.