Hi everyone,
I wondered if I might pester you all for some thoughts on this small San Jose juniper. I've been looking at it for a couple of years now, and have a bit of a block concerning where to go with it. The basic design is pretty much decided, dictated by the trunk shape/angle, rootage and branch placement, though as you'll see from the pictures it still has a very long way to go.
My problem is that I can't quite see how to develop it into a
balanced design - the angle of the trunk is throwing me off. It might sound silly, but all my other slanting trees lean to the right - as this one leans the other way I'm having real problems 'seeing' what it should look like! What I want to avoid is the feeling that it's falling over.
The tree will have significant deadwood - the large live vein(s) will remain, but the stumps will be jinned and the existing deadwood refined.
I've included a fair number of pictures, progressively rotating the tree clockwise, to give an accurate view of its structure. I (currently) think the front is View number 2 (view 1 might be the obvious one, but the lower left branch pokes forward a bit too much at that angle). The foliage is pretty sparse at the moment - I've worked on the tree this year, and will let it grow out next year - but it's healthy and growing well.
Any visions of the future for this little tree would be very much appreciated!
Thanks,
Tom
View 1
View 2
View 3
View 4
View 5
View 6
View 7
View 8
Better view of trunk / deadwood
Closeup of base / roots from 'front' view.
