Junipers - what am I looking for?

subnet_rx

After all the reading and looking, I feel kind of comfortable looking at deciduous trees. Well, I say that, maybe I'm confused, but at least I kind of see a tree. With junipers, I don't see a tree. At least, not the kind of trees that I see pruned and wired from nursery stock in books and here. They all seem so low to the ground, or so straight and upright, that I just don't see a tree. So, basically, can someone give me some pointers on what I'm looking for besides the standard trunk and nebari?

I've attached two pictures of one I found in a nursery this morning, but again, just can't see the final product as a beginner. It looked very neglected, I don't think they sell a lot of junipers and this may have been sitting here for quite some time. This picture is without the huge clump of grass that I found in the gallon pot.

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bonsaial1

Caveat: My opinion and is meant to be taken as opinion and not what may be mainstream thinking.


Most junipers styled as bonsai never really look like a tree. They tend to represent the way a tree might grow, but are usually so stylized or artistically rendered that they lose a lot of tree like feel.

Junipers are not trees, they are shrubs trained to represent trees. Diciduous trees if left to their own accord in a pot will continue to grow upwards and develop branches and look like a tree with no help from man. Maybe not a beautifully styled bonsai but a tree never the less.

A masterpiece juniper bonsai if left to its own accord for 5 years will turn into a heavily overgrown bush/shrub and lose all the attributes that made it a masterpiece bonsai.

There you have it, Al

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cactuscandy2004

This is why I enjoy this forum so much, I am also having the same problem. I will be following all the answers you receive with much anticipation. Cheers

froufrou

I guess this is where the artist comes in. You must be able to see a rough final picture of the bonsai in the stock tree. Or at least confident enough to know it has potential. Probably developed from experience, and looking at a lot of bonsai.

Other than trunk caliper and nebari, it would be branch placement and
trunk/branch direction.

I think that tree is nice.

If you think it can be a nice bonsai, but have no idea how to turn it into one, can bring it to a workshop or bonsai nursery/artist to work on.

Vonsgardens

Look at what Al says- it can be made into a bonsai tree. It will not look like a stylized neighborhood or forest tree. The otherpoint is that you have to look at converting material like this into Bonsai as a journey- it takes awhile, it will have a number of stops and things will change as you go along.

Think of the tenats of forming a bonsai (in general):

find a front to start with (may change)
select a trunkline that works
bring the foliage back to the tree

The real beauty of junipers is that you can do anything with them..... Ok, no brooms please). And, as long as you are happy with the progression, they are alot of fun. Nice thing about them is that you can work on them, get a new idea and change them, they are very forgiving.


Hope it helps,
John

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subnet_rx

Yeah, that's what I've been noticing about them, that's why my interest has grown. Pines in my area have really long needles, but they are so predominant, that I'd love to at least have a pine replica in my collection. Like I said though, all I see is this, it's a tree alright, a christmas tree:

JGamby713

Aside from the good advice given from Al and John, here are a few other things to look for in junipers...

The key to a very good juniper is deadwood and twist's of the live vien. When looking at the lower trunk line you want to see if the bark looks different in certain areas where is could be dead underneath. This is a good thing for bonsai! If the trunk has a twist to it and potential deadwood then that is even more desirable and should be bought. You can find both of these in some nursery trees from time to time.

Western and Sierra junipers grow like trees, atleast in the high desert of Idaho, Oregon. They are big, tall ugly juniper trees, although they look really cool.

Google image search juniper bonsai to see the different styles, and also buy the Master Series Juniper book from Stone Lantern.

Have fun!!

Jason

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JGamby713

The first tree you posted has potential to be a descent bonsai....the last group....not so much.

Did you buy the first one?

Jason

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Vonsgardens

Subnet,
PM OKBonsai here at BT. He has a good selection of field grown pines. If you track the JBP threads we (as a community) can teach you the fundamentals for getting short needles on Black Pines.

You are in Hattiesburg. Have you been up to Brussels Bonsaiin Olive Branch? They are one of the largest bonsai nurseries in the US.

Cheers,
John

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