Another Juniper

David Chauvin

This procumbens juniper (9.5"H x 11"W) was the first tree I purchased as rough stock after getting into bonsai. It's been through a lot of changes in two years and is still going strong in spite of all the beginner mistakes and abuse. The major flaw that I see is the skinny trunk at the soil line. Does anyone know of a technique to correct this flaw? I've thought of packing damp spaghnum moss around the base to grow roots and gradually removing the moss to expose the roots (similar to root over rock technique) to fatten the appearance of the base. I know that roots will grow from old wood easily if it's covered and kept moist on procumbens. Has anyone tried this on procumbens? A more suitable pot is in the future. (latest photos taken 03/26/02)

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David Chauvin

January 2001.

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"With the death of the Shamen, artists are the last interpreters of the Divine." Joseph Campbell

David Chauvin

Just an update on a tree I posted earlier in the year. This is a couple of weeks after pinching. The tree looks unbalanced to the left, so a stone was placed to give the tree a more stable appearance until a real correction can be made. I don't know if it helps or not. Some say yea, some nay. Any opinions or suggestions?

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"With the death of the Shamen, artists are the last interpreters of the Divine." Joseph Campbell

Jay

David, in hte spirit of "hey what do I know" have you thought of moving this tree into a growing box for a couple or three years to get the growth you desire? I like the tree and do feel the rock does something positive... should it? I do not know but it does for me!

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David Chauvin

Jay,
I don't think this tree will ever be a "specimen". Juniper stock of this quality is not rare (the poor quality photo below is after it's first styling May 2000). From what I've read and been told, procums put on trunk diameter very slowly and that's what this tree needs, so I don't think I'll go into a box with it. I'll just keep on the lookout for better stock. Thanks for the comments.

David

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Rene_Voortwist

Hi David,

I think your tree is not so bad at all ! I fiddled around a bit with it. Just straightened the pads a bit here and there. What do you think ? I wouldn't worry about the trunk to much. Not all trees have a 5 inch trunk....

gr. René

zeb

René, your virtual is great! On my opinion the tree looks better this way than if it had a record-breaker trunk. In general, bonsai that have a trunk diameter more than 1/6 of the height of the tree, are way too tapered to be natural-looking.
Ofcourse, there are many different opinions on this also, but this is a matter that should be discussed in another thread.


Zeb

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bonsaial1

I think the future of this tree is very good. You have pinched profusly and have built real density in the foliage. The tree has great potential as a wonderful shohin. I took the liberty to remove the primary branch. I don't think I would remove it if it were my tree without years of contemplation. I have seen the masters in the magazines saw a huge 1 1/2" primary branch off of some great trees, thinking "are they crazy". Then all of a sudden after careful wiring the tree looks magnificent. While my virtual is by no means a masterpiece tree, it will give you an idea of the tree with out your current primary branch. I put it into one of my favorite pots too.

Lat me know what you think, Bonsaial

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TreeBay

I based this one off Al's effort. Pot is much smaller and the foliage mass has been reduced to make the trunk appear larger.

Regards,

Matt

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