A big juniper cascade

plant_dr27

Very nice tree Dave, I like it overall. But in my opinion, I think that bending the the trunk down further at the the end as shown in photos #52283 and #52288 ruins the natural flow of the trunk line. The way it goes along nicely at that angle and then abruptly takes a downward bend disagrees with my eye. It could just be the photo though.

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SiNguyen

Dave, how about Juniperus rigida? Since you bought it from a bonsai dealer, it could very well be this type of needle juniper. Very commonly used in Japan but is not commonly found in this country. Try Google it for the description of the foliage and fruits on female trees. I think the needles tend to be paler on the top surface and has a thin center pale stripe. J. chinensis San Jose and Foemina are also thought of as "needle" junipers too?, but they do have more mature type scale foliage like you said, although that could take many years to develop, or not at all if you keep pruning it . San Jose junipers also have a rough bark too. Yours appears fairly smooth right?
Good luck!
Si

ianb

Could also, if you're very lucky be J. communis. How stiff are the needles and look for the white center stripe in the leaf.

Cheers
Ian

Dav4

I don't think it's J. rigida or J. communis. In my little experience with 'rigida', the foliage is more pendulous and the older needles are harder/sharperthen what I have. 'Communis' needles tend to be sharper, as well, and mine doesn't have the white stripe. I really think this is a 'chinensis' or 'squamata' cultivar of one sort or another.



Plantdr, I know what you mean by saying the change in direction at the end appears a bit jarring. I think it is made worse by the picture. I initially styled the tree with a less abrupt dip at the end of the cascading branch, but I think the change in direction makes the design more dynamic...I think refining the branches/foliage and allowing the descending trunk to be seen more effectively will eventually improve the flow of the tree. Thanks for the input.

Dave

Jgs bonsai

It looks like a Juniperus Conferta (shore juniper) to me. Check out the discription on this page.

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplant...s.htm#juniperus

Gareth

Dav4

Gareth, thanks for the post and the link. I don't think it's a 'conferta', though, but you did give me an idea...I could actually google/research this stuff myself (DUH!). Anyway, the foliage on my tree most closely resembles that of a J. squamata 'Blue Star'. I'm not 100% sure its actually a 'Blue Star', as it would be the largest specimen of this cultivar I've ever seen, including trees planted in the landscape. I wish now that I'd taken a pic of the tree before working on it as you all could have seen the growth habit more clearly. Still, I do feel comfortable calling it a squamata. Thanks for all the input.


Dave

Dav4

So, I've been ruminating about this tree and its future pot. There are several issues to contend with; 1) The tree is very large, easily 34" wide and 24" tall, 2) I think the style of the tree falls somewhere between a semi-cascade and a cascade. This tells me that the best pot should be shallower the a typical cascade pot, but still fairly deep. It should also be wider then a typical cascade pot to give the tree more stability. Does this all make sense? The nursery near me has an used, unglazed, brown, high quality Japanese pot, round with a hand twisted edge, maybe 17" wide by 10" deep (I'm guessing right now, and I wish I had a picture). Does this sound like a possible candidate? It would be a super pain getting the tree up to the nursery to see the tree and pot together, and the pot is going to cost several hundred dollars if I go for it. The nursery pot the tree is in now is 17" wide by about 14" deep, I think. Any other thoughts, recommendations, virts utilizing the mediocre pics I've provided would be great.


Dave

Vonsgardens

Dave,
You will be able to reduce the roots a god deal, you have had a season of growth and repair. I would think something in the 14" square/round and 8" deep or so would work. You will need to get the soil cleaned out and replaced on a third of the rootball or so. John

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Dav4

Thanks, John. I really appreciate the input. The nursery is closed until 2/08...I'll get up there then with my tape measure and camera and see what might work.


Dave