Help Me With My Shimpaku Juniper

simoncruden

Hi Ive Got No Ideas With This Plant I Bought It For $15 6 Months Ago And Have Been Letting It Grow Since ,ive Hade A Bit Of Time On My Hands Latley So Ive Wired It Up And Have No Idea Were To Go As Its Got A Few Good Points And A Few Bad Ones As Well .if Any-one Could Help With Some Ideas I Would Be Gratefull.

Thanks

Simon Cruden

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gregb

I know this is going to sound harsh, but all the branches of your tree emerge at roughly the same point off the trunk, like spokes on a wheel. My suggestion would be to keep the thinnest one for the upper trunk and prune the rest of them off, leaving stubs you can later convert to jins. You could also leave one other branch for a lower branch which would mean keeping 2 branches and pruning all the rest.

It's really obvious there is a knob developing from having that many branches emerging from the same area of the trunk. If you leave them all there, it will only continue to thicken. I hope this is helpful to you

zenwarrior

Here's what I see...

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bwaynef

You're going to have to choose one of those branches. I think it'd look silly to jin any of them, especially more than one. I'd be tempted to reduce it to one trunk, get some raffia, wire and a little spare time, and sit down and see exactly how forgiving juniper really is.

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comrvf

im new at the art of bonsai but i would proply do this prodon the pic im new at photo shop too

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october

Hello Simon,
Shimpaku juniper is my favorite species of bonsai. I like the virtuals previously provided. You will need to choose a leader. Also, before you wire, you need to have a plan already in mind. You cannot wire a tree without a vision or sketch of what style you will like the tree. There are 2 main reasons for this. One, is that you will have to cut some branches off and you may have wire connecting to a branch that needs to go. There would be nothing left to support that branch. Second, and probably most important, there are directions and techniques in wiring that must be followed. For example, when wiring a branch down, you start the first loop of wire over the top of the branch, when wiring up, you start the wire from underneath. Also, when wiring a branch towards you, you wire towards you. You cannot adhere to these principles, if you don't have a style picked out yet. In my opinion, I would maybe cut off the wire and then maybe look at some pictures of the styles of bonsai and then pick one. Chances are, after you have picked a style, you wouldn't have to do nearly as much wiring.
Here is the most clear and concise article about wiring I have ever read. Clear in the fact from reading alone. Wiring is best learned if someone shows you the basics. Good luck
http://www.absbonsai.org/articles/wiring/wiring2.html

simoncruden

Hi guys thanks for all the advise ,ive taken all the wire of and have been looking for a leader for this tree ,from what i can see ive got two choices that are inline with the trunk In pic 39462 the left branch is nearly as thick as the trunk and also the upper branch is in line with the trunk ,they both have side branchlets to build on .Any ideas??

thanks

Simon Cruden

october

Hello simon, The branch that is in line with the trunk looks like it might be a good leader. The one on the right is definitely too think. It would ruin the balance and scale of the tree. The one on the left next to the in" line with the trunk branch " might do, but it looks a little thick as well. The first branch should always be thinner than the trunk. As you get higher on the tree, the branches get thinner. Also, the branches should not be parallel with each other. In other words, there should be one branch on one side, then on the other side the branch should be a little higher and so on. Also, leave a couple of buds or branches on the back of the trunk for back branches to give it depth. An informal upright style might be good here. Before you make any decisions, I would take a few days to a week and look at the tree for a little while from different angles everyday. This will definitely help. Here is a pic of an informal upright style.

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october

and no, this chinese elm is not mine. I wish it were.