juniper procumbens

peanuts1gang

well any ideas for this juniper procumbens

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Candy_J_Shirey

Start here.

peanuts1gang

yea well this bonsai dosnt have mallsai. and how doeas that have anything to do with styling this?

Joanie

Maybe Candy thought that you bought it in that pot? It's really too tiny to be put in a bonsai pot if you want to have a good tree, it needs to be in a training pot or in the ground if you can manage it.

When I started reading here, most of my trees were in bonsai pots, but now most of them are in much larger, well draining training pots or in the ground. The growth is fantastic, they are bulking up nicely. In a year or two or three, they will have a nice trunk and nebari and will then be ready for training.

Your little sweet tree isn't ready for any style yet....it only has a few little branches, and it's trunk is straight. No taper. It looks like a mallsai because it hasn't had time to grow into it's potential.

Best thing you can do is plant it into something bigger (search "growing boxes" for a start) and go get something that is already in a one- or even better a five gallon pot. Then you'll have something that can be styled!!

Good luck!
Joanie

JohnB

Hi
Putting aside any "mallsai" prejudice. If the tree is healthy, it's a good candidate to practice wiring into a style of your choice. All Procumbens trees start out this way, a small pliable trunk and a few future branches.
I suggest you decide what style of tree you would like. Informal upright or a slanted style are good choices for sure.
Start by wiring the main trunk. Use wire that is just thick enough to maintain the shape you desire. The trunk of the procumbens juniper is quite flexible at the age your tree is at so pretty much the sky is the limit!
There are many great examples right here on bonsaitalk.com for you to model your tree after. I would suggest you look at a few of them to draw some inspiration.
Once you decide, carefully style the trunk by bending it into place. Try to feel your way through this and proceed slowly so you don't break the trunk. After you arrive at a trunk style that pleases you, don't bend it any more.
Now you will want to see it grow a bit more. I would suggest you plant it into a slightly larger pot. The roots will have more access to space and nutrients there. Watch the wired trunk carefully. Within 6 -12 months the shape of the trunk could potentially be set. The tell-tale sign is the wire begins to "cut in" into the trunk. As soon as you see evidence of that cut the wire off, don't unwire.
As branches begin to form in the slightly larger pot you can then style those as well.

By the time that happens you'll have a better feel for the art and prolly have started a bonsai collection and have lot's more confidence with your trees. You may want to avoid buying bonsai stock to practice with that are already in bonsai pots. It inflates the price of the stock. Garden Centers and Bonsai Shops usually have plenty of stuff to choose from. You can always plant your creations into a bonsai container later when you are satisfied with it's styling.

Read through the wealth of info on this site and you'll see there's lots to do and many routes to take in bonsai.

Enjoy

peanuts1gang

hey thanks alot.
well that was a pretty old picture, so i am going to update you guys. i took johns advise and put the bonsai in a growing container and has been wired for a wile now.

please give feedback... thanks

peanuts1gang

hey thanks alot.
well that was a pretty old picture, so i am going to update you guys. i took johns advise and put the bonsai in a growing container and has been wired for a wile now.

please give feedback... thanks

peanuts1gang

well now that i wired it, and its in a growing pot i'll let you guys give me some feedback on the redone bonsai. at the moment i am letting the foliage fill in, because right now it is almost see through. some parts of the tree havent had any with new growth for a while but i think it will start up in the beutiful sun...





feedback please. thank you

JohnB

Hey Peanuts1gang..

do you have any experience with bonsai or is this your first one?