Styling A Juniper

pdbbonsai

Hi Opie,

A couple suggestions for you, and by all means do what feels natural to you, you dont have to listen to any of us.

Take a real long look at your tree. Get a personal knowledge of the rootbase and the trunk. Are these desirable qualities that you want? Is there one side more pleasing than another? Whichever side you like best, pick that as the front. Follow that trunk upwards. Study where it naturally wants to take you. Right now it seems that it is in a tug-o-war of sorts, going left and right from this photographed side. When I look at it, it presents itself in a state of confusion. (I recognize that state, for I reside there at times)

Take a look inside the tree and get a feel for any movement from the trunkline into the branches. A quick tip---Hide some of the branches with your hands or fingers and get a mental picture of what it would look like without those branches. (if you want to learn how to do virtuals with your computer, there are tips on the contest page of this forum). But get in the habit of using your hands. Unless you carry a laptop to your bench.....

Visit the sites and galleries Matt linked for you, than look again at your tree. Revisit your tree again and again til you begin to see something within the tree. Kinda like the 3D posters you have to stare at awhile til the image kinda pokes out at ya. (actually I wouldnt know this, I am color blind and have never gotten an image from these things....so my analogy is kiltered) You get the idea tho?

After you pick out a style or design you want your tree to go, begin removing foliage and other matter not needed for your final design. On some trees, and depending on the style you go for, you may have to strip down to the bare basic skeleton and rebuild. But for your juniper, we will stick with what we got and go backwards only a little bit. Simply remove those things that dont fit in the style you want it to be.

I would begin first by opening up the foliage. Open it (by pinching out foliage and/or removing branches) so you can see all the branches and inner growth. If the outside foliage is too dense, the inside dies off. You will want to encourage inside growth, because this is where the future of your tree will be growing from.

After that, clean up your mess and direction prune, form foliage pads, feed, and all the other bonsai care things we all do.

Couple other quick tips, that you may already know. If ya have glued rocks on the topsoil, quickly remove them and discard. You can replace with crushed granite or not. I did not know the damage it caused, I always thought they were "tacky" and got rid of them. Funny thing is, when I now go to places where there are true "mallsai", I look around to see if anyone is looking, then I remove the glued rocks......dont tell anyone.

Keep your juniper outside at all times. (as it is now) Indoors is no place for trees of any kind. Tho it is true that tropicals and some temperate plants tolerate modified indoor environments, the juniper is not one of them. You will surely expedite its demise this way.

I am sure you probably have heard that a million times. I wish I had heard it at least once when I got my very first bonsai. May she rest in mulch.

Oh, and if you could. After you have opened (if you choose to do so) up the foliage and show some of the movement, but before any major pruning.....please put up another picture and I will try my best to suggest a style, however, I think once you get it to this point......you will know where you will want to go for yourself.

We are here if you still want more suggestions.

good luck and keep us posted

Paul

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