ATM: Another Juniper Critique

Thomas_J.

Walter,
Here's another juniper for you to critique if you could.
This first picture shows the tree the way it has been growing.
I might add that I haven't had this tree for very long, but thought I saw something in restyling it as you will see in the next pictures.
Thomas J.

Attached Images

dg jun#6 9-07#10(53).jpg (56.0 KB, 624 views)

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Thomas J.

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Thomas_J.

This pic shows what I feel would be the new front after doing some trimming, wiring and pinching and of course tilting it up to a new planting angle.

Attached Images

dg jun#6 9-07#1(51).jpg (47.5 KB, 616 views)

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Thomas J.

Thomas_J.

One more shot from a little different angle. So what do you think, too much foliage on the crown, too much of a cookie cutter style?
Thomas J.

Attached Images

dg jun#6 9-07#7(48)inet3.jpg (52.8 KB, 610 views)

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Thomas J.

Walter_Pall

Thomas,
I would not tilt the tree up. It would be more boring, you would overbalance it. I would enhance the slanting form that it has now.
There is definitely too much foliage. I would reduce the foliage by at least 50 %. More than my picture shows.
I would take away the look of a cabbage and better define the branch levels. I would make the symmetrical crown clearly asymmetrical, by taking off a lot at the left side, thus enhancing the slant.
best regards
Walter Pall

Attached Images

dg jun#6 9-07#1(51)4.jpg (55.7 KB, 601 views)

David Chauvin

Thomas,

I like this one a lot. A procumbens with a nice base is rare, and your junipers are always in peak health. I did this virt/critique before seeing Walter’s, so I’ll go ahead and post. Once again I would reduce the foliage mass and separate the clouds a bit. What's hiding behind that tuft of foliage in front? This branch is hiding the trunk line, but I'm not sure what to do with it without knowing what's back there.

As usual, Walter’s proposal is definitely more unique and dynamic, beyond the obvious.

Best Regards,

David

Attached Images

tj juniper virt combo.jpg (54.9 KB, 582 views)

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Thomas_J.

Walter,
Thanks again for your time on critiquing this juniper. I hope things went well for you at the Ginkgo convention.

David,
Thanks again also for your virtual. The branch you inquired about is actually hiding the biggest flaw in this tree and that is that the trunk abrubtly stops and some of the the other bfanches wind around the top to give it the crown. There is no real nice taper at the top of the trunk. It just stops. This is part of the reason why I chose to turn and tilt the tree so as not to make this flaw so obvious. It's also why that branch is hiding that part of the trunk.
Thomas J.

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Thomas J.

Mark Morris

Interesting threads Tom. I couldn't resist doing a quick Paint virtual of this Juniper, based on the first image. It just seemed too obvious.

As Walter said, you should definitely aim for a slanting tree and reduce the canopy, emphasise the character branches on the right, reduce the foliage on the left. Give the tree some age and a sense of tension, always look for an <i>aggressive</i> and bold design.

Regards,

Mark

Attached Images

toms juniper 2.jpg (33.6 KB, 387 views)

Thomas_J.

Hi Mark,
Thanks for taking the time to do a virtual of this juniper. A question I have for you though; doesn't it seem that with the extended branch you have in the front and the amount of lean you added to the tree, doesn't it give somewhat the impression that the tree is a little top heavy and looks like it might be leaning over? If there's one thing I've noticed about bonsai, it's that everybody sure has different tastes when it comes to styling. To be truthful with you, I do like Davids virtual a lot and might consider something with that in mind. Thanks again
Thomas J.

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Thomas J.

Mark Morris

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for the swift reply. The first right branch is the character branch which I always have on a tree. It defines the whole tree. The canopy is still too heavy, I started introducing spaces between the branches on the right, but its a bit harder to do that virtually on the rest of the canopy, as Walter said though, I would remove 50% of the foliage. I haven't tilted the tree from the first image, but the character branch balances the tree. If you subscribe to BT, take a look at some of Hideo Suzuki work

I will take some pics of mine 2nite hopefully to illustrate my thoughts.
Great tree though!

Regards,

Mark