Procumbens Juniper; Slant style

bonsaial1

I picked up this larger P. juniper at Kims on my way to the GSBF convention last Oct. 2007. It was in a 5 gallon container and was in a block of stock that had grown thru the containers and into the ground. The problem with this juniper was that the stock had grown so much that all the inner foliage had died back and many of the branches had died all together.

I picked out this specimen to work on as a project due to the strong trunk line. It bolts from the soil at a good angle and has a pretty good nebari for a juniper. The roots and their angle of attack give the base great power and will help sell the story of a slanting bonsai.

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bonsaial1

The main thing I would have to do with this bush was to get it strong again. After the convention and my return trip home, I decided that the tree needed to be repotted. I decided this because when watered it would pool up in the container and not drain. The water would sit there for 10 or more minutes before finally soaking in. I suspected that the roots filled the container and was probably like a brick.

I was not wrong. The root mass was cut thru with a saw and the roots combed out. It was planted out in a cut down five gallon container in 3/8 lava and sand 50/50. My all purpose mix for growing out all stock. None of my trees see any special bonsai soil with akadama, huyge, pumice, lava or anything attractive untill they are ready for a show pot. I get extraordinary root growth and foliage growth with the lava/sand combo. I would use it all the time except it looks funny in a show pot.

The next phase called for pruning back hard the branches and foliage of the tree to induce back budding for future branches. This was done and the tree wired for a rough styling. The tree was then allowed to rest.

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bonsaial1

I was able to crop this photo of the tree out of a larger picture of the back yard. The tree is in pretty rough shape and this is from a photo on April 4, 2008.

Last weekend I worked on the tree with Ted Matson. Ted loved this tree and together we will continue to work on it. Tomorrow I will shoot a picture of how it looks in its present form.

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bonhe

Good job, Al. Bonhe

JavaScottC

Al,
With that "growing mix" you use, (sand/lava), your water bill must be outrageous! How often do you water when you have that mix, two or three times daily? I would guess 3, and you have it on an irrigation drip line

Scott

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bonsaial1

Hah! I am not on a meter so for now I can water away. That time will come soon enough I suppose. Hopefully I will be semi retired by then so it won't bother me.

Ok so now I can post the photo of where the plant is now. For now it has a rough styling and the trunk is back budding well. The branches have begun budding and the foliage is greening up. The trunk measures 2 inches across and the plant stands 14 inches tall. A good bonsai ratio of 7/1. I have included a close up of the nebari and the jins. The last shot shows a branch that had been removed years before I bought the plant. I will deal with that area later this year after it gains more strength over the summer.

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FlyBri

Gday Al!

Great work on a very nice specimen! I particularly like the detail and movement of the first lot of dead wood - the Junipers I usually see do not offer such fine branching so close to the trunk (but then I do tend to look for Junipers in places other than Bonsai nurseries).

Maybe I missed it, but can you give us a rough timetable of the work you performed on this tree? Also, what are your plans for the future of this tree? More deadwood, perhaps?

Thanks.

Fly.

PS: Long live the balloon animal!!!

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holycow

always look forward to reading you articles, al.

HOWEVER, am disappointed that you haven't attempted to turn the juniper into a shohin!!!!

GrumbleGuts

Just reduce the size of the pictures. Or take the photos from further away.

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