Attempting my first bonsai

[blxgga]

Decided to give a shimpaku juniper a go... After a few hours of pruning I've come to the realization that I may have taken too much foliage off in one go... Please let me know if it will be okay!! I've cut off approximately 50-60%

[TimIAm]

It depends on a lot of things. A photo or 2 is a good start. Also, you can update your profile with your location so you can get some location specific advice.

Can depend on how big the tree is, how healthy the tree is, how long since the last repot, how long since it was last pruned heavily and also your location.

It also depends on what you mean by "ok" because it might continue to grow, it may even continue to grow for years, but a beginner mistake can be to remove parts of a young tree that may not grow back where you want it. That's another reason a photo is helpful, if you want advice on a future direction.

Another issue with aggressive pruning on young junipers is reducing their ability to grow. When they are younger you can boost future growth by letting them just grow. Shimpaku will put out long runners which have a lot of potential for developing faster growth. A beginner mistake is to shape a young trees too early, slowing down this growth.

So, the issue here may be setback in terms of time to develop a good tree, not just the general health.

Post us a pic and update your profile with your location to get more specific advice.

[Akhi]

If you are just starting, my only advice to you is start big. Have at least 5-10 bonsai going at the same time. They can be at different stages and styles. So in 10 years, there are some good bonsais on your bench. They take a long time and this site has so much info to keep you from tripping.

[shibui]

50%-60% off a juniper in one sitting should be no problem. They do not like to be cut back to nothing but half is OK
Photos are definitely a great idea. Ausbonsai only supports files under 1Mb so you will probably need to compress the files before they will upload.
As already mentioned a general location alerts us to your specific climate conditions and the time of year where you are. Much of bonsai is season dependant and the seasons vary depending where you live.

Another trap for newbies is that junipers do not live long indoors. Your juniper will need to have some direct sunlight and fresh air to survive.