AusBonsai

I bought this tree when I had only just started bonsai just under a year ago. I did some experimenting cutting a few branches. Some of the ends went brown, probably during summer when I was away.
The movement in the trunk is uniform and ugly. I don't want to chop the trunk, I thought about compressing the bends but I have no idea how I would go about that .
All the branches on this tree haven't even forked yet so what do I do to develop pads ? I really need some help on this tree !

fully edited now should work
the back I am wondering about what i should do with this keep it or remove it the brown ends The jin I started should i keep both of them or remove one? some other angles to help

shadowazure wrote: sorry about the excess links

that's OK as I never follow links to offsite hosting. So many of them break and become dead, then the thread here becomes redundant.
At least if the images are on this site they can be viewed within the thread, and they will never go stale.

re compressing the bends, have a look at my Juniper Shohin comp tree and might help. viewtopic.php?f=148&t=15049&p=154025


Ken

Some tips on posting pics: viewtopic.php?f=97&t=54&p=165&hilit=+tutorial#p165

Unfortunately I'm still learning about these, so can't give styling advice myself

Jason wrote:Some tips on posting pics: viewtopic.php?f=97&t=54&p=165&hilit=+tutorial#p165

thanks i'll do that now

shadowazure wrote:

Jason wrote:Some tips on posting pics: viewtopic.php?f=97&t=54&p=165&hilit=+tutorial#p165

thanks i'll do that now

I help with what I can

Some of the ends went brown, probably during summer when I was away.

the brown ends
DSC_0067.JPG

Those brown ends look like juniper flowers (cones) to me. Certainly no problem and not something you did wrong.

Your branches will develop. All it needs is plenty of food, water and Time. I know that is hard for young people but you can only speed plant growth up a certain amount. You still have to take some time.

What techniques you use to compress the bends will depend on how much compression you want. If you only need a bit of bend then just wire and bend the trunk. If you need to bend more severely then wrapping it first will help it resist breaking. If it is really stiff and will not bend with wire you can split the trunk to make it more pliable then wrap and wire it and it should bend much easier - the splits will heal up inside the wrapping and help hold it in place.

I would remove or shorten that long branch from near the top. Can't see any style that would use it and it will just keep taking energy from the other branches you do want to grow. Pruning and pinching the upper branches should encourage the lower ones to grow more and develop.

I think I will chop the top off here but should i leave those flower cones, I am certain that's what they are after looking on Google images. I plan on also compressing the tree in half. Do you think it would be okay to do all this at once? Should i wait till late winter - early spring?

Always consider a Jin rather than a chop.
The chop option is always there.....

I can see several options with this tree and I'm sure you will too in time.

Should be no problem with pruning and bending at the same time and this time of year should be OK. Cutting off the cones will not hurt the tree.

Bending to reduce height by half might take some tight bends so probably better to wrap the trunk to reduce possibility of breaking it when you bend.

I would be wrapping the trunk with Raffia, then wiring the entire length, then bending.
As Shibui mentioned, if the trunk is larger diameter then 20mm or so then splitting is a good option, but i would not do so as a beginner on your own.
Check out the Bonsai by the harbour thread as Grant did a Demo on exactly that.

You can wire and bend Juni now as the wire will need to stay on for 12 months or longer.

Ken

Hi shadiowazure,

just a quick idea that doesnt require the advance techiniques, all of which can be ustilised after the inital shaping and style has been acheived.



Regards
,


Paul.