AusBonsai

I was given this bonsai for xmas, purchused from a bunnings of all places, didn't think it had much going for it but gave it a bit of work

This is how it was 5 mths ago

Gave it a bit of a tip prune and wired it up

This where it is now, and a drawing of where i want to get it to (I know i went a bit nuts and took to much material off, newbie impatience!)

I know i've butchered it, and am posting this mainly to discourage other newbies from making my mistake themselves

Hi Leamos,

Nice to see someone giving things a try, and I think you may be a little too hard on youself when you say you have
`butchered things`.

A few things I do like, one is you want to acheive a tree, given that you have a sketch of what you have in mind for its future. I also admire you for giving it a go, you seem to have even tried your hand at some wiring, and also have the `magic water` in a spry bottle on hand so you have given the process some thought. You have also taken the time to post the pics and comments here, which is something not everyone does.

I think I may have waited till at least spring to remove all that growth, but in saying that your ` newbie impatience` will not cause to much damage, what you removed will grow back.

And in saying that , perhaps you may have considered a little more delicate wiring and used the material that was on the tree to begin its shaping, rather than removal ? Just a thought.

I would consider either potting this tree into a larger pot , and growing it on, or if you have another pot available, perhaps a re pot into something a little more in tune with your juniper than the blue glazed one that it is in now ? A nice simple unglazed pot would be ideal, and perhaps loose the rock as well, or incorporate some moss in the area to help compliment your work.

I do enjoy the shadow of the trees shape, and am a fan of what I call `silhouette trees`, ones that may not conform to set rules of bosani, but have an overall pleasant appeal, espcially from there shape, or in your case shadow.

I would like to encorage you to do more work, as you have an obvious interest in bonsai.

I do not know if you have other bonsai or trees that you are working on, (apart from your fig stump), but I am an advocate of supporting your local bonsai nusery, or general nursery, but even if you have none close by, have a look in Bunnings as they do at times have some good plants for bonsai training (I know I have a few junipers from there myself, yes, guilty as charged !!).

I say well done, and good luck with your trees and the wealth of information from the members here.

Welcome aboard !!


Regards,


Paul

Hi Leamos
I like the drawing you did for this tree Be nice to work to that image over the next years

the only thing I will say is that the bend in the first branch is too sharp. It need to be a smooth bend to replicate the branch below it. Whith it being a sharp bend it tends to "fight' with the other branch
Ken

leamos, I like your sketch, however i feel that the 2 branches coming up from and including the horizontal/main branch will all conflict with each other, there will be no definate trunkline, like i said i like your sketch and would consider just using the left half of the tree, i think in time it would make a nice tree,

Just a quick update, i have repotted this juni into a much larger pot so it can grow out and thicken up hopefully. I will let is grow for a bit before i think about a design change but i do see where your coming from craig, thanks for the ideas guys