AusBonsai

Hi

I spent today styling this juniper its my first time first time having worked on this type of materal. I am happy the way it turned out . I plan to repot it tomorrow.
The top section of the tree was removed lowering it 5 inches. all branches were wired and styled. took me 7 or 8 hrs .
I also started a shari at the top .

Nice work mate, I will be keeping track of this one. How long have you had it?


"Location: Sydney" With that "SSS" trunk line 3 guesses who grew the tree.
For some reason I really love the somewhat un-natural, yet mesmerizing aspect of a perfect s curve to the trunk line.

I'd buy a tree like this in a heart beat, so many "perfect" possibilities.

Keep us posted mate.

Thanks Mitchel
I bought it last week from bonsai south . do you work with junipers ? i have a book on developing ramification on junipers were it shows the first step choosing primary and secondary branches and and cutting the foliage back to two leaves and wiring them . but how can this be done when cutting the foliage back like that will result in removing 80 percent of the foliage ?

Whoever created that bonsai stock must have surely got their inspiration from the forest ... most probably from a snake as it slithered by

Please ozzy,
This tree looks as though it is at least 15 years old, if not more.
Only to be sold for a couple hundred bucks.
Leong and anyone else who has bothered to plant for
Future generations deserve nothing but a huge applause.
Not ridicule.

Hi mate,

Not bad for a first attempt. The only thing that bothers me is the lack of taper. The double "S" makes it very artificial and I would suggest to drop the height of the tree. By wiring up one of the branches you can create more taper. Also try to change the movement of the tree to make it more interesting.

Good luck,

Chris

I reckon if your aiming for a natural look the last couple of bends could be removed or air layered off

andy hodges wrote:Please ozzy,
This tree looks as though it is at least 15 years old, if not more.
Only to be sold for a couple hundred bucks.
Leong and anyone else who has bothered to plant for
Future generations deserve nothing but a huge applause.
Not ridicule.

Hey I could have said something nice about it but then I may be kicked out of the PABB society, that is the People Against Bad Bonsai society of which I'm the number one ticket holder
The tree needs to be re worked, its not a total loss, could still be a good bonsai, trouble is if the tree was styled correctly in the first place then put on the shelf at the shop next Mr Corkscrew here 9 out of 10 people would still buy Mr Corkscrew so from a commercial viewpoint there may not be any real insentive to grow true bonsai.
What do you think the chances are of getting the owner to chop it down to the first bend and turn it into a real bonsai?, next to none I'd say, currently as it is it belongs in a bonsai freak show circus.

I take it you were never a beginner?
Can I take from your reply that you don't have any trees that you like but they don't conform to the 'rules'?

A good oportunity for two trees here with a strategic layer. The tree is not my cup of tea either but has a lot of potential as a more compact tree.

Thanks for the comments . I too don't like the s trunk line. i bought this tree for it's base and plan to reduce it further in future im just not jumping into any thing until i get a good game plan and more experence . It was 30
Inch tall when i bought it now it's 25 . So with a 2.5 inch trunk base it will end up around the 15'inch mark . And the taper problem i will fix with a shari.'

Paul, you came through pretty well running the gauntlet here. I think most of us at your level of experience would have thought this tree was the best thing we had ever seen. Years from now you will look back and reflect that reducing the height of the tree was the best move you ever made. Mate! it's all down to experience and we all learn as we go. Ozzy may be blunt but he is right on the money. Bodhi offers a gentler opinion but follows that thinking straight down the line as well.
You can achieve better taper by swinging a lower branch up to start a new apex. Feed the tree like there is no tomorrow and watch it take off. Please keep us posted on how the tree develops.

Ash

rowan wrote:I take it you were never a beginner?
Can I take from your reply that you don't have any trees that you like but they don't conform to the 'rules'?

There has to be some rules otherwise it'll be anarchy I tells ya, and we'll all have corkscrew bonsai , the rules can be bent occasionally but smashing the rule book to smithereens can't be tolerated, this is a Bonsai forum not Topiary.

Ozzy you do have a charming way with words

I agree with you tho, and have notice several trees just like this only last weekend at "Bonsai Environment", and also up at "Red Dragon" when up there Last year.
As you say Paul, Lovely bases but I do not lie the Multiple S bends either.

Many of these types of trees need to be Bent further and compressed to make nice outlines, or even better, layered into multiple trees
Remember many of them were planted and trained 15 - 20 years ago when maybe that was "the look" to have

Ken

Hi Paul,

Heres a few more directions that you might want to look at. Obviously only a nuance to your tree, but the possibilities are there. I find your material has alot of potential, but as you can see in the dusty sketches, I have only used a few branches and one on others to achieve desired outlook. The pads and the canopy can be heavier, shorter or thinner - thats totally up to you. I believe you do have all these pieces on your tree to use. I've put a red line through the tree, thats roughly where the height of your canopy could finish but I would also keep alot of the timber above to use as deadwood, but best to bend it when it's green. If it doesn't suit your tree, simply remove. There are endless more images I could draw and I haven't even began to tilt or heavily wire your tree. Hopefully this is a more-positive note than what has already been posted above. Imagination is the name of the game. If we can't see it, use inspiration through nature, your mate's trees and proven artist's blogs and sites. Remember the internet is your friend. But at all times, have fun.

Cheers,
Anthony.