Shimpaku styling

[Shamino]

Suggestions please. The first of the two photos attached is one of my Shimpaku from last year. Upon suggestions from here, this spring I repotted it and angled it more toward the back. It worked perfectly to make the trunk more visible and raise the apex. The second photo is of the improvement. But now, the lowest left hand branch seems out of proportion and unappealing (as you view the picture). I can a)leave it as is b) wire it and raise it so it doesn't look so low c) take it off and jin about 2-3 inches into a shari reaching down to the soil or d) some other suggestion you might have. What think ye?

 

[Japonicus]

Consider it as well as the 2nd right side branch for Jin.
Both are sparse both on inside of curves and the right one is a bar branch.
very nice. When it is growing on strongly a more shallow pot next time.

 

[schoolpizza]

I've only been at this a year so take with a grain of salt. It's a nice tree but some of the items holding it back are

1) not much trunk thickness or tapir
2) branches are too thick relative to the trunk
3) appears to be planted in Kiks cereal

I like the way the second left branch exits the trunk and if it were me I would probably chop/jin above it and style it as the new apex. That would be an instant 50% foliage reduction so make sure the tree is healthy and ready for it.

 

[Shamino]

Consider it as well as the 2nd right side branch for Jin.
Both are sparse both on inside of curves and the right one is a bar branch.
very nice. When it is growing on strongly a more shallow pot next time.

Good suggestion on the Jins...I never noticed the bar branch and didn't think about the inside curve structure. It was in a shallower pot but due to inexperience I let the soil build up from fear of cutting too much root. This spring I also potted one with too much soil elevation and I lowered it so it fit in a lower pot. Will do this with this tree gradually.

I've only been at this a year so take with a grain of salt. It's a nice tree but some of the items holding it back are

1) not much trunk thickness or tapir
2) branches are too thick relative to the trunk
3) appears to be planted in Kiks cereal

I like the way the second left branch exits the trunk and if it were me I would probably chop/jin above it and style it as the new apex. That would be an instant 50% foliage reduction so make sure the tree is healthy and ready for it.

The "Kix Cereal" is Akadama...and it's only a surface treatment. But I'm not particularly happy with it because of the rise in the soil.

 

[schoolpizza]

The planting isn't a big deal but I do think this tree needs either a lot of thickening, a trunk chop, or some smaller branches cultivated to give it realistic scale.

 

[Shamino]

I've done a photoshop rendition of the suggestion Japonicus recommended and it's attached below. This has produced another question...can I extend the upper right shari around the back and connect to the lower left jin and shari without harming the tree? I think the answer is yes but I'd like some feedback from more knowledgeable bonsainuts. Also, the upper right jin still looks like a bar branch...how can I correct this? (You can see the actual upper right branch that's not been jinned yet in the second photo of my initial post here.)

 

[Bonsai Forest]

Ideally, the foliage pads would rest on top of clean lines of branches at the bottom of each pad. Currently, your branches are angled upward and all bifurcating and ramifying branches are visible. Raffia and wire them down so that only the primaries are visible while the more compact and dense foliage pads rest on top of them.

With branches being leggy and bare along their length, the apex looks sparse and with too much space/air/holes in it. Your shimpaku is very nice and with tweaking it can “fill in” some.

 

[Bonsai Forest]

Lucky Charms!

 

[Shamino]

Lucky Charms!

 

[Orion_metalhead]

The planting isn't a big deal but I do think this tree needs either a lot of thickening, a trunk chop, or some smaller branches cultivated to give it realistic scale.

You cant trunk chop a juniper.

 

[Shamino]

You cant trunk chop a juniper.

 

[Shamino]

 

[Shibui]

can I extend the upper right shari around the back and connect to the lower left jin and shari without harming the tree?

Yes. Provided there are no dead areas on the remaining sides of the trunk that would inhibit sap flow.
Sap generally flows up and down through the quickest routes but trees do have the ability to make new connections laterally in case of damage. New flow patters will be established to bypass and dead sections as long as you leave viable paths along healthy bark.
The 180 degree shari you are proposing over the distance you have will not bother the tree and sap flow will adapt quickly.

You cant trunk chop a juniper.

Of course you can trunk chop a juniper. The results may not be desirable though - unless you prefer dead junipers.
However, I suspect the comment would refer to chopping above a lower branch rather than chopping back to no foliage as can be done with deciduous.

 

[Nybonsai12]

My 2 cents. You won't get a thicker trunk on this tree without putting in the ground for years of leaving it alone to grow unchecked. I certainly wouldn't do that or do a chop of any kind. The trunk already has nice movement and branches appear to be in good spots. I'd style it to wire branches out and downward to get sun to the interior. Lots of sun and lots of fert thereafter. I'd also leave the first branch alone for now but agree it may need to go later on.

 

[rockm]

The planting isn't a big deal but I do think this tree needs either a lot of thickening, a trunk chop, or some smaller branches cultivated to give it realistic scale.

It doesn't need any of that. What it needs is a good thinning and reconsideration of some of the branching. The lowest branch, for instance, is unappealing because it it far too long and has foliage and branching only at the end. It should be a jin. The branch above it, on the inside of the trunk bend needs to be either removed or made into a thinner jin, as well. The upper right branching near the trop, which should be a lateral branch, has become part of the apex. It blurs the apex of the tree visually. That needs some correction as well.

The remaining tree needs to be "pushed back" with knowledgeable pruning and foliage reduction to induce tighter growth further back towards the trunk. That can take a while. Current thinking on shimpaku and junipers avoids pinching new growth in favor of pruning. Read up on how that works.

Overall, this tree (like many established bonsai) has been allowed to grow too long. That happens because of reluctance to take action on extension growth. It snowballs--been there, done that.

 

[Shamino]

It doesn't need any of that. What it needs is a good thinning and reconsideration of some of the branching. The lowest branch, for instance, is unappealing because it it far too long and has foliage and branching only at the end. It should be a jin. The branch above it, on the inside of the trunk bend needs to be either removed or made into a thinner jin, as well. The upper right branching near the trop, which should be a lateral branch, has become part of the apex. It blurs the apex of the tree visually. That needs some correction as well.

The remaining tree needs to be "pushed back" with knowledgeable pruning and foliage reduction to induce tighter growth further back towards the trunk. That can take a while. Current thinking on shimpaku and junipers avoids pinching new growth in favor of pruning. Read up on how that works.

Overall, this tree (like many established bonsai) has been allowed to grow too long. That happens because of reluctance to take action on extension growth. It snowballs--been there, done that.

You're spot on...I pinched rather than pruned (that's what I was taught to do in books) and I trimmed too little root since I've had it. I'm in the process now of trimming roots and decreasing the size of the root ball (carefully) so I can fit it back into a shallower pot. The tree is back-budding and in due time I expect to be able to shorten those branches or fill in better. Question on your observation...if I jin both lower left hand branches, as well as the one on the upper right, won't that look out of proportion?

 

[rockm]

You're spot on...I pinched rather than pruned (that's what I was taught to do in books) and I trimmed too little root since I've had it. I'm in the process now of trimming roots and decreasing the size of the root ball (carefully) so I can fit it back into a shallower pot. The tree is back-budding and in due time I expect to be able to shorten those branches or fill in better. Question on your observation...if I jin both lower left hand branches, as well as the one on the upper right, won't that look out of proportion?

."if I jin both lower left hand branches, as well as the one on the upper right, won't that look out of proportion?"

That's why you're pulling the foliage in tighter, the tree has waay too heavy of a silhouette for the abundant growth on it. We're talking years in redesign, not immediate.

I'd aim for at least a 50 percent reduction in foliage mass over time. The trunk is pretty much a literati, while the foliage overmatches that in its volume. To bring this in line design wise with the trunk (which isn't as changeable as the foliage) Think long and lean not fat and billowy.

The top branch doesn't necessarily need to be jinned, as much as it needs to be subordinated so it's not part of the apex--that can mean hard pruning to a lower secondary lateral branch on that main branch that isn't growing vertically, or wiring and bending it and then reducing it. This is kind of technical work for everything. I wouldn't rush things. It can take a few years to do all this.

 

[Japonicus]

This area is how the bottom view of a branch should look yet it is facing right or out not down.
The opposite side of the tree needs opening up before you lose any more interior growth up there. You will just have to comb through it and find what needs to go and what needs wiring down.
The longer you wait to let light in up there the more pom pom look with bare branching to the growth that is receiving light.
Dig in and start now but like Rock said it is overall done in stages. However you can and I would be, more aggressive with the top 1/3 to 40% whete it is strong. You'll need to let down with wire, lower branches to provide space for upper branches to occupy.

How much wiring experience do you have?

 

[Shamino]

I have started wiring the pads down and know how to do it...I've only done the first few branches so far. I was planning on getting to the upper branches as soon as it warms up here in Maine...

 

[rockm]

I have started wiring the pads down and know how to do it...I've only done the first few branches so far. I was planning on getting to the upper branches as soon as it warms up here in Maine...

Actually, might be better if you wire before it warms up too much. The warmer it gets, the more active the tree becomes and the more sap is flowing which makes bending not only harder, but more likely to damage tissue. Colder weather (above freezing) can be an excellent time to wire stuff.