1st Juniper Yamadori -- thoughts on design?

[I_I_am_not_a_cat]

I collected this in early May and have watched as the main trunk has died back but the lowest branch is still alive. Today I decided to remove the majority of the dead needles so I could get a better indication of what was happening and I think that it may actually be a separate tree that was growing in the same crack in the rock and grew from under one of the roots (root over tree??) or maybe it is 3 trees all growing close together.

Looking for thoughts on design, even though I am not planning on doing any more work to this until next year.

Here it is just after being collected and planted into a box.


And here it is today--I had already started removing needles when I realized I needed a before pic:


As it is now:

A couple of close ups of the base where you can see that it might be

 

[pandacular]

Before thinking about style, keep it alive for at least two more years. It’s very unhealthy as is, to the point where I would want to consult with someone local about what needs to be adjusted to keep it alive.

 

[Ruddigger]

Good advice.

 

[Bonsai Forest]

What made you decide to remove all the foliage from almost all the branches instead of only removing a certain number of branches?

 

[I_I_am_not_a_cat]

Before thinking about style, keep it alive for at least two more years. It’s very unhealthy as is, to the point where I would want to consult with someone local about what needs to be adjusted to keep it alive.

2 more years...well I guess I have other trees in the meantime. This was my first try at collecting a juniper and I was sort of surprised any of it survived. I still want to think about the design, even if I need to wait for it to recover.

 

[I_I_am_not_a_cat]

What made you decide to remove all the foliage from almost all the branches instead of only removing a certain number of branches?

All of the removed foliage was dead--all I had to do was lightly brush a branch for the needles to fall. I just wanted to see the bare bones before removing any branches. Perhaps it was a mistake--as this is my first Juniper, I am still learning.

 

[Ruddigger]

What kind of juniper is it?

 

[I_I_am_not_a_cat]

What kind of juniper is it?

Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), collected in the Oregon high desert.