Foliage Too tall and pointy. Remove that top "crown" of foliage, and it would be good!
Big bend California Juniper
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just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
Those junis yall got out there are just sweeet!....with all that wild dead wood....
Killer material, gonna be cool to see where you take it!
Killer material, gonna be cool to see where you take it!
A Random User
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Nice job!
My own personal critique would be that I would like to see some more front to back movement as well... with the branch you have brought straight down.
Right now the tree and the branch you bent, is for the most part on a single plane. That being a side to side motion. Which creates a "Wallflower" effect... and has little interaction with the viewer.
You have quite a lot to actually work with there... I personally would probably consider removing the straight up and down shari on the left portion... introduce a bend to the branch you already bent... that brings the branch actually forward some what... then further along introduce a bend that heads slightly towards the back.
This would allow for you to set up foliage right above the real heavy deadwood on the left and in the front... as well the bend backwards would allow for lower branching towards the rear of the left side.
My own personal critique would be that I would like to see some more front to back movement as well... with the branch you have brought straight down.
Right now the tree and the branch you bent, is for the most part on a single plane. That being a side to side motion. Which creates a "Wallflower" effect... and has little interaction with the viewer.
You have quite a lot to actually work with there... I personally would probably consider removing the straight up and down shari on the left portion... introduce a bend to the branch you already bent... that brings the branch actually forward some what... then further along introduce a bend that heads slightly towards the back.
This would allow for you to set up foliage right above the real heavy deadwood on the left and in the front... as well the bend backwards would allow for lower branching towards the rear of the left side.
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
Ok here's the first styling. I just can't do more for right now - I want to make sure the tree recovers.
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
It is so hard to see because the photo is so flat. I know exactly what you are saying and in addition to wiring the two main branches down, I also pulled them forward significantly. That's why you see so many guy wires pulling down and back, then forward.
I haven't done any deadwood work yet. I will probably wait to see how the foliage responds, and then take a few photos of the deadwood from different angles before I start deciding where to reduce.
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
I am pretty close to your profile with my finished work (though of course I need about 10x more foliage to fill in). I was able to tuck the apex forward more and down, so that it is below the apex of the deadwood (much better). Right now I was still forced to keep too many long branches, because I just couldn't risk removing all the foliage from the ends. Once the tree recovers with some inner growth, I'll be able to tighten my profile more.
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
Do you have any plans to graft on different juniper branches in the future?
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
No I don't think I will need to do any grafting if the tree responds the way I hope it will.
rnbonsai78
Sapling
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There is a decent amount of green foliage and it takes a min or so for the water to come out of the bottom.
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Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
The tree looks healthy. It is throwing a lot of growth which indicates the roots are in pretty good condition. However I see what appears to be moss on the soil, and the soil looks really dense. Where are you located? Depending where you live you might consider repotting.
rnbonsai78
Sapling
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I live in the Central Valley, Modesto CA to be exact.
ianb
Shohin
Terrific material. I think you still need to raffia and wire that arching branch to put some more natural angles in it and compact things some more. I'd also typically work on the deadwood first so you can pull the foliage out of the way easier than when it is all wired up.
The new house and yard are a bit of a building site right now but we should have a study group soon and work the deadwood (after my Will Baddeley carving workshop).
Is this tree growing strongly this year? My large cal Juni wasn't so I repotted yesterday, all the rain this winter (along with too much organic in the soil) caused a fair bit of root rot - hope it recovers.
The new house and yard are a bit of a building site right now but we should have a study group soon and work the deadwood (after my Will Baddeley carving workshop).
Is this tree growing strongly this year? My large cal Juni wasn't so I repotted yesterday, all the rain this winter (along with too much organic in the soil) caused a fair bit of root rot - hope it recovers.
Potawatomi13
Imperial Masterpiece
Potawatomi13
Imperial Masterpiece
.Potawatomi13
Imperial Masterpiece
no offcourse not, have it work together is what i mean. I do certainly not want to cover everything with foliage in that area. That should be clear..I just think that the foliage too high results in 2 different parts not working together enough.Seriously? Hide the dead wood?
Covering just a little here and there will also create more depth in my opinion.
Not at all. For working with junipers, copper is much better at holding its position than aluminum.One begins to wonder if you have stock in Copper
Dav4
Drop Branch Murphy
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Great start, Greg, and really nice material! I love what you've done, but it's a lot of work on it in a short time, so time to let it recover (I'm sure you know this). I've never worked with CA junipers, but I assume they like lots of feed and water once they're established in a pot like other junipers. Here's to boat loads of growth over the next few months!
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
It's as far as I can take it right now. I almost didn't post anything about because I knew I wouldn't be able to get it into "finished" condition in one step. There are major flaws with it currently. In order to bend the trunk I had to remove it from a piece of deadwood and I probably removed 50% of the foliage from the tree. I am now going to focus on getting it to regain its strength and see how it responds as I move forward. That long bent top section of trunk may ultimately be removed in its entirety if I can get enough growth on the lower branches.
Giga
Masterpiece
Seriously
Actually you elude to the massive deadwood, but dont completly cover it up. Have a thick canopy with dead wood showing age and weathering. Best analogy is a women in a sexy black dress with a slit to her hip and her leg exposed as she walks. You want to see more and it eludes to something amazing
