First Juniper - initial wiring/styling

[Adrian]

Hi there,

I am a newbie to bonsai currently learning as much as I can from books, workshops, net etc.

This is a Juniper Foemina I bought from a nursery a few weeks ago. I have done some intial wiring of the main branches I want to keep. There is still a lot of work to do but I think that I can make this into an OK first Juniper. It has some taper, lots of healthy foliage and a reasonable trunk. This tree will be a formal upright of sorts as it does taper quite well from base to tip. however I might try to get some movement through the top where the trunk is thinner
The questions I would ask are:

1. how do I reduce the foliage on the branches so that they look neat without reducing too much and risk them looking sparse?

2. Looking at other pictures of Junipers like this, I notice that many have the branches slanted down towards the soil to imitate an older tree. However, the major branches down lower are very springy and despite using two strands of wire, they are very hard to bend without the possibility of snapping them. should i use more invasive methods (notching, guy wores etc?) or can i just bend the thinner branches where the foliage sits to attempt to recreate the look of an older tree?


i would appreciate any advice or thoughts on this,

cheers

Adrian

 

[Adrian]

p.s this may be a better, clearer photo.

 

[jk_lewis]

You need to trim it back by a LOT. The p0icture is much too small to do any real virt work on, but you need to cut back at LEAST to here.

 

[bonsai barry]

You did a nice job of wiring for your very first tree. Spacing looks good and the wiring looks pretty even (not always easy with two strands). I agree with JKL about cutting it back and then letting the branches grow. You can add more movement in the branches for visual interest, movement on both the vertical and horizontal planes. Hope you have fun with your tree.

 

[Adrian]

Hi BB, thanks for the compliment. I have been practising my wiring quite a bit but I obviously so much to learn in Bonsai! the problem I have with this tree is that the branches are really springy as the tree is a few years old (not sure how old) so its hard to get movement in the lower branches. Similarly, the trunk is super strong/unyielding, so getting movement in the lower half might be difficult. might see if I can get some higher but I doubt it.
I have reduced some foliage and have started to make foliage pads using wire and trimming. I made some jin where I cut off unwanted branches which look ok.
All in all, its a good learners tree I think and once it grows bushier etc it will look even better.

thanks for the advice.

Cheers

Adrian

 

[Mystogan]

your wires have to come off at atleast 45 degrees i heard. they look a bit tight

Hi BB, thanks for the compliment. I have been practising my wiring quite a bit but I obviously so much to learn in Bonsai! the problem I have with this tree is that the branches are really springy as the tree is a few years old (not sure how old) so its hard to get movement in the lower branches. Similarly, the trunk is super strong/unyielding, so getting movement in the lower half might be difficult. might see if I can get some higher but I doubt it.
I have reduced some foliage and have started to make foliage pads using wire and trimming. I made some jin where I cut off unwanted branches which look ok.
All in all, its a good learners tree I think and once it grows bushier etc it will look even better.

thanks for the advice.

Cheers

Adrian

 

[Adrian]

your wires have to come off at atleast 45 degrees i heard. they look a bit tight

Hi Mysto, thanks for the feedback. I still have a lot of wiring to do on this tree so I will keep your comments in mind.

cheers

Adrian