Graft this one?

[berobinson82]

Looking back, this juniper was the first picture I've ever posted here.



When I got it, the health was very poor and the roots were severely bound. This one I babied and simply slip potted it while I attacked the roots of the others. This is the lone survivor.

So I've not touched this guy besides trimming back some longer shoots and cleaning out the dead/dying areas. I recently contacted Mach5 about it and he provided a sweet virt. (Will post with his consent) I had planned on following his direction but suddenly I'm wondering if another option would be a better one.

It turns out our club is having Roy Nagatoshi come back for a workshop. He brought some of his grafted junipers last time. One person bought every one up! Good for her and her deep pockets... *grumble grumble* Just kidding, I love that lady. I'm hoping she'll join us here soon.

Anyways, I was just thinking since I learned that he'd be stopping by, if this trunk would be worth it to graft some shimpaku whips to. And even so, is April the right month to perform this kind of operation. Considering it's snowing outside my window right now. I'm perfectly happy waiting another 5-8 years before much can be made of this thing. Time seems to pass regardless.

Anyways, thanks for your time and any insights.

-Bernard

 

[Poink88]

Very nice looking & challenging tree. Would love to see the virt.

Love the 3rd shot.

 

[berobinson82]

Very nice looking & challenging tree. Would love to see the virt.

Love the 3rd shot.

Thanks man. Only problem with that front is that it leans the exact opposite direction:

 

[october]

More nice material.. I don't think grafts are necessary to make this a beautiful bonsai. The areas aren't that thick and it might interupt nutrient flow.

I would suggest a cascade. Tip the tree 45 degrees to the left. Then work with the existing branching to create a nice cascade. Also, to accommodate the new angle of the root ball, a half crescent moon rock pot would work very well. Here are a couple of virts.

Rob

 

[Tona]

Roy grafted a bunch of trees for me earlier this year. I believe he will tell you that it is too late to do any more grafting this year. I had one more tree that I took to him two weeks ago and he told me it was too late. He was also out of whips at that time.
Tona

 

[berobinson82]

Wow, I hadn't even considered this tree as a cascade. That's a big change. I'll have to look at this bad boy for a bit to make that final decision. Thank you as always!

 

[berobinson82]

Roy grafted a bunch of trees for me earlier this year. I believe he will tell you that it is too late to do any more grafting this year. I had one more tree that I took to him two weeks ago and he told me it was too late. He was also out of whips at that time.
Tona

Ha! I figured we were at least a month behind California weather out here.