Juniper procumbens nana

[MAPLE]

This was my very first bonsai and you will see by the photos that i threw everything at this tree and made allot of ''mistakes'' however it kept coming back. Funny enough it receives the most attention from visitors.

Purchased in 2016 for R150! (cheap as chips) i tried to make basic structural changes from day one.


The following year i repotted it into a clay training pot to become a cascade tree.



I lost interest in this tree and decided to leave it alone for a while. I could not figure out how to style it until one day i decided to make this



fast forward to now, it was repotted into pure Akadama and position slight offset to lift cascading branch away from the rim of the training pot. This also addressed some bar straight areas in the trees structure.
end December it will be cut and wired. For now ill just fertilise heavily and give it plenty of sun.

 

[Wilson]

I find it funny how most bonsai folks scoff at procumbens cascades, but your average joe always love them. I have a cascade as well, And when non bonsai people see it, they love it! Yours is coming along nicely.

 

[Tsukibibi]

Good job. I think everybody have a juniperus procumbens nana in a cascade style !

 

[Adair M]

I don’t.

 

[Underdog]

I have one and like where you are going in only 2 yrs. Good job.

 

[A. Gorilla]

I don’t.

Not with YOUR ham fisted approach to things.

Nana is for artistes.

 

[Adair M]

Not with YOUR ham fisted approach to things.

Nana is for artistes.

Lol!!!

I have seen a few good ones. I’ve seen far too many really poor ones.

When I first started bonsai 45 years ago, I had a zillion procumbens. Back in those days, shimpaku were rare. Not like today. So, I’d rather mess with shimpaku.

 

[coh]

Lol!!!

I have seen a few good ones. I’ve seen far too many really poor ones. .

Kind of like root-over-rock - lots of them out there, not many that are really attractive.

 

[Vance Wood]

Not too many people that posses the courage to do with them what should be done provided a good trunk can be found.

 

[Beanwagon]

Not too many people that posses the courage to do with them what should be done provided a good trunk can be found.

Can you elaborate?

 

[MAPLE]

Lol!!!

I have seen a few good ones. I’ve seen far too many really poor ones.

When I first started bonsai 45 years ago, I had a zillion procumbens. Back in those days, shimpaku were rare. Not like today. So, I’d rather mess with shimpaku.

I couldn't agree more however getting Shimpaku here is practically impossible. Getting good Yamdori Juniper is just as impossible. What we have ZILLIONS of is Olives however im not interested in working with them.

Not too many people that posses the courage to do with them what should be done provided a good trunk can be found.

Please elaborate.

 

[Adair M]

I couldn't agree more however getting Shimpaku here is practically impossible. Getting good Yamdori Juniper is just as impossible. What we have ZILLIONS of is Olives however im not interested in working with them.





Please elaborate.

Lol!!!

Where I live here in the Southeast US, olive trees are rather rare. Yet I have 3 olive bonsai! I think that part of the appeal is the relative rarity of the species.

I also have a rare cultivar of trident maple, that I bought in part due to the fact it was rare and unusual.

 

[Vance Wood]

Can you elaborate?

Procumbens Juniper is a species of Juniper that by it's nature and genetics is a ground hugging plant. Consequently the nursery trade takes advantage of this trait and does nothing to hinder this direction in cultivating the plant/tree. An exception is when the Juniper is staked into an upright position and sold as specimen plant for placeing on the patio or rock garden. Because of the way the tree grows it is not prone to produce a trunk of any measurable girth favorable to bonsai culture of 3:1, if one looks for a sumo trunk, or 6:1 for the more normal upright styles. In nature the girth of a trunk is dependent upon the top's need for support. This is the problem with most all Procumbens Junipers grown in the USA and sold in the nursery trade. Genetically these trees grow along the ground and do not need a large trunk for support. They have need of more flexible growth.

In short; the diameter of the trunk, most of the time, cannot or does not demonstrate a trunk size that makes the top of the tree believable. It is not reasonable that a beautifully styled top with ramified foliage pads should hold itself upright on a tiny spindly trunk not much bigger than a pencil. To think that this trait will repair itself is false. Therefore it becomes necessary to cut back and force the growth on one to three trunks staked upright and allowed to develop the girth capable of supporting the kind of growth associated with upright trees. Procumbens Junipers will seldom produce this kind of trunk naturally.

Usually the first time bonsai grower looks on a Procumbens Juniper as the perfect cascade and proceeds to style it as such. Seldom does this go further than that, the end result is an uninteresting bush spilling over the side of a pot and dead because of neglect or from broken branches.