New Shimpaku Juniper Bonsai Advice

[patchmcq]

I live in Canada BC where it is currently winter and nurseries haven't opened up their outdoor shrub sections yet, however, I found this Shimpaku Bonsai tree for sale in the indoor section of the nursery for Chinese new year. I bought it and placed it outside yesterday. it is currently snowing outside, around 0 Celsius. Is this going to shock the tree as it was inside the nursery in a heated indoor space for I'm not sure how long.

Also any advice on how I can create pad shapes on this tree?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Everything above -5c should be fine. We don't know how long it was in that greenhouse, but I've put junipers outdoors like that and it didn't harm anything.

 

[Shibui]

To create pads on juniper you first need to make spaces for individual branches which will men removing lots of those little branches that are crowded together.
You may also need to thin out the side shoots on the branches you have retained but won't know how much until you can see the branches. Lots of wiring to place the selected tertiary branches out and upward as the base to support the foliage.
Then simply trim long shoots regularly to promote plenty of shorter shoots growing from the branches you have selected.
A word of warning in case you are not aware: Junipers don't like lots of changes in one session. Much safer to proceed a bit at a time, allowing the tree to recover in between sessions.
Developing good, compact foliage pads on juniper does take years of persistence. I am not aware of any instant fix to get the results.

 

[TimIAm]

To create pads on juniper you first need to make spaces for individual branches which will men removing lots of those little branches that are crowded together.
You may also need to thin out the side shoots on the branches you have retained but won't know how much until you can see the branches. Lots of wiring to place the selected tertiary branches out and upward as the base to support the foliage.
Then simply trim long shoots regularly to promote plenty of shorter shoots growing from the branches you have selected.
A word of warning in case you are not aware: Junipers don't like lots of changes in one session. Much safer to proceed a bit at a time, allowing the tree to recover in between sessions.
Developing good, compact foliage pads on juniper does take years of persistence. I am not aware of any instant fix to get the results.

Follow up question because I have a shimpaku in a similar situation. With shimpaku Should I be thinning as suggested if I am still aiming for growth so that branches are developing at the same time as the trunk? Or should you wait until it comes time for styling to thin out and begin developing branches?

 

[TrevorLarsen]

Follow up question because I have a shimpaku in a similar situation. With shimpaku Should I be thinning as suggested if I am still aiming for growth so that branches are developing at the same time as the trunk? Or should you wait until it comes time for styling to thin out and begin developing branches?

If you want trunk growth then any trimming will set that back. I’m no juniper expert though, but with any tree if you remove foliage you are setting the tree back some. Foliage on trees is like solar panels which create energy for the tree. When you remove solar panels the tree will not create as much energy and will not grow as much. That said if if you never trim the tree will get out of control so it’s a balancing act.

 

[TimIAm]

If you want trunk growth then any trimming will set that back. I’m no juniper expert though, but with any tree if you remove foliage you are setting the tree back some. Foliage on trees is like solar panels which create energy for the tree. When you remove solar panels the tree will not create as much energy and will not grow as much. That said if if you never trim the tree will get out of control so it’s a balancing act.

I'm thinking with dense foliage the solar panel effect would be much less efficient if not much sunlight can get in. Also guessing you would end up with more of a bushy structure as growth would be spread amongst all of the small branches rather than being directed into a handful of branches which receive better access to sunlight and can be developed.

Also the risk of shaded out growth and interior die-back?

These are just assumptions from me.

I'm interested to know, and I think this is relevant for OP... Yes, it's a balancing act, but when is the best timing to thin out branches?

 

[bwaynef]

...when is the best timing to thin out branches?

I do a bit of thinning anytime I touch a juniper. That said, fall work is the highest-touch work I do w/ most of my junipers. Fall work can safely be done up 'til just after repotting in spring.

If you want trunk growth then any trimming will set that back. I’m no juniper expert though, but with any tree if you remove foliage you are setting the tree back some. Foliage on trees is like solar panels which create energy for the tree. When you remove solar panels the tree will not create as much energy and will not grow as much. That said if if you never trim the tree will get out of control so it’s a balancing act.

With junipers, I've found that properly cleaning them of weak foliage, and ill-situated foliage REALLY invigorates them. They start putting on more growth, and its in the spots that you want it to be. Often people will cite Ryan Neil saying that the strength in junipers is in the foliage. If I may, I'd amend that to the strength in junipers is in the foliage tips. Boon calls them runners, and advises waiting to see runners as an indication of when its time to work on junipers/shimpaku specifically.

 

[TrevorLarsen]

Yeah I would get a few sacrifice branches going.

 

[Shibui]

I'm thinking with dense foliage the solar panel effect would be much less efficient if not much sunlight can get in. Also guessing you would end up with more of a bushy structure as growth would be spread amongst all of the small branches rather than being directed into a handful of branches which receive better access to sunlight and can be developed.

Also the risk of shaded out growth and interior die-back?

Both very valid points and real risks.
Sometimes bonsai growers focus on growth and thickening at all costs. The results can be catastrophic when we finally try to convert the frankentree into something attractive. I've very definitely moved away from growth at all costs and now focus on slightly longer tern quality results. In many cases I find the results are not actually much longer because grow at all cost growers fail to take into account the subsequent years it takes to heal large chops and develop taper and ramification.
Re-establishing foliage close to the trunk can be a slow and difficult process after interior shoots have died in favour of strong outer growth.

I've had much better results with junipers by using large sacrifice branches to strategically thicken trunks and branches while still keeping branches and apex under some control.
Also consider any bends and twists you might like in both trunk and branches now. Thicker juniper wood is notoriously hard to bend so establish bends now while the wood is still flexible.

 

[patchmcq]

Thanks for all the pointers guys. It actually dropped to -4°C last night so I decided to place it in my unheated room during the night and just place it back outside once the sun is up and its back above freezing. I know they're cold hardy but yeah I don't know what climate this bonsai was kept in prior to purchase so I'm just being extra careful. I really like informal uprights with nice lush pads so I hope this will be good material to achieve that style of bonsai.