potential material or not?

[linlaoboo]

Last year I pulled some juniper seedlings from under some large trees randomly and was wonder if they can eventually be worked on or are they worthless? Their needles are sharp to the touch and this spring it's put on new soft growth. They're up right and don't look anything like trained juniper bonsai.

 

[Ang3lfir3]

it helps if you post pictures... but in general junipers are a common choice for bonsai..... this includes needle junipers etc.... so pics and we can tell you....

 

[gergwebber]

check out World of Bonsai videos by Lindsay Farr: http://bonsaifarm.tv/videos/ this link is season 1, and video 10 shows Toshifumi Obitsu growing shimpaku junipers in his bonsai nursery in japan. though he clones his from cuttings of older bonsai, your seedlings should do fine.

 

[linlaoboo]

I'm lost, see grown junipers all over the street, highway, etc but none of them resemble the needle junipers I pulled last year. This spring it's put on much new growth.

 

[linlaoboo]

finally ID'd it through numerous Google search. It's a Eastern red cedar or verginiana, or southern red cedar. It is actually a juniper and not a true cedar but the name stuck. I only see an bonsai example or 2 on google picture search. Any one tried this species and have any recommendations about training it?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Search these forums for eastern red cedar. It's been discussed on several threads. It's not the best material for bonsai for quite a few reasons. Among them are their tendency to retain juvenile foliage, to generate sucker growth in the crotches that weakens branches in training, and their lack of "muscle memory", which necessitates near-constant wiring.

However, a few decent examples exist, and as a practice tree, a newcomer to the art can learn a lot from working on these trees.

 

[linlaoboo]

Brian,

Thanks alot, I see your discussions in some of the search results too. Now I know what to do with mine.

 

[painter]

take a look at bonsai bark blog there is a beautiful erc posted there from the national exhibit

 

[linlaoboo]

Here's an update on how much they grew over this Spring.

If I should practice with this material, what would you suggest I do with them?

 

[Ang3lfir3]

If I should practice with this material, what would you suggest I do with them?

turn them into bonsai!!!


*couldn't help myself*

 

[sfhellwig]

Learn to pinch.

I have a couple of ERC that I dug up from the farm because I was just beginning and they were free. One may someday be a mediocre semi-formal upright and the other might be a fairly interesting windswept with deadwood. Regardless if they ever turn into anything nice they have allowed me to learn some wiring and pinching without damaging a tree I paid good money for. They don't seem to hold shape very well so mine get rewired very shortly after being removed. I just went through my first round of serious pinching with both trees. Took 1-1.5 hours each which isn't even a long time for a good tree but the results were amazing. Went from scraggly looking ditch trees to fairly groomed looking. Per your last picture they are in heavy growth, thus the elongated tips. If left to go like this they will gain size quickly but will always be long and drawn out with thin branches. This is just how ERC grow. If you pinch the long growth now they won't elongate as much and have a better chance of growing into proportionate looking trees with thicker branches. But like all young trees that will be a long time.

You will also learn to get over the prickly nature of the tree so any other juniper in the future won't be so bad to work with. I have seen people complain about this. YMMV. I grew up around these trees and like thorny plants so I guess I got over it quickly.

 

[linlaoboo]

sfhellwig,

You are so right only the new growth are soft but the inner, old growth are needle like and they can easily hurt my fingers =) I will take your information to good use, thanks alot!

Peter