Procumbens Sisters - dedicated thread

Japonicus · May 14, 2020

Few of my projects get a name. I started a thread procumbens Sisters Awaken and I ended up
putting most of my procumbens in that thread, they are all related by species and the new Spring growth
was a reassuring promise of another growing season for them all...

I potted it up today and said to my wife, "meet "the Sisters", so a name was given.
If I find earlier pictures I will post them but this Spring is currently the earliest pics I find so far.

I remember buying a couple from Walmart 2018 and assume that's when I potted it back into its 1 gallon nursery can
then actually very little care since then. I didn't even have to wire it, and there's still never been any wire on it! I just opened it up but cant remember when
so I'm starting a "build thread" for it.

This is today 5/14/2020

Beside a 3 gallon Gold Lace

Practically bare rooted at 1st potting made todays job easier than ever, BUT! I'm calling it quits on the NAPA 8822 DE.
This batch held up worse than low fired akadama. It smears just wiping it off the pots rim. Can't pick it up with finger tips without smearing.

Back side showing full root system raked out.

a new $50 ten inch pot from Amazon.com

There's competition with the smaller sister as she runs into the low branch of the bigger one.
She takes a sudden turn out, from under that low branch, which I've not yet decided how to work with.
A semi cascade is certainly doable for that smaller one.
I won't separate them, though I have full confidence it would be a successful division.
As is, the shorter sister is on a horizontal plane for now, and that's good for gathering Sunlight.
Same with the central apex leader on the larger one, that could be removed later, keeping as possible sacrifice fora few years.

Japonicus · Jul 25, 2020

Two months post potting (2nd juniper from left)

It just hasn't skipped a beat, to the point it is in need of thinning some,
while 2 other procumbens I twisted somewhat have called it quits, and died or on the way out.

Japonicus · Sep 13, 2022

I forgot about this thread actually, and posted some shots of the duo in the pics thread.
Then @HorseloverFat mentioned something about zooming in and getting lost
and I thought..."and you didn't see any wire either". Then as I thought on, my hands, muscles
my brains, do not remember the last time I put wire on this. Still assuming I had wired the bones out
at some point, I re-read the post where I said

I didn't even have to wire it, and there's still never been any wire on it! I just opened it up but cant remember when
so I'm starting a "build thread" for it.

That was mid May 2 years ago.

Then about 2 weeks ago before some thinning, while I had my camera...

Front

Back

Front aerial

While the camera is in the shop I'll have to use my phone cam

Today mid September 2022

If I have to hold it at an angle so you can get a better glimpse of the trunk line
and the pad separation, it's starting to display the need to wire it some.
Otherwise, I could have spent my life with this as a juniper bonsai never having wire
in its' life, besides the root tether.

I'm finding places to cut back to on branches to shorten the profile
more reminiscent of previous pictures, which will give some taper to the current length
once grown back out. It will have been in this soil 3 years come next Spring, and I plan to go 5 years
repotting May 2025.
In the perfect world, I'll do this cut back next July to get what would be minimal recovery to repot,
not the following year, but the next, 2025. Will give some minor wire soon if I can get a roundtoit.

Japonicus · Sep 13, 2022

The long runner on the left side near the top is actually
the top of the right, larger "tree". It is sacrifice, but disguised somewhat.
I guess I could wire it out back side, but it ain't hurtin' me none.

The left, shorter "tree", I'm really running semi cascade through my mind mostly
when I'm considering the style of it. This ensemble is not to follow rules as much
as it is to work together with strength. This is a dominant feature in several of my projects.
I am not tiring of the cascade on one side of a tree, or bonsai yet, but this is a hands on situation
where on the www you cannot get a proper feel of what's going on here without a good video
at minimum. If I turn the left tree up, it will severely alter what format you see now and will not
mirror the other tree. I'm at a point where I need to be deciding for sure or it will become too much
for my hand to navigate successfully.

Japonicus · Sep 22, 2022

I believe this has been my best performer this year.

Wires_Guy_wires · May 6, 2023

stoneshirt said:
Wow.Your Trees are so healthy!..

You could say @Japonicus is a... Pro-cumbens

Japonicus · May 6, 2023

Wires_Guy_wires said:
You could say @Japonicus is a... Pro-cumbens

Who

stoneshirt said:
Wow.Your Trees are so healthy!..

Thank you
There's one in that pic that's no longer with us. It was a mugo pine with a good apex underway.
Rare variety, 'congesta'. No clue why it died. It was grafted to Scots pine, but the foliage was excessively congested, with masses of buds on each branch.
I mean I've counted up to 24 buds clustered on one branch tip.

Nice short needles too.

Japonicus · May 30, 2023

First 2 pics are this morning before I started thinning.
The rest are after. Took more off than appears but I'm leaving a buffer of foliage going into Summer and other junipers dealing with mites.

I actually put one piece of wire on today. The sacricial apex of the right tree was escaping too far through the left silhouette. Still a branch from it showing on the left, but now is tucked behind better.

Japonicus · May 11, 2024

I did some thinning and clearing out of moss from the nebari up the trunk today.
Also removed most of the sacrifice as I was paranoid weaker branches may get shed.