Rocky Mountain Juniper Progression

[Jeramiah]

I am not sure if I have shared this progression here or not.

I bought this Rocky Mountain Juniper in 2018.

August 2018


I cleaned it up and took it to a workshop with Naoki Maeoka the same year. We discussed the angle and direction of the future tree. I wired a cut a few things off and wired a pad during the workshop.

August 2018


There was a branch I was supposed to bend down and around to the front. So I did that after the workshop when I got home. I needed a piece of rebar for the bend. This next image is a point during the bending process.

August 2018


I let it go over the winter. The branch I bent ended up dead by spring. My guess is that I bent it too late in the season and it froze and died. You can see the color difference in this next photo. It is a couple of shades off.

April 2019


I let the tree grow until mid to late July before I started to cut things back and wire the tree fully. These next images from July are trying to show the growth extensions.

July 2019


July 2019


September of this year I had the opportunity to take a workshop with Tyler Sherrod. Not quite a before workshop photo, but pretty close.

September 2019


I am glad I took the time to wire most of this tree out though. He worked some pretty good magic with the wire I had on the tree already.

September 2019


September 2019


September 2019


Tyler is a great guy. If you ever get a chance to work with him, I highly recommend it.
If you want to follow along with this tree in further detail, you can follow along on my website. I will still update this posting as I go.

Rocky Mountain Juniper Progression - Sumo Bonsai Supply

www.sumobonsaisupply.com

Thanks for looking.

 

[Warpig]

Vary nice job keeping a good set of progression pictures. Its always nice getting a good history of a tree. Tree is A+

 

[just.wing.it]

How long was the tree allowed to grow freely in that pot, with bonsai soil mix before you began work?

 

[Dav4]

Tyler's the Man... throw in a fantastic piece of old stock like that and you'll strike gold! This one should fill in rapidly and be ready to show in a few years.

 

[Jeramiah]

How long was the tree allowed to grow freely in that pot, with bonsai soil mix before you began work?

It was collected in 2017. I cleaned it up a bit in the fall of 2018. So that was roughly 1.5 years. Growing super healthy. Then another year before I trimmed it back and really did a major styling.

 

[Jeramiah]

Tyler's the Man... throw in a fantastic piece of old stock like that and you'll strike gold! This one should fill in rapidly and be ready to show in a few years.

I felt bad at the workshop. Not entirely my fault. But even I noticed that it felt like he was spending more time on my tree. It was like walking into a wolves den with a steak and someone walking in with a carrot. I had the steak.

 

[Dav4]

I felt bad at the workshop. Not entirely my fault. But even I noticed that it felt like he was spending more time on my tree. It was like walking into a wolves den with a steak and someone walking in with a carrot. I had the steak.

Don't feel sorry. You had that tree cleaned up, wired, and ready to go. I'm sure Tyler spent enough time with everyone else who paid to be there... but I'm also sure he was pretty stoked you had that tree and it was ready to get styled

 

[Jeramiah]

Don't feel sorry. You had that tree cleaned up, wired, and ready to go. I'm sure Tyler spent enough time with everyone else who paid to be there... but I'm also sure he was pretty stoked you had that tree and it was ready to get styled

Yeah, he seemed pretty stoked. Plus a lot of people there don't get to see material like that everyday.

 

[Doug J]

Sumo cakes rock. Love the acidic for conifers. Good stuff.

 

[Jeramiah]

Repotted May 2nd into a Sara Rayner pot.

 

[Jeramiah]

I had the wonderful Cedar Apple Rust on this juniper this spring. Gross. I cut it, bagged it, and tossed it in the trash.

 

[Jeramiah]

It is nice and healthy though.

 

[Jeramiah]

June 2020

 

[Jeramiah]

This image was taken on July 25th, 2020.
I started cleaning it up the other day. I should get a chance to finish it this coming weekend. I will have a new photo after that I am sure. This tree has put on a lot of growth this year. I have taken some wire off, I have added more wire here and there. I am looking for some extension out of a lot of it. I am happy with it so far and I hope I am going in the right direction after I post a new photo after I finish with it this year.

 

[Jeramiah]

I brought this tree into my workshop to work on. This is really the only 2nd complete working of the tree. I am trying to get a lot of areas to extend because I cut too much off the first time. This working, I trimmed the downward growing foliage along with the crotch growth that was not needed. There were a few areas that I stopped the extending by cutting the tip growth, but for the most part, I just wired or re-positioned what I wanted to keep. After taking this photo, I see a place that I need to readjust, but that is not that big of a deal.

This image is from August 15th, 2020.

 

[SantaFeBonsai]

Love your pot selection and a fantastic tree. RMJ’s are my fav if you get good foliage. I’ve spent four years now working on rmj and just now getting the skill-set to develop the pads correctly. I now know why Itoigawa are so favored,,, pads develop on their on, rmj’s need a Ferrari mechanic and I think that’s the key to get the most out of them. Is this a Randy Knight yamadori?

 

[Jeramiah]

Is this a Randy Knight yamadori?

It is actually a Todd Schlafer collected tree.

I keep watching Ryan's videos on Mirai Live. I hope the key is to just let them extend and mound up and then cut back. Thanks on the pot. You have to love a good Sara Rayner pot.

 

[Jeramiah]

Just a fun update photo a couple of weeks after working. August 29, 2020.

 

[Anjin Blackthumb]

Wow. That's an incredible tree. You ought to call it "Smoke on the Water."

 

[Jeramiah]

Wow. That's an incredible tree. You ought to call it "Smoke on the Water."

Thank you. Smoke on Water. Hmmm