Sierra Juniper

[misfit11]

I just purchased this tree this week from Ned Lycett of Deadwood Bonsai. He is a member of REBS and collects Sierra Junipers as a side business. I had been wanting one of his trees for quite some time now and finally got the nerve to drop the big $$$ to liberate a piece of his stock. He has some absolutely AMAZING material that he has collected over the years, some of which Ryan Neil has obtained for his own collection as well as for demos.

I'm quite excited about the future of this tree. I plan on studying it for quite some time until I do any styling on it. As you can see in the photos, it is very healthy with considerable amounts of natural deadwood and has many options as far as styling is concerned. Ned actually suggested possibly splitting it into two trees if the roots allow it. I am wanting to take it to a workshop with Kathy Shaner or Ryan Neil in order to do this thing the justice that it deserves.

Any comments, advice, and styling ideas are welcome!

Thanks,
Cory

 

[Dav4]

Beautiful blue foliage on that Sierra...I wish they would grow well out east.
That is an intersting piece of material. I like the movement in the trunks from the last photo, but I would be reluctant to make any styling advice without seeing this tree in person. Still, lots of possibilities. My only suggestion at this point would be to start cleaning up the trunks...identifying the deadwood areas, removing loose bark, etc.,. Good luck with it!

 

[yenling83]

Nice!!! I've purchased a large Sierra from Ned in the past as well. He has a really cool home and lots of awesome trees. Ned's also part of BIB, I think he would also tell you don't forget about working with Boon or maybe Peter Tea(when he's back). Although i'm sure Ryan and Kathy would be great as well. This is an interesting one, will be fun to see what you do with it.

 

[Brian Underwood]

Yeah! Nice one Cory! I would strongly suggest going with Ryan (or Hagedorn) over Kathy if you have the choice. It looks to be a somewhat challenging tree, and I think you would learn more and come out with a better looking tree with Ryan (just my 2 cents). Congrats on the great material!

 

[JudyB]

This will be one exciting tree to take to a workshop! Make sure you take lots of pictures of the work.

 

[edprocoat]

Very nice, admiring it while green with envy.

ed

 

[misfit11]

Yeah! Nice one Cory! I would strongly suggest going with Ryan (or Hagedorn) over Kathy if you have the choice. It looks to be a somewhat challenging tree, and I think you would learn more and come out with a better looking tree with Ryan (just my 2 cents). Congrats on the great material!

Ryan would be my first choice, too. Nothing against Kathy, she's amazing. But I tend to think that Ryan is able to bring out the best in a tree that is as you say is as "challenging" as this material is. As my interest in bonsai has advanced the more I'm drawn to multi-trunk trees and one's that don't fit the mold of a typical bonsai or what most people think of as bonsai. This tree has great potential to be something really unique and I think Ryan absolutely has the ability to bring out the very best in it.

BTW, you don't happen to know when he'll be back in our area for a workshop, do you?

Thanks,
Cory

 

[Brian Underwood]

The next time I know of is around the end of February. I would be willing to try to set up another day of study group with him if we get enough of the right people together, or even split a full day. I believe his running rate is around $800 or so...

 

[Paradox]

Very interesting material and a really nice find.
Good luck with it and post updates as it progresses please.

 

[fore]

I SO miss living in Berkeley! You guys are so lucky

 

[misfit11]

Update

I haven't posted on here for quite some time now. Having a full-time job, a wife, and two young kids doesn't leave a whole lot of time for posting on bonsai forums! The other reason is that it seems that the traffic increased significantly on here within the last year or so. It's as if every time I log on there are three new members and about 200 new posts. The few times I tried participating in a thread I'd come back to it and three pages of posts had occurred since my last comment!! Phew! I just simply can't keep up!

Anyway, although I haven't had time for the site it doesn't mean that I haven't been doing bonsai. I manage to find time in my busy schedule occasionally for my trees, thankfully! Most recently, I repotted my Sierra into it's first bonsai pot.

When we got the old soil off of the root ball, It quickly became apparent that the base that was at the original soil level was not going to be possible for the finished tree unless we used a relatively deep pot. Below this "base" was a substantial trunk that could not be reduced without severely compromising the health of the tree as the roots simply wouldn't support the canopy. It was then decided to pot the tree much higher than originally planned. The result is a dramatically different design. I had envisioned this as more of a clump, the result is a spreading tree with multiple tops on a powerful base. You may be able to see in the photo roots emanating from the trunk. These will be removed later as deeper roots become more established.

The tree has had only one basic styling (about a year ago) so far in which we removed the right-most trunk. The plan for the coming years is to continue developing the foliage into tighter, more well-defined pads. Given time and some TLC I think this could be a very nice tree.

Any comments, suggestions, or advice are welcome.

Cory

 

[Dav4]

It looks really good! I love the initial styling. It will look great when you wire the foliage out and start forming pads.

 

[Giga]

I can see where this is going! keep it up.

 

[misfit11]

It looks really good! I love the initial styling. It will look great when you wire the foliage out and start forming pads.

I can see where this is going! keep it up.

Thanks, guys! You can definitely see the direction this tree is going. The movement is all to the left which is why it was decided to remove the right-most trunk that pulled the eye the other direction. I will post again after I do the next styling.

Cory

 

[Brian Underwood]

It will certainly make an interesting tree. I would take it to one of the GSBF workshops, or one offered through REBS. The tree still requires A LOT of wiring, and some difficult bends with raffia to become the best it can be. You will learn a ton from this project if you do it right. Maybe try to weasel your way into a workshop with Bjorn Bjorholm next time he's in town. Good luck!

 

[Eric Group]

You thought about embracing that movement to the left, tipping it that direction and got for a cascade/ semi-cascade with it?

 

[misfit11]

It will certainly make an interesting tree. I would take it to one of the GSBF workshops, or one offered through REBS. The tree still requires A LOT of wiring, and some difficult bends with raffia to become the best it can be. You will learn a ton from this project if you do it right. Maybe try to weasel your way into a workshop with Bjorn Bjorholm next time he's in town. Good luck!

Yeah, it's far from finished. I've really only begun. I wanted to get it into it's first bonsai pot this year and continue compacting and refining the design.

I originally intended to get it to a workshop with Ryan Neil but he's been basically MIA these days (apparently getting married and starting a family). Then I signed up for one with Peter Tea put on by REBS but it was cancelled due to lack of interest . Oh well, for the time being I'll keep working on it with Ivan (we also have Gene Lynch now). He's great and super talented.

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep the upcoming workshop with Bjorn in mind.

Cory

 

[misfit11]

You thought about embracing that movement to the left, tipping it that direction and got for a cascade/ semi-cascade with it?

Not really. The left-most trunk lends itself somewhat to cascade, but I don't think the others would work with that design and I'm not willing to part with them.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Cory

 

[chicago1980]

I just purchased this tree this week from Ned Lycett of Deadwood Bonsai. He is a member of REBS and collects Sierra Junipers as a side business. I had been wanting one of his trees for quite some time now and finally got the nerve to drop the big $$$ to liberate a piece of his stock. He has some absolutely AMAZING material that he has collected over the years, some of which Ryan Neil has obtained for his own collection as well as for demos.

I'm quite excited about the future of this tree. I plan on studying it for quite some time until I do any styling on it. As you can see in the photos, it is very healthy with considerable amounts of natural deadwood and has many options as far as styling is concerned. Ned actually suggested possibly splitting it into two trees if the roots allow it. I am wanting to take it to a workshop with Kathy Shaner or Ryan Neil in order to do this thing the justice that it deserves.

Any comments, advice, and styling ideas are welcome!

Thanks,
Cory

What is the update on this tree? Ned seems to have high quality material.