bonsai novice any advice appriciated !!

bonsaiguy420

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Hey everybody, I'm glad to join your community ! =) I've been in and out of bonsai for a few yrs but got serious about collecting material and properly caring for my trees just recently .. I found this juniper in a field by a friend's house and would love any feed back.. How we learn and grow right lol ?! Thanks everyone20150803_212459.jpg
 
Welcome. It will be easier for folks to answer your questions if you add your location to your profile.

Regarding this tree. Is the wire holding the tree ram-rod straight? And what is it planted in?
 
I'm in midwest ohio thx I'll keep that in mind for further posts. No that's just how it was out in the wild the wire on it is just for the branches .. My wire is a bit messy lol I'm wrking on it for sure ! It's planted in just a mid of compost and grit in a modifed terracotta water catcher for a regular pot .. Just for now at least lol
 
Make sure you have some nice BIG drainage holes there. The preferred method is to cover those holes with drainage mesh so that the soil doesn't fall through. Junipers need good drainage, so you'll want to keep the compost / organics somewhat lower (I'd go no more than 30% for any bonsai as personal preference). On the topic of drainage... while moss looks nice and is great for show, it often hurts junipers more than helps. To keep the moss alive, you'll need more moisture than the Juniper would like.

Is this a cutting or a collected sample? The reason I ask is because the height of summer isn't a great time to work on juniper roots. You usually want to reserve that for somewhere around late winter / early spring. If you cut roots now, it might not have enough energy to last the winter. It's also good to remember that when you put something into a shallow bonsai-type pot, it slows considerably in growth. If this were mine, I would at least put it into a training pot (if not the ground) to let it trunk up a bit. Everyone has a different eye for what they like, but to me, it's quite a bit tall for how thick it is. Shorter and thicker trees give a more powerful impression, so a lot of people aim for the height to be no more than 6 times girth at root base.

I would also take a look at some older junipers found in nature (yamadori): https://www.google.com/search?q=yam...ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIipGTya6VxwIVBSuICh0lzA-w
They tend to be more dynamic with curves, deadwood, and all sorts of movement that comes together to tell a story. You don't see them growing ram-rod straight up very often, so it looks a bit unnatural to me. Since you have wire on already, it might be worth adding some curves. This will help in compacting the tree.

Also, what is it planted in? It looks like it might be two rocks?
 
Yes I have 3 big holes covered with mesh and the mix is about 1 part compost to 2 or 3 parts grit. It seems to drain really well and I placed moss with it that's a bit dryer variety. I never thought about it keeping sections too moist tho I will see keep an eye on that . I gathered this in spring tho it was growing over chucks of dolimite lol ! I pulled it out with one hand and very little effort. Just recently wired it tho. Yes ! I completely agree I have lots to learn about style and the feel of the tree I was definitely thinking some curves in the apex would work good .. Thank u for the link ! It's planted in a 6 dollar saucer that goes under a big terracotta pot lol .. I'll get a real pot for it maybe next yr . like u said not the best time right now to cut roots
 
I'm confused. Is the tall skinny green juniper growing out of that large rugged stump? All one plant?

If so, WOW!

I'd chop the top just above that first group of branches, then let those GROW. (And I'd remove the wires. It's too early to determine what you want those branches to do.)

If not, I dunno . . .
 
Well it's inside a larger hollow trunk .. That's the goal to view it as one plant but instead of chopping the top what about wrapping it around the deadwood and make it home around lower and the other side to refuse the height ? I might give that a go and see how it looks .. Thanks all for all the advice
 
Well it's inside a larger hollow trunk .. That's the goal to view it as one plant but instead of chopping the top what about wrapping it around the deadwood and make it home around lower and the other side to refuse the height ? I might give that a go and see how it looks .. Thanks all for all the advice

I would look up "phoenix graft" and "tanuki".
 
I would look up "phoenix graft" and "tanuki".
Yeah those are beautiful trees .. Definitly something to strive towads.. Just wrking with what I got for now I guess lol ! I need to go hunt for some nice drift wood pieces for starters
 
Phoenix grafts from what know can be difficult to do right. The point is to make the tree and the added wood to look like one plant and for the 2 to blend together. If the graft is not done properly the union between the stock plant and the wood can separate resulting in an unnatural unsightly tree. The juniper you have looks very young and skinny lacking any taper and branch structure. It would probably be in your best interest to field grow it and allow it to build up more girth. Since the tree appears to be pretty young its a good opportunity to put movement in the trunk with wire. It will take quite a number of years for the tree to bulk up so until then you can invest in more "finished" material at least with the initial trunk size and nebari (roots) set so you can experiment with branch development, taper, and ramification. There is a ton of good information on the internet as well as many good books people can recommend. The bonsai4me website and articles were very helpful when I first started out. In any case I'm still very much a beginner acquiring more trees and practicing different techniques but I hope my comment is of help.
 
Well I definitely wasn't trying for any kind of graft ... And I can't bring myself to spend the money for finished mature material .. Its almost more exciting and more fun to me hunting and finding trees even if they are smaller and need some time and effort.. I currently have an azalea rescued out of someone's front yard that's about 30 yrs old but it's in its rehab stage of course lol getting back buds on it.. A couple of elms that are trunking up.. A big willow that's about 1 and a half foot with about a 5 in diameter trunk and pretty cool nebari.. Thx for the info! there is so much out there it can get intimidating sometimes lol. That bonsai4me is a great site !
 
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