Chinese juniper thickening / ground or large pot (basket)

[Shibui]

Hard to see depth in a 2D photo but it appears the top of the tree now grows way from the front. A side view would give better look at this aspect. Apex growing away is not great for forced perspective and makes the tree seem much smaller than it could.
If the top does move toward the back I'd be looking for some way to bring it forward. Trunk this size should move reasonably easily but I suspect you'll need some thicker wire to do it.

Looks like a branch about halfway up has been moved from front to left side. However there already appears to be a branch there. Not great to have 2 branches occupying the same space. It may make that branch look bulkier for now but will usually slow down development of the real branch behind. I can see several options: chop off the front branch; Convert the stump to jin and maybe also add some shari on the trunk; develop that front branch as a future apex so you can reduce the total height (already growing toward the front, lower on trunk, etc)

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Another option for growing it out, that I have had luck with, is using an Anderson flat. If you use decent aggregate soil in the flat you won’t have to deal with field soil later. Cool little tree though, so I would understand taking it slower in a training pot.

 

[Sootys trees]

Hard to see depth in a 2D photo but it appears the top of the tree now grows way from the front. A side view would give better look at this aspect. Apex growing away is not great for forced perspective and makes the tree seem much smaller than it could.
If the top does move toward the back I'd be looking for some way to bring it forward. Trunk this size should move reasonably easily but I suspect you'll need some thicker wire to do it.

Looks like a branch about halfway up has been moved from front to left side. However there already appears to be a branch there. Not great to have 2 branches occupying the same space. It may make that branch look bulkier for now but will usually slow down development of the real branch behind. I can see several options: chop off the front branch; Convert the stump to jin and maybe also add some shari on the trunk; develop that front branch as a future apex so you can reduce the total height (already growing toward the front, lower on trunk, etc)

Hi thank you

Are you referring to this portion of the tree circled in red ? …
Or the portion circled in blue ?

As the highlighted blue portion in level with the lower trunk as the future apex / gin



Regarding the two towards the left, I was aware of this but was concerned of removing too much foliage too soon, I don’t want the tree reverting to juvenile foliage… that said one will have to go, the lower of the two is inside a curve so I’m likely to remove that one.

Maybe it’s good for now until I prune at a later date ?

Regarding ground growing, or pot, I am considering a larger pot now,
As mentioned by Mr fancy pants (nice name ), I can use a higher quality substrate like pine bark and composted bark mixed with perlite.

Thanks again

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Ah and don’t forget to pick some sacrifice branches if you are still in for thickening the trunk.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Update;
I wasn’t happy with the initial design and structure of this tree,
I turned it around and the other side looked so much more appealing, the upper half of the tree now sucks in giving more depth,
The trunk is also much more exposed and the base just looks wider,
I’ve removed some larger bar branches and pull down the crown more,
Moved a branch to the back too.
There are still 4 - 5 strong whips to help thickness and one will be a long term sacrifice on the bottom portion of the tree.

You are on your way! A couple thoughts fwiw for the future.

At this point, rather than removing more branches one might work to develop the pads on the existing branches while still allowing crotch and new other growth on the branches to shift to to foster taper. It’s common to see new hobbyist trees and junipers, in particular focus on removing branches without paying attention to maintaining existing branches and intentional growth.

Secondly when newer as a hobbyist, the first move is to cut to remove everything that isn’t in the perceived final style removing options time might prove to be better. I did this too. This action neglects an important factor for growth and thickening, sacrifice branches. In addition to removing an important factor for styling and aging, Jins.

Another tool you’ll to keep in your back pocket when finally removing branches, creating Shari. Shari’s can really alter the trunk profile and enhance aging..

Last thought. Final form rarely comes from wiring, which become an adjunct, rather it stems from intentional growth and thoughtful clip and grow.

Good luck!

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Shibui]

Are you referring to this portion of the tree circled in red ? …
Or the portion circled in blue ?

Was referring to the entire top part but, especially the blue. In the new image I can see that the very top part has been wired forward so you have obviously considered that aspect of design. That just shows that it can be really hard to judge style from 2D photos so always take online suggestions with the grains of salt they deserve and check with the tree before committing to changes. I'm just a little concerned that the top section is quite high up. Might make the tree appear tall and skinny but you are correct about doing too much too soon. Definitely time to put the scissors away and let it alone for a few months.

@Deep Sea Diver has some great points about spending time developing branch pads and also leaving some superfluous growth to add to trunk thickness.
I'm also a big fan of dead wood on junipers. Well though out and well executed dead wood can sometimes lift an otherwise mundane tree to excellence.

 

[Sootys trees]

Thank you guys all comments taken on board and much appreciated,

Given those I’m going to proceed with letting the tree flush this spring and summer, with heavy fertilising and obviously full sun , good watering as always
There is one sacrificial branch low down and I’ll run more too at various portions of the trunk, keeping branch’s for future Shari and Jin, something I also absolutely love !
Especially developed over many years, adding layers of striation and age

One thing I did take into consideration is to give all existing branches a good spot for maximum light and growth, to the best of my abilities anyway.
(This may be why the top seems a little high, it’s because I didn’t want to crush some really nice looking branches lower down on than whip, but I see the crown does need repositioning)

- so during this post I did lower the upper portion and brought it too the right also
- from above the crown is now directly above the tree and the tree looks nice and full with gaps for future growth

During this current styling I did remove some crouch growth and downwards tufts just to stop any conflicting shoots from shading each other, but I’ll be letting it run now

ill likely rewire later next year but also consider recommendations on existing wire and keep in mind the development of finished pads whilst not removing all that’s not final design.

I check back in when I’m developing finished branching and rewiring, and maybe adding deadwood features

One positive I’ll always take from styling is the positive critique
And the amount of cuttings I now have to propagate for future projects, I have dozens.

Thanks again