Cutting back raw juniper media (old gold) material

[Jurij]

Hello!
I am fairly new to juniper bonsais and am intrested in creating one from this gold star nursery stock I bought for 12€ (quite a steal).
Couple questions about making a slanting bonsai in the future years...

1. How much can I safely prune back this early spring? The tree looks healthy and did not have much dead/weak foliage near the trunk. The growth on the branches is good from the trunk to the end.

2. I want to cut back 3 big branches at the middle of the trunk (to big/thick for the composition I have in mind), making jin out of them. Should I cut them off this spring leaving no foliage and make a jin at the end of summer/the next season when the tree regains it strength?

3. Does Juniper media backbud willingly? How many years am I looking at to get a branch aprox. 4mm in thicknes from newly form growth/buds?

If it would be possible I would cut back the tree leaving enough foliage on so that the tree regains its strength and produces buds on the trunk. The tree will stay potted in its original soil for now.

Thank you for all the help in advance!

 

[Shibui]

1. How much can I safely prune back this early spring?

Depends what you want. I'd normally cut up to 50% from healthy juniper. You may get some juvenile regrowth but that's transitory.

2. I want to cut back 3 big branches at the middle of the trunk (to big/thick for the composition I have in mind), making jin out of them. Should I cut them off this spring leaving no foliage and make a jin at the end of summer/the next season when the tree regains it strength?

Cut them if you want. Definitely strip the bark as soon as you prune. Bark will pel off a fresh cut but will stick to dead wood. Just be aware that the wood inside the branches will be only 1/3 of the branch. Don't expect solid jins from skinny branches.

3. Does Juniper media backbud willingly? How many years am I looking at to get a branch aprox. 4mm in thicknes from newly form growth/buds?

All junipers back bud. Willingly? maybe , maybe not. Depend on our definitions.
How long? Depends how you grow the tree.
In the ground, maybe 2 years. In a smaller pot, maybe 10 years. Not possible t o be more precise

 

[Jurij]

Depends what you want. I'd normally cut up to 50% from healthy juniper. You may get some juvenile regrowth but that's transitory.

Cut them if you want. Definitely strip the bark as soon as you prune. Bark will pel off a fresh cut but will stick to dead wood. Just be aware that the wood inside the branches will be only 1/3 of the branch. Don't expect solid jins from skinny branches.

All junipers back bud. Willingly? maybe , maybe not. Depend on our definitions.
How long? Depends how you grow the tree.
In the ground, maybe 2 years. In a smaller pot, maybe 10 years. Not possible t o be more precise

Thank You, just the answers I was looking for.
Still, two more things if You could help me... is lime sulfur on deadwood always needed? The juniper is curently sitting in a 4/5L pot of dirt, is that good enough... I may put it in a bigger pot because I might not be able to put it in the ground.