First try at a Juniper, need the critics in here

[Fonz]

Just "styled" my very first bonsai tree ever. This $10 Juniper Chinensis is for practice purposes so please be critical. I'm here to learn.

I bought some standard nursery junipers last week and today I gathered enough courage (also my tools hadn't arrived until yesterday) to start cutting away. I also did some wiring, any advice on how to wire the little branches is appreciated.
Not sure what the best front would be. I started working by thinking pic 2 would be the better front but the roots in pic 1 are also nice. Help me out here please.

The plant is still in it's original pot (cut in half). I only added some clay soil on top just to see what effect it would have.

In the last pic there's the other nursery plants I plan to practice on (another juniper and a thuja). The first effort even looks like some sort of bonsai from a distance

 

[GSCarlson]

I've noticed the tendency with beginners, myself included, is to remove all foliage from the trunk outward. What you end up with is long, thin, bare branches, and pads on the ends, Q-tips. Your juniper isn't too bad, but something to keep in mind.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

With junipers, the general rule of thumb is that the lower branches should bend down, with a little upward angle at the ends of the branches. This is to represent old trees in nature, where as the branches elongate and become heavier, they bend down towards the ground, while the tip at the end continues to reach up towards the light.

You have underwired your tree, particularly since you are using aluminum wire. You should (in the future) make sure you use heavy enough wire that you can introduce bends/character into your branches and the styling will stay fixed. Right now your juniper branches look like straight poles sticking out from the trunk. Instead you want to give them some wiggle up and down, and side to side, so that the branch mimics what you would see on an old tree in nature.

Here's a couple of photos of a juniper styled by Harry Harrington. Note the wire, as well as the intricacy of the movement he has introduced to the branches. Notice how there is not a straight branch left on the tree!

 

[Fonz]

So I'm guessing it's not a good idea to add some more wire and re-bend the branches...

 

[sorce]

So I'm guessing it's not a good idea to add some more wire and re-bend the branches...

$10 Juniper Chinensis is for practice purposes

Sorce

 

[Fonz]

Ok, Now I'm confused. Did I just answer my own question? Or did you?

 

[sorce]

Ok, Now I'm confused. Did I just answer my own question? Or did you?

You're supposed to just bust out the comb sweep it through the grease and go....

A!

You did!

Get by with a little help from your friends!

Sorce

 

[bonsaidave]

Cheap big box junipers are great practice. I snapped several branches this year on mine. To much bending

 

[defra]

Good first attempt

 

[Bonsai Nut]

So I'm guessing it's not a good idea to add some more wire and re-bend the branches...

Generally it is not a good idea, because you want to allow the tree to recover after a pruning and wiring. In this case, I don't think it would be that harmful since you wired the tree and didn't really move the branches that dramatically. Even if you decided to wait a year before rewiring, your tree is still young and small and can be easily styled - unlike a bigger older tree.

 

[PeaceLoveBonsai]

Welcome! Way to get out there and DO and have the bravery to post it here! To build on the great advice of @Bonsai Nut , I would add that this thread taught me more about design than I ever learned in a book...

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/b...-special-guest-rick-martin.25502/#post-405911

If it were my tree, I'd go back, and wire again. With a focus on a final design that incorporates the bending that @Bonsai Nut discussed w/ the triangles that @Smoke outlines in the post. With a focus on putting wire on every branch. No matter how small. It gets tedious, but that's the fun of it! Practice, Practice, Practice!

Good luck and keep us updated!

Happy Bonsai!

 

[Fonz]

Thanx for your time and good suggestions everyone. One more thing I regret is cutting of a big branch completely instead of making a Jin out of it.

 

[Paulpash]

Head over to youtube and watch Ryan Neil styling a nursery Juniper:

You'll learn a ton - especially wiring a juniper. Watch how he anchors wire, using two branches with 1 wire, how he uses his free hand to ensure good 'traction' of the wire on the branch and how to create asymmetry when styling. Two and a half hours well spent!

 

[Tieball]

With junipers, the general rule of thumb is that the lower branches should bend down, with a little upward angle at the ends of the branches. This is to represent old trees in nature, where as the branches elongate and become heavier, they bend down towards the ground, while the tip at the end continues to reach up towards the light.

You have underwired your tree, particularly since you are using aluminum wire. You should (in the future) make sure you use heavy enough wire that you can introduce bends/character into your branches and the styling will stay fixed. Right now your juniper branches look like straight poles sticking out from the trunk. Instead you want to give them some wiggle up and down, and side to side, so that the branch mimics what you would see on an old tree in nature.

Here's a couple of photos of a juniper styled by Harry Harrington. Note the wire, as well as the intricacy of the movement he has introduced to the branches. Notice how there is not a straight branch left on the tree!

View attachment 154858

View attachment 154859

Good advice and excellent visual example in that second photo. Nice target image.

 

[sorce]

Way to get out there and DO and have the bravery to post it here!

Love that! Excellent post all around!

One more thing I regret is cutting of a big branch completely instead of making a Jin out of it

This is definitely the tree to learn to never do that again on!
You just keep teaching yourself!

Take your time on those other 2 and I guarantee by the last one you're going to be light years ahead of those NOT doing!

Go real slow on that right one....
It looks mad promising....

And...

If at all possible....
Don't do anything till watching that video!
Your next tree will be at least 40% better for it!

Sorce

 

[Stormwater]

Ok, Now I'm confused. Did I just answer my own question? Or did you?

It takes some time to speak Source, but he is a fountain of knowledge. Worth learning (said with kindness and honesty!).

 

[Fonz]

Jesus this is one of those threads that shouldn't be brought back to life

 

[Stormwater]

Jesus this is one of those threads that shouldn't be brought back to life

my bad.

 

[Fonz]

my bad.

No worries

It just reminds me how ignorant I was when I first started

 

[Deleted member 47471]

I learned from the thread:

1. Stick figures are extremely helpful to create triangles/shape (wow, loved it!)

2. Photos of progression of work are helpful to assist ongoing tweaks towards “finished” product

3. On a public forum/social media there will always be arguments, and nearly everyone will engage to some degree/at some point and offend/hurt someone and/or get hurt.

4. Dwelling on it, letting it ruin you, resenting, growing and holding onto anger over it is useless and only ruins the person holding onto it. You simply have to move on and leave it in the past, even if there is no reconciliation. There is nothing else.