My first try with Juniperus (maybe horizontalis) any advices?

[Gens]

Hello guys,

Can you give me some advice on what to do next with this? It is my first try with Conifers, so anything will be appreciated.
The pointy branch in blue will be reduced.
Maybe i should have used a smaller pot...


Thank you!

 

[Gabler]

What is your goal?

 

[Gens]

i like broom/naturalistic style trees, so my goal to achieve will be something like these:

 

[Gabler]

For now, let that long shoot at the top grow, but keep everything else trimmed in order to keep some foliage near the trunk. (Notice I said "trimmed," not "pinched.") J. horizontalis is basally dominant, so you want to encourage growth from the top, and you can kill two birds with one stone by using the top growth to thicken the whole trunk.

 

[SeanS]

Put it outside in the full sun

 

[Gens]

For now, let that long shoot at the top grow, but keep everything else trimmed in order to keep some foliage near the trunk. (Notice I said "trimmed," not "pinched.") J. horizontalis is basally dominant, so you want to encourage growth from the top, and you can kill two birds with one stone by using the top growth to thicken the whole trunk.

Thank you for your advice! I was also thinking of letting the long shoot grow for the same reason. When shaping the tree, most of the foliage was trimmed.

Put it outside in the full sun

Thank you! At the moment, it's still very cold outside. I keep all my pots in a heated greenhouse on the balcony. By the way, the balcony is south-east, so the sun shines until afternoon.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

In the future, try working back the foliage instead.
That bottom right branch is a good example: near the trunk there is no foliage. Since juniper foliage grows outwards, the foliage on the end of the branch will continue to grow to the right. That will make the branch longer.
A long branch on a tiny plant looks weird.

If you instead keep the foliage close to the trunk and cut the outsides of the branches off, the leftovers can now extend and fill the empty space without leaving a large bare branch.

The second set of branches are in a T section, meaning the two branches oppose each other. This can lead to uneven swelling on that point and it's symmetrical. Symmetry can be nice and artsy. In bonsai however, it usually shows that a plant is younger. We like to make people believe our plants are older than they actually are.

I know that it's a lot of critique, but especially the first point will help you improve fast. I'm absolutely sure that your next design is going to be awesome!

 

[The Barber]

Thank you for your advice! I was also thinking of letting the long shoot grow for the same reason. When shaping the tree, most of the foliage was trimmed.

Thank you! At the moment, it's still very cold outside. I keep all my pots in a heated greenhouse on the balcony. By the way, the balcony is south-east, so the sun shines until afternoon.

How heated is the greenhouse? They require dormancy like most trees.

 

[Gens]

In the future, try working back the foliage instead.
That bottom right branch is a good example: near the trunk there is no foliage. Since juniper foliage grows outwards, the foliage on the end of the branch will continue to grow to the right. That will make the branch longer.
A long branch on a tiny plant looks weird.

If you instead keep the foliage close to the trunk and cut the outsides of the branches off, the leftovers can now extend and fill the empty space without leaving a large bare branch.

The second set of branches are in a T section, meaning the two branches oppose each other. This can lead to uneven swelling on that point and it's symmetrical. Symmetry can be nice and artsy. In bonsai however, it usually shows that a plant is younger. We like to make people believe our plants are older than they actually are.

I know that it's a lot of critique, but especially the first point will help you improve fast. I'm absolutely sure that your next design is going to be awesome!

Thank you for your advice! I appreciate, and will try to apply on my next Juniper.

How heated is the greenhouse? They require dormancy like most trees.

Average temp. in the greenhouse is about 5 C, on sunny days at noon the temperature reaches about 10-15 C