Sierra Juniper Yamadori

[IzzyG]

Picked up this sierra juniper on a whim(had purchased some larger Yamadori trees and they were being transported by a van so figured I’d load her up!).

The tree was collected in 2018 and came to my possession spring of this year. Been letting it grow freely since. Just completed its initial clean up(minimal pruning) and the plan is to style in the spring with a feminine cascading style. Blue lines indicate the reaching defining branch and an apex at the top.

 

[Scorpius]

How's your Sierra doing? Looking at getting one myself and was wondering how easy/difficult they are to grow in our area. Thank you for any help you can give me.

 

[IzzyG]

How's your Sierra doing? Looking at getting one myself and was wondering how easy/difficult they are to grow in our area. Thank you for any help you can give me.

They’re doing well. I actually have 2 Sierra junipers and they’ve been happy so far this year and have not had any issues. I’m planning on repotting this guy next Spring if everything goes well.

 

[Colorado]

Nice looking juniper, Izzy!

Do you have a pot for it yet? What shape container are you thinking?

 

[IzzyG]

Nice looking juniper, Izzy!

Do you have a pot for it yet? What shape container are you thinking?

Thanks! I just got back from Todd’s on a pot shopping spree actually lol(I have a dozen large trees to repot this coming spring so figured get it done all at once).

I actually did an initial structural design this past Fall for this Sierra, and was going to let it grow freely next year. But since then, it’s been doing really well so it might end up getting repotted this coming Spring instead. I’ll want to see how it does through winter. Settled on a taller pot, similar to this guy:

 

[Colorado]

That will look great, looking forward to seeing the progression on this tree!

 

[Scorpius]

They’re doing well. I actually have 2 Sierra junipers and they’ve been happy so far this year and have not had any issues. I’m planning on repotting this guy next Spring if everything goes well.

Thank you for the quick reply. I appreciate it.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Classy. classy looking pot. How big and made by who.

 

[IzzyG]

Classy. classy looking pot. How big and made by who.

It’s a 9” square and 11” in height. I’ll be honest, I’m unsure. I don’t even remember how any of the pots picked looks There was a mixture of Ron Lang, Sara Rayner, some ancient Chinese pots and a couple of unstamped pieces. I can’t remember which is which lol. I’ll be able to tell you when Todd sends them all over though!

There was one tree that I wasn’t able to locate a pot for though and might end up having to commission someone for it.

 

[Colorado]

It’s a 9” square and 11” in height. I’ll be honest, I’m unsure. I don’t even remember how any of the pots picked looks There was a mixture of Ron Lang, Sara Rayner, some ancient Chinese pots and a couple of unstamped pieces. I can’t remember which is which lol. I’ll be able to tell you when Todd sends them all over though!

There was one tree that I wasn’t able to locate a pot for though and might end up having to commission someone for it.

That sounds like quite a goody bag!!!

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I'm not 100% sure about this tree as a cascade. I think you will struggle with the long straight section of trunk at the base, and the jins on the deadwood are pointing down (and look unnatural). I keep going back to your first image (where the deadwood looks great) and thinking about a design that lays the tree out to the left, with a descending branch on the left.

 

[IzzyG]

I'm not 100% sure about this tree as a cascade. I think you will struggle with the long straight section of trunk at the base, and the jins on the deadwood are pointing down (and look unnatural). I keep going back to your first image (where the deadwood looks great) and thinking about a design that lays the tree out to the left, with a descending branch on the left.

View attachment 465919

You’re right in regards to the positioning of the deadwood! I’ll have to grab a photo of the tree with the initial structure when I pull it out for an update.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Question for years in future: Consider lower trunk thinner. largely deadwood. Upper trunk heavier+add foliage weight+leverage. Eventually deadwood in lower trunk will deteriorate, weaken, maybe break because of upper tree weight/leverage. Can best sustainable angle of tree possibly be chosen with these in consideration?