The "What The Heck Should I Do With It" Thread

[Vin]

Great thread and i can join in with some stuff bit first this juniperus

Its a juniperus squamata meyeri i think
Bought this tree in neglected state for 10 euro a year ago all i did was repot and i jinned the one big branch (it only had 2 tufts of foliage) and expanded the existing shari to the jin 6 months ago, While doing that i didnt look good enough and killed a live vein but the one on the back took over luckily it still looks healthy.

The branches are kinda leggy..
I did get some advice on how to take care of the tree
but i dont realy see what style i could go for yet

Truthfully, I wouldn't do anything with this tree until you can get it back to being healthy again. It needs time to regain vigor and during that time you should get some back budding that will help with the future design. I do see a Literati in there but it's too early to tell for sure. Just me two cents for what they're worth.

 

[defra]

Ey Dennis, bring it with you when you come down here, okay? I think it is very hard to make proper styling stuff from the pics you posted. No doubt 3d will do much better!

yeah thats cool great idea
i could make a video for the non dutchies to get the image right

 

[defra]

Truthfully, I wouldn't do anything with this tree until you can get it back to being healthy again. It needs time to regain vigor and during that time you should get some back budding that will help with the future design. I do see a Literati in there but it's too early to tell for sure. Just me two cents for what they're worth.

thnx vin ! health comes first but i just liked to get some opinions on what others see, you mention literati so thats what im going to look for next time i look at the tree wont be cutting anything off yet ill just feed and water the tree and pull off all dead needles

 

[Carol 83]

Sort out any issues the nebari may have in a bigger pot, maybe a little bit more organic material in the mix, then go shohin - I dug some in December of another species, trunks as thick as your arm, I am planning on doing an G. occidentalis shohin soon though

Thanks for the reply. Are you saying to put into a larger pot to grow the trunk for awhile, and then go shohin? The soil is part bonsai soil, part cactus/succulent potting soil at the moment.

 

[Vin]

thnx vin ! health comes first but i just liked to get some opinions on what others see, you mention literati so thats what im going to look for next time i look at the tree wont be cutting anything off yet ill just feed and water the tree and pull off all dead needles

That's what this thread is all about. Hopefully, folks that have material that they just can't seem to figure out will benefit. I think my Juniper is headed for the Club Auction. I have so many others that have direction there's no sense in wasting my time with this one.

 

[Vin]

Thanks for the reply. Are you saying to put into a larger pot to grow the trunk for awhile, and then go shohin? The soil is part bonsai soil, part cactus/succulent potting soil at the moment.

I wish I could be of some help but I've never worked with the species so I hate to comment. That's why you rarely see me ever comment on anything pine. They just don't do well here and I don't try to keep them.

 

[Carol 83]

I wish I could be of some help but I've never worked with the species so I hate to comment. That's why you rarely see me ever comment on anything pine. They just don't do well here and I don't try to keep them.

No worries, I appreciate the thread, I think a lot of people have stuff they don't know what the heck to do with! It is a Grewia (Lavender Star Flower). It is tropical. I bet it would grow like gangbusters in FL.

 

[defra]

@Vin tried something with photoshop and it looks like crap i could try again but could you make a pic of beter quality ?
still you might get the idea im thinking

you could try to get some wire in and open it up and see what comes out



or this perhaps

 

[LanceMac10]

Variegated Juniper.....

 

[Vin]

@Vin tried something with photoshop and it looks like crap i could try again but could you make a pic of beter quality ?
still you might get the idea im thinking

you could try to get some wire in and open it up and see what comes out

or this perhaps

This is where I was headed with it at one time. Maybe I should repot it at an angle and see if it will work. I got nothing to lose but a little time. Thanks!

 

[Eric Group]

This works kind of like the Tree Thread, Yamadori Thread and others. However, you don't need to post a tree every time you respond. If you have a tree that you just can't seem to do anything with post it here to get some ideas or help with it. First up, my Seesaw Juniper. There are two branches 180 degrees apart that seem to dominate what can or can't be done it. I've had it three or four years and have already taken a foot or so off each side. Looking at again today, I remembered I was supposed to take that sucker off last year but never got around to it. I think I'm just going to bring it to the club auction this year unless someone has a better idea.

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Looks to me like the left side dominates pretty strong- slam it to the right about 45 degrees, Jin the hell out of that right side, wire the living F out of the remaining branches, get some more movement in the main trunk line if you can... You could split that sucker if you got the balls.. it'll bend! If not.. still has a little movement not a problem, really would just be a little better if some of the straight parts moved...

 

[Vin]

Variegated Juniper.....
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I've got one of those I've been playing around with for a couple years. The bark on mine is really outstanding.

 

[Eric Group]

Great thread and i can join in with some stuff bit first this juniperus

Its a juniperus squamata meyeri i think
Bought this tree in neglected state for 10 euro a year ago all i did was repot and i jinned the one big branch (it only had 2 tufts of foliage) and expanded the existing shari to the jin 6 months ago, While doing that i didnt look good enough and killed a live vein but the one on the back took over luckily it still looks healthy.

The branches are kinda leggy..
I did get some advice on how to take care of the tree
but i dont realy see what style i could go for yet

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Looks like second pic is a good front, remove some from the left, wire foliage into a slanting, wide triangle with widest side pointed right...

 

[Vin]

Great thread and i can join in with some stuff bit first this juniperus

Its a juniperus squamata meyeri i think
Bought this tree in neglected state for 10 euro a year ago all i did was repot and i jinned the one big branch (it only had 2 tufts of foliage) and expanded the existing shari to the jin 6 months ago, While doing that i didnt look good enough and killed a live vein but the one on the back took over luckily it still looks healthy.

The branches are kinda leggy..
I did get some advice on how to take care of the tree
but i dont realy see what style i could go for yet

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@thomas22 posted his Juniper https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/california-juniper-first-styling.18171/page-3#post-442363
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/california-juniper-first-styling.18171/page-3#post-442363
Look familiar?

 

[defra]

Yeah trunk line looks like it
Thnx!

 

[Starfox]

I would chop chop chop chippety chop
I would chop chop chop chippety chop
Chippety chop chop chop chop
Chippety chop chop chop CHOP!

Like, those branches sprouting from the trunk, shorten those and maybe build a shohin with it. And sort the roots out. Gonna be a nice one!

Not sure I would go that hard at least initially, although just a clean out will probably give a good choppy chop fix. I have read they are slow growers so would like to see just how slow or quick they bounce back before doing anything too drastic.
The roots will be interesting that is for sure, it's not pot bound yet so I will leave them for the moment and see.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Variegated Juniper.....
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Nice Lance, there is a tree in there. I would style it ignoring the variegation, since it comes and goes, greening up in second or third year. I saw one the other day, landscape shrub. It almost looked like a flowering shrub, like Potentilla. You have a tight cluster of branches on the left, pick the ones with foliage in close, loose the leggy ones.

I'd reduce the height, lots of possible new apex choices, I'm sure you will find the "right" one.

Nice, and not ugly at all. The variegation would let you use a glazed pot, perhaps dark blue glaze to set off the bright yellow-white.

 

[fviljoen963]

Thanks for the reply. Are you saying to put into a larger pot to grow the trunk for awhile, and then go shohin? The soil is part bonsai soil, part cactus/succulent potting soil at the moment.

yes, they like media with a lot of leaf litter and the like, still quick draining. The leaves reduce really well but you know that. build a nebari, once you have a nice trunk of a thickness that you're happy with for shohin then chop and ramify

 

[herzausstahl]

The big one on the left is about an inch thick so probably not to bendable. The one on the right could probably be moved with some crafty techniques. Thanks!

Somehow I feel @sawgrass would find a way to bend it & create something amazing with it.

 

[A Random User]

This works kind of like the Tree Thread, Yamadori Thread and others. However, you don't need to post a tree every time you respond. If you have a tree that you just can't seem to do anything with post it here to get some ideas or help with it. First up, my Seesaw Juniper. There are two branches 180 degrees apart that seem to dominate what can or can't be done it. I've had it three or four years and have already taken a foot or so off each side. Looking at again today, I remembered I was supposed to take that sucker off last year but never got around to it. I think I'm just going to bring it to the club auction this year unless someone has a better idea.

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I don't know if you have seen any of the vids I have posted as of lately regarding junipers... but you might want to check them out. Good for problem solving design issues.

I have worked numerous junipers with exactly the same issue you have... and it is a very common problem especially with regular nursery stock, that no one has yet picked a line for to make a pre-bonsai out of.

The problem lies not with the material... but with more of a lack of understanding on how to see the value in the material. I say this not to be insulting... So, please do not get upset.
There is a path forward with every piece of material... the key is to think beyond what to do with it... to instead, what not to do with it, and walk through the particular issues the tree has one by one and try and solve them.

If I tell you what to do... or if you get rid of the material... you would not learn. Right?

I will give you hint though that might just be the path you need to take...

Often if you look at junipers, especially some of the really awesome one's coming out of places like Japan. You will notice if you look close, that all of the really heavy material within the tree was killed off and made deadwood.

Why?

By answering this... you will begin to problem solve, and begin to design a tree through what not to do.