Windswept juniper critique/advice?

[Foxboro]

Hello again everyone.

This is a Chinese Juniper I bought from Home Depot several weeks back. One of a few I bought and have been torturing... lol. Of course, since it's from home store nursery stock it doesn't have the trunk girth ideal for bonsai use, but I don't mind its narrow look and really I'm just practicing and learning to keep them alive.

As you all know these things rarely grow upward so it's difficult to try to do many styles with them. After cleaning it up and taking a look, it naturally all wanted to lean to one direction and basically told me what it wanted to do. All except that first branch.... lol. It leaned the complete opposite direction.

It wasn't the best time to be heavily cutting it as it was, so I did not want to chop off a large branch just yet but I was lost as to what to do with it. So,....twist it back around to lean the other way was the only thing I could think of. My thought was to leave that branch as sort of a sacrificial branch for later, maybe after it has thickened up a bit. Or possibly some interesting Jin at some point. I just couldn't bring myself to just leave it sticking out. Impatience I suppose. It's young and pretty green so it was quite flexible.

I know this doesn't necessarily follow some of the "rules". The lower branch kind of curves out at you and crosses the trunk, but I thought it had pretty good flow and silhouette. Which brings me to the next issue. I can't decide on a front. The way I originally saw the tree, it's blowing to the left and curving toward the viewer. If I turn the tree around, the silhouette is nice too, and the awkward branch is on the back side, but the branches curve away from the viewer.

This was a fun excercise in wiring either way. Eventually when some of the shoots harden I will try to wire out the foliage to make some pads but as of now, I'm not sure they are strong enough to be wired flat. Any advice on that would be helpful.





Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Redwood Ryan]

My initial thought is that those two first branches should probably go if you're aiming for a windswept. While the foliage is going the opposite way, the branches don't and it just makes them look odd. Your wiring doesn't look half bad though, good work.

 

[sorce]

wiring doesn't look half bad though, good work.

Amen!

Sorce

 

[petegreg]

I agree, the first branch should go, but you can let it grow and jin it later.
Concerning the second branch, I'd try to hide it behind the trunk and bend it to the left and rear, as a wind direction dictates. It may help to create the depth of a picture. Windswept style is not so easy, I like what you've done as a first styling.

 

[Foxboro]

My initial thought is that those two first branches should probably go if you're aiming for a windswept. While the foliage is going the opposite way, the branches don't and it just makes them look odd. Your wiring doesn't look half bad though, good work.

I think you're right. I will eventually do away with the bottom branch and I may be able to re wire the second, if not it will get the snip. It doesn't look as much as a permanently wind swept tree so much, more like a tree currently blowing in a strong wind I suppose... lol

 

[Foxboro]

I agree, the first branch should go, but you can let it grow and jin it later.
Concerning the second branch, I'd try to hide it behind the trunk and bend it to the left and rear, as a wind direction dictates. It may help to create the depth of a picture. Windswept style is not so easy, I like what you've done as a first styling.

Thank you, I was starting to feel the same way about the second branch. I wonder, since it hasn't been wired this way for long if I could coax it back in another direction.

 

[Foxboro]

Amen!

Sorce

Thank you!

 

[MichaelS]

I would keep all the branches. If you remove those back ones it will look like any other standard ''windswept'' attempt. However I would try to get much more movement in those to branches and compress them more towards the main trunk.
The part that's the highest point in the first pic should reman the highest point....IMO, even if you have to bring the rest down even more to accommodate it after it's bent more. If you are going to remove them you can do it after 20 years when they will ''be'' something jining.

 

[petegreg]

I don't know how much it was bent last time. If there's not too much tension in that branch, then go ahead gently. But the wood is young, will be playable for long time. I'd do more serious adjustments on next wiring, after the tree showed health and vigour.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Hello again everyone.

This is a Chinese Juniper I bought from Home Depot several weeks back. One of a few I bought and have been torturing... lol. Of course, since it's from home store nursery stock it doesn't have the trunk girth ideal for bonsai use, but I don't mind its narrow look and really I'm just practicing and learning to keep them alive.

As you all know these things rarely grow upward so it's difficult to try to do many styles with them. After cleaning it up and taking a look, it naturally all wanted to lean to one direction and basically told me what it wanted to do. All except that first branch.... lol. It leaned the complete opposite direction.

It wasn't the best time to be heavily cutting it as it was, so I did not want to chop off a large branch just yet but I was lost as to what to do with it. So,....twist it back around to lean the other way was the only thing I could think of. My thought was to leave that branch as sort of a sacrificial branch for later, maybe after it has thickened up a bit. Or possibly some interesting Jin at some point. I just couldn't bring myself to just leave it sticking out. Impatience I suppose. It's young and pretty green so it was quite flexible.

I know this doesn't necessarily follow some of the "rules". The lower branch kind of curves out at you and crosses the trunk, but I thought it had pretty good flow and silhouette. Which brings me to the next issue. I can't decide on a front. The way I originally saw the tree, it's blowing to the left and curving toward the viewer. If I turn the tree around, the silhouette is nice too, and the awkward branch is on the back side, but the branches curve away from the viewer.

This was a fun excercise in wiring either way. Eventually when some of the shoots harden I will try to wire out the foliage to make some pads but as of now, I'm not sure they are strong enough to be wired flat. Any advice on that would be helpful.

View attachment 151303



Any thoughts? Thanks!

Many, many natural trees branches going toward wind before going with. Decent wiring and styling. Needs time and aging.