名媛直播

Hi guys,
First and foremost, I'm a novice and this is my first 名媛直播. I wanted to get a head start with growth so I bought a juniper from the nursery, and cropped it last autumn to a healthy amount that I thought it could handle. I wish the branches were shorter though (and I didn't want to cut them because then there'd be no photosynthesis to keep it alive) and now I'm dealing with what to do next...It's also time that I take it out of the can and repot it, so I will give this bonsai TLC soon.

As you can see, I kept 4 branches on there, and I bent them downwards last year. I'm wondering what you would do? Would you cut the right branch off and bend the other branches downward even more to get a Han-kengai effect? Would you cut them all and only keep the top branch and do a Bunjingi effect? I'd like to know what some seasoned veterans would do. I know it's personal, and I respect your inputs. I kept the trunk like this because I really liked the natural bend that it already had naturally.

I know there's no right or wrong. I would like any tips/opinions/advice that you are willing to share with me. Thank you in advance on my bonsai journey that I hope to continue for many years!

Here's a few more pics to give a bit more depth and perspective.

www.bonsaiempire.com/tree-species/juniper

It aught to live

It's doing well. It's been 8 months now since I did the trimming. Would you have any suggestions for me as far as which direction to take to maximize the beauty here?

Welcome to the empire!

Oh wow... You really went to town on this one! Did you have green on the branches closer to the trunk?

Hinoki is a tricky plant, as they only rarely make new foliage on bare branches. As such, you are now forced to work with what you have, which is not a lot anymore..

I am tempted to say something you are really not going to like. But.. I would not do anything for the rest of the year. Just let it gat realy strong, hoping for a bud to pop somewhere in a branch elbow. Otherwise.. Consider approach grafting onto itself. But maybe that is one step away from your skillset right now.

Working with what you have now, I think a literati style would be most realistic. I am a little lazy at the moment, so an ugly sketch [sorry] to get you in a direction..White, deadwood. All red branches are already there I think. All you need to do is use heavy wire (2 5mm alu, one 5mm copper) properly secured on the main trunk and you can wire the branch to shape. You might have to pre-wrap the branch with raffia, but I think it is flexible enough still to do without; Seems like a relatively young plant. This is something that is best done when the tree is dormant.

Has the wire been on for 8 months?

It looks like biting the wood.

Thank you very much for your suggestions. They're great. I couldn't quite make sense of your picture though so I tried to decipher what you're getting at through photoshop. Do any of these mockups align with your sketch? Please let me know. Thanks. I appreciate it.

OK, now with a little more effort..

You bring up the lower branch so that the end of the branch is about directly above the rootbase of the tree. Keep all the foliage, wire the side-branches hanging down. The rest of the main branches over time, once you know the top has taken, are removed and the current top of the trunk is yinned.

I see. So if I understand you correctly, you'd rewire the bottom branch upwards as you described, wire all other branches downward, wait until winter time when It's dormant to cut the branches off, and then repot. Or would it be ok to repot now? I am only asking because you originally suggested I don't do much to it at all this year. I am patient and can wait. Thanks.

After discussing this with you, I think I really want to keep as much of the trunk as possible. I really LOVE the natural curvature and that was part of the reason I chose this specimen. If I choose the bottom branch, I'd be forced to yin half of the trunk off and I'd lose that aesthetic. What if I were to still do literati, but choose the very top branch to do it with and cut the branches below it off. Then yin the trunk when it's time and take very little trunk off. I think that could look VERY nice. Thanks for helping me figure out what I want to do. Probably not a good time yet to cut any branches off though so I'll only rewire appropriately now and wait until the winter, let it get stronger, and then I'll take action. Sound good?

Btw, do you name your bonsais?