Juniper and Blue Spruce!

[Enigma]

Hi there people! Lovely site you have here

I have a few questions...

1. Tell me everything and anything you know on Juniper Bonsai care, please!!

2. I want to bonsai a Blue Spruce from clippings from a 50 yr old tree in our front yard. How do I go about doing this? I'm really new at this.. so any help would be greatly appreciated!

THANK YOU!

[Enigma]

Oh wait.. Here's a pic of my Juniper! Does it look healthy?? Yes, it's a "mallsai".

[img]https://img364.imageshack.us/img364/6857/img00029bf.jpg[/img]

[The Helpful Gardener]

Okay, first things first...

That's a Mallsai alright; still has the glued pebbles on top. Ditch those and replace with moss...

Abandon all hope of the spruce project. Oh, it can be done, in a greenhouse with misting units connected to humidity monitors and heating pads underneath the cuttings, and then at about a fifty percent rooting rate. You MIGHT get really lucky if you stuck about a hundred cuttings you might get five or so...

Check out the articles on our website for more info on keeping bonsai. The only real specific for JUniper is when tipping to contain graowth use your fingertips rather than tools; less browning that way...

Scott

[Sharp]

Nipping them off with your fingers is to help create nice pads am I correct?

[The Helpful Gardener]

Indeed you are, Sharp! This is not really pruning and can be done anytime...

HG

[Enigma]

Actually, no they aren't glued on.

They were just sitting there lol. But I took them out anyway because I think they're ugly. I like the look of the dirt.

And so far, two people have told me not to try with the spruce. So I guess I wont.. but that really does suck.

How about Lilac? or Maple?

And yes, I know about the pinching But uhm.....where do I pinch? lol

I know what style I want but nowhere on the entire internet can I find detailed instructions on HOW to achieve it.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Much as I am enamored of the medium, online is not the best place to teach pruning technique .

You say you have the style in mind. What style is it? If you can't say, then you haven't read all the articles on the site, because we do have one that denotes the different styles. If you can tell me which style you have in mind, then I can help. But my first warning is don't start with a style and find the tree; find a tree and let it tell you what style. You'll always get better results "following the request of the tree"...

Scott

[Enigma]

lol I want to go for a Formal Upright, or Informal Upright. It would suit the tree well.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Juniper procumbens is not a plant for a formal upright (the word procumbens means "to lie down"). So we probably shouldn't go there; I mean you could, but it sure ain't "following the request of the tree".

Informal upright is a nice loose type that leaves plenty of room to move. I like that idea...

Fukinagashi, or windswept style is nice for this plant and a classic look (All the branches "move" in one direction)...

My favorite for this plant is the cascade, or semi-cascade (The former has the main (#1) branch finishing below the bottom of the pot, the latter has it finishing beneath the rim of the pot). Both these styles use a different pot than you might be used to seeing; much taller and narrower than usual for full cascades and half again as deep as a regular pot for the semi-cascades) A full formal cascade has a good deal of rules and regs for how it should be potted and pruned, buit the semi-cascade is pretty loose and makes for a fine beginners plant (that could become a full cascade down the road)...

But this one would make a nice one of any of these; look at it for a long time (Looking is easy, cutting is harder...)

Scott

Scott

[Enigma]

If I don't do informal upright, this is what I want to do....

[img]https://joebonsai.com/shop/images/products/windswept_jan3.jpg[/img]

I find all of the other styles a little too ugly. What do you guys think of that one?

[The Helpful Gardener]

Interesting they are calling this one a windswept; it's actually a little known style called "Buddha's Hand", where the first branch is grown very long, and the curve mimics that graceful line you see in statues of Gautama Buddha. Nice tree...

[Enigma]

ooooo really? Cuz its pretty. And thats a juniper!

[Dr_Doogie_MD]

Yeah that is definitely a fine looking bonsai! Definitely not a windswept though. If it were to be fit into a broad category, it'd be more of a semi-cascade.

To get a good idea of what windswept look like, just imaging any tree in hurricane winds (turn to the weather channel right now and see!).

Here's a juniper in the windswept style.
[img]https://teamster.usc.edu/~dteam/images/bonsai/TREE10.JPG[/img]

[Enigma]

Yah but see in that picture.. I find that style really.. just... ugly lol. I can't stand it. Because its just, unnatural looking. Like, okay, the wind stopped blowing, you can go back to normal now!! lol

I like the style in that picture that I posted.. the "Buddha's Hand". It looks more natural growing. Thats why I like the Formal Upright look too lol Just like christmas trees

[The Helpful Gardener]

I find the fukinagashi to be very natural; just drive out to the end of Cape Cod (or Pebble Beach) and look at pines...

The Buddha's Hand style is actually not seen as much because it is a less natural style; bonsai are supposed to look like small trees, not topiaries. The windswept shows trunk and branching, while the Buddha's Hand does not. From a purely bonsai point of view, I like the windswept better...

But if you've found a style that you like, now you know what to call it...



Scott

[Enigma]

hehe yep, thanks for all the help!