Entry: Juniperus Virginiana – Red Cedar – USA – WITHDRAWN
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Before
I collected this tree in November 2010 at my wife’s farm in Alachua county Florida. It had been trampled by the herds of cattle regularly feeding on the property, I realized the great potential at that point and collected it at that time, it just needed to recover, and now it is ready for work to begun on it.
I saw the tree as an aged old juniper, and I plan to take it in that direction with deadwood and some carving as well as wiring to simulate an old tree.
I plan to create a pot from Portland cement and sand, otherwise a commercially available pot will do.
One Quarter Progression
After the initial styling of the tree, I wired each of the main branches and supporting foliage in an arrangement as close as possible to the original vision I had for this bonsai, I kept the original trunk from which this first branch had developed into a secondary tree, to add an aged impact to the overall design, you see this in nature especially trees that have survived damage from lightning or other natural disasters.
Half Way Progression
I left the Red Cedar in full sun to recover over the remaining summer months, it had a good growth spurt during that time, after which I took the tree back to the pruning table and removed the old wire and the terminal ends of excess foliage and debarked the original trunk back to the wood.
Three Quarter Progression
The final vision for the tree before it is potted in January 2013, I had finished cleaning up the trunk line, rewired the main branching and applied lime sulfur to the shari areas of the tree. The lower branch on the left hand side may or may not remain in the original design to yet be determined; the tree will continue to grow in full sun over the next several months as our Florida weather maintains a cool tropical climate for this time of year. Hopefully the Red Cedar will backbud giving me some foliage closer to the trunk on some of the lower branches.