Entry #37
Judge #3: Nicely done. The second right branch is a bit heavy though.
Creeping Juniper (Juniperus Plumosa)
South Africa
30cm (11.8")
Before
This is a Creeping Juniper purchased from a local nursery. It has lovely foliage and an interesting trunkline. My initial plan for the tree was to do a cascade, but after closer inspection of the trunk, I decided to take a chance and remove 60 percent of the foliage, and take up a new leader for an informal upright. Lets see how it progresses.
One Quarter Progression
The tree was wired upright using 7mm wire and Raffia. I did not want another cascading bonsai and felt the trunkline was much more interesting in this style. The foliage pads were thinned out, and the branches were wired into place. The tree was also tilted about 30 degrees for a suitable angle of viewing. One heavy side branch was jinned and treated with lime sulphur.
Half Way
The tree recovered very nicely and put out a lot of new growth. I was very happy with the amount of new foliage. Branches were reset and foliage was trimmed back slightly.
Three Quarter Progression
The foliage was thinned out slightly and branches were repositioned. I was rotating the tree for pruning when another viewing angle caught my eye. I changed the angle completely and reset the branches according to this new angle.
Final
This tree has had a very interesting journey from initially being destined to be a creeeping landscape plant to the informal upright that it now is. I enjoyed working with this tree because it gave me so many options. I like how well the tree responded to pruning within the one year peiod. It is my first plumosa, but I will definitely consider more once I have finished with this one. It will be put into a training bonsai pot in Mid spring this year.