'No-Name' Juniperus Procumbens

I received my juniper from NE Bonsai last Wednesday (Juniperus Procumbens, of course) and decided to show you guys the specimen to get your opinions.

I thought it looked healthy, but I don't know too much. I've been watering as needed (usually every other day). It's on a windowsill now, but it'll be outside as soon as I finish a outdoor shelf for it (doing it during my lunch breaks in the shop).

I'll be putting it in some new substrate in a couple weeks (next paycheck will cover the sieves and scoops); I don't want to prune anything til next spring, though.

ABSOLUTELY ALL criticism, advice and thoughts are ENCOURAGED; don't worry about offending me.

I both took all of pictures and posted this with my phone, so I apologize for any formatting issues. I think if you right click the image and then left click 'view image' you should be able to see the full image.

Front



Back



Left Side



Right Side




Top



I didn't anticipate that much of a lean, so I'm happy there's at least one unique feature in the tree.

Zach

The pictures didn't come through for me. (5:19 AM 9/19/12)

I don't see photos also.

Picture does not come through for me either.

Sorry about that; I resized the images and uploaded them to a different imagehosting website.

Let me know if there are any more issues.

Zach

Why do you need to repot it? If you did not plan on pruning it, I suggest not repotting it. Just enjoy the tree for what it is.

Good luck,
Luc

This should be outdoors all year. In winter yoou will want to protect the roots and keep it out of the wind. It is normally not a good idea to do drastic pruning and repotting of a Juniper at the same time. This variety of Juniper lends itself to a cascade, but that can be a difficult style to maintain. Hopefully you only had it indoors to photograph.

Billy M. Rhodes wrote:This should be outdoors all year. In winter yoou will want to protect the roots and keep it out of the wind. It is normally not a good idea to do drastic pruning and repotting of a Juniper at the same time. This variety of Juniper lends itself to a cascade, but that can be a difficult style to maintain. Hopefully you only had it indoors to photograph.

I've read a little on preparing bonsai for winter and I'll probably end up with a cold box (I live in an apartment); I won't worry about that for a month or two, though.

As far as repotting goes: would it make sense to put it in new substrate now (autumn only begins tomorrow technically)?

From what I can discern, I shouldn't start feeding it at this point, since dormancy is a couple mere months away. Is that true?

Side note: I don't plan on any pruning til next spring or even the one after.

I have an idea for styling, but I don't think I will be doing a cascade. I do plan to take advantage of that hard lean, though. I might sketch my idea and post a picture in a few days to see what everyone thinks.

Zach

It's springtime in Connecticut! I survived my first bonsai winter, and the tree is coming out of dormancy without much die-back (from what I can tell). Since this is growth season, I want to repot this in new soil (I've already decided on a mostly inorganic mixture and just need to mix it at this point) and a better plastic training pot.

A quick question, though: Is it okay to repot without pruning the roots?

Thanks

Hello Intricate Simplicity.. To give you an honest answer. This tree will not be ready for pruning for about 2 more plus years. I will explain why. Your overhead shot of the tree shows all the foliage. Notice all the tiny branches are just branchlets, still green. Meaning, they have not hardend off or turned to wood. They are too young for pruning. The only pruning that should could be done would be to remove the growth growing in between notches of branches, small buds eminating off the trunk. Also growth growing underneath the trunk.

You mentioned you purchased this tree from NE Bonsai. Ironically enough, I will be teaching the bonsai basics class this Saturday. You are welcome to sign up for the class and we can discuss your tree and future possibilities.

Rob