CALIFORNIA JUNIPER REPOTTED

Today the weather was great and ideal for repotting. I decided this Cal Juniper was due for a pot change. i had this Dale Cochoy pot on the shelf and put it to good use.

The Cal Jun has one very unusual aspect. The trunk has a 360 degree twist from bottom to top. The height including the pot is about 47 inches.

My club, Sei Boku Bonsai Kai in San Mateo, CA has their annual exhibit in June, and I'm working on bonsai now to have them show ready when the time comes.

Howzit Mike,

Very nice..... well done!! Really liking the pot.

A Hui Hou,
-Tim

Mike, beautiful tree and pot! Wow!!!
Did you do anything to the lifeline of this tree or is it all natural?
I love it!
Best, Todd

Todd Ellis wrote:Mike, beautiful tree and pot! Wow!!!
Did you do anything to the lifeline of this tree or is it all natural?
I love it!
Best, Todd

Thanks, Todd

Occasionally I buff the lifeline using a brass bristle wire brush. When I'm preparing for exhibit, after brushing I'll rub the lifeline with some walnut oil. That gives it good color and contrast with the dead wood.

wow...very nice

Hy Mike,

Have you considered to slim ( not remove) the upper part of the deadwood a bit ,
the part above the lifeline in the top?
Though doing so, you might need another pot.

Regards, Sunip

Nice tree Mike.

very nice Mike!!! , my opinion is... what is it look if you do more work on dead wood?... what do you think on slim taper image?

wow, really nice tree. looks like a prize-winner to me.

sunip wrote:Hy Mike,

Have you considered to slim ( not remove) the upper part of the deadwood a bit ,
the part above the lifeline in the top?
Though doing so, you might need another pot.

Regards, Sunip

Except for cleanup and a little rotted wood removal, the deadwood part of the tree is close to "as collected". This Cal Jun was collected in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California by Harry Hirao somtime around 1975-1980. My sensei, the late Bob Kato of Belmont CA bought the tree from Harry, but never did any work on it. A paraphrase: "Thou shalt not covet thy sensei's bonsai". But covet I did. Sadly, Kato-sensei passed on too early in his life, in 1986. His widow knew i admired the tree and offered it for sale. The price was high, but I was happy to pay it.

So, as I said, the deadwood except for rotted wood removal, buffing with rotary wire brush, and lime sulfer application, is very close to what Mother Nature created over a span of hundreds of years, and I have no plans to modify it. To answer Sunip's question, that includes the top jin branches.

Inevitably there will be a "next" owner, who I hope will remain true to "Mothers" creation.

Hy Mike,

Thanks for sharing your feelings and thoughts on this tree.

Regards, Sunip

mike page wrote:

Todd Ellis wrote:Mike, beautiful tree and pot! Wow!!!
Did you do anything to the lifeline of this tree or is it all natural?
I love it!
Best, Todd

Thanks, Todd

Occasionally I buff the lifeline using a brass bristle wire brush. When I'm preparing for exhibit, after brushing I'll rub the lifeline with some walnut oil. That gives it good color and contrast with the dead wood.

Good to know, I will try with my Juniper.
BTW very cool tree and Pot, you seem to like the literati style very much, I really like your tree (your avatar isn't it?) at the First National Bonsai Show

Xuan

Kewl Mike.
That is a big tree!!
You use quite a large aggregate in your soil. Is that just for the Ca. jun?

What happened to the Myrtle in the pot?

D.

Hi Dale
The Myrtle is in an old Chinese pot that I bought about 15 years ago. I bought it from a retired military man who brought it back from a tour in Japan/Korea. It measures 24"x16"x4".

You asked about the aggragate. It's just a top dressing.

Thank you for showing the juniper. I have a smaller one (about 30") that Tom Chen collected during one of Harry's collecting trips. I bought it from Tom about 13 years ago. I have spent the past several years slowly removing a taproot and getting it to fill out on top. I will try to find a photo of it.

Charles M