Very nice! What kind? I got a blue rug juniper, half of it died, but the other half I can still work with to get it into cascade style.

That is cool... I have a juniper that I was going to repot, but then it fell off my balcony a few months ago. The pot was in pieces and one branck was clipped off, but other than that it was in ferfect shape. So I just reppoted it in a cascade style, and it's done very good since then!!!

Hello Hooks, before I give any suggestions or comments on this tree, it would be nice to hear a little bit from you. What are your plans with this? You say that it has a long way to go, so I don't want to make any assumptions as it seems like you already have an idea to where this is headed. It would be great if you could provide that so my (and other's) suggestions can be tailored more to you and what you want for this tree (as opposed to our own preferences).

-Audric

i understand what you are saying audge yet i was not nessesarily asking for specific advice. suggestions would be great however so that i can get an outside opinion not influenced by my current plans for the tree. so if you have any ideas i would love to hear them.

That is a nice looking tree. I have one very simmilar in size that I realy dont know where Im going with it. I keep driving around my town and when I see a full grown tree that I like, Im going to take a picture of it and then try to form my bonsai to that tree. As of right now, Im just letting it grow, so in a year or so I can prune it back.
From your picture 01, the branch that is growing toward the eye, I would wire that one off to the side a bit or take that branch off. Even if your are going to wack the branch, keep it for a year or so, so the tree can use the energy from that branch.
The one tree I have, I know of 2 branches that are going to come off, but I want to wait for the tree to get a litter bigger before I do this. I still have not made my mind up on what Im going to do to the apex.
In short, if you have not decied on what direction to go in with this tree, then sleep on it for a year or more, its not like the tree is going anywhere and on top of that, juniper are eaisy to wire even when they get somewhat large.
Good luck.

Hooks, I admire your desire for a complete outsider's view, so here it is.

Currently, I find that the design lacks coherence and there are a lot of competing elements. One is the relative trunk thickness compared to the visual weight of the foliage, another is the movement of the branches, all pointing away from one another, and finally, the trunk itself is quite tightly contorted while the branches are comparatively straight and long. All in all, it doesn't come across as a tree to me. (This is what I see out of its current state. I can't tell what you have in mind).

The juniper has the potential to become a good bonsai, but I don't think that the current styling is going to advance it in any way. At this stage in the game, I'd be mainly concerned about developing a good trunk and plenty of branches. Right now, I'm not seeing this type of foresight in the design. (Again, this is just me; I may not be able to see where you're headed).

Try checking out these images from Bonsai Europe's November edition. Notice how they're introducing a great deal of movement into the trunk right from the very beginning. They haven't put as much emphasis on developing thick foliage pads as much as they have on keeping as many branches to increase their styling options in the future.

I guess what I'm trying to say, and this is based off of my interpretation of your procedure with this tree, is that a bonsai really isn't created piece by piece; it's much more like an artwork in which you start off with a general sketch to rough out the main design, and from that you can start refining and then polishing it.

-Audric

Audric
Thanks for the ideas and critique. i know that my ideas cannot yet be seen since the tree is still young. the reason it looks the way it does i i bought it a year and a half ago in sad shape from a local garden store. the planter it was in did not even have drainage holes. i really wish i would have taken some earlier photos so you could see just how much of a comeback it has made.

I do like the branch separation though, if all goes as planned i think it will really help ith my future style ideas. The link below shows a rough design idea. Get back to me and let me know what you think.

-Tim-

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o94/hooks11/bonsaifuture.jpg

Audric

just lookin to see what you think.

Hey Tim

Sorry for the late reply; there's a large design project for a course that I'm currently taking so I've been clocking 10-12+ hours at the studio per day (plus classes, plus time for meals!). Pretty much my comments remain the same; I think that the tree could benefit from a tighter, more coherent design. Don't try to think of it as a bonsai as much as a tree - I don't see trees like the one that you have sketched out too often. Try to find inspiration from trees that you see in nature (or pictures of trees) which appeal to you. Also, I don't know much about your background in bonsai, but look into as many bonsai books as possible to get a rundown of the styling basics.

-Audric

Hi, I know where you're going with the sketch, but trees like that generally have huge ("sumo") trunks, and shorter branches (with more numerous pads), so it's possible your sketching skills, while neat, are not as true to the design I think you're going for. Something like that would take forever without the trunk already in place.