Wild junipers growing in the mountains are works of art created by natural processes of wind, snow, and sun. The trunks are often twisted and bleached into amazing forms that capture the age and majesty of the tree. These trees make great material for bonsai because of their interesting shapes and great ages. Like a lot of things in bonsai, we try to promote the appearance of age in our trees. So, we study these great trees, and then using more available plants, we try to copy these forms and characteristics we see from the mountains. Many great bonsai artists have have taken this approach with trees in their own collection.

In the Bay Area, you might find shimpaku junipers from our own Mas Imazumi that were twisted and carved twenty or thirty years ago in his hands. More recently, Jim Gremel has been the leader in the area at creating juniper masterpieces that are indistinguishable from trees collected in the mountains.

At our April meeting, Jim visited our club with trays of shimpaku junipers for our club members to try their hand at starting their
own yamadori-style junipers. He also brought along some of his creations as an inspiration and goal for trees in our own collections. To begin, a shimpaku whip (a long thin cutting) that is still quite flexible is wrapped with an appropriate sized length of copper wire. The wire is coiled around the trunk just as you would wire any trunk or branch. Next, the wire is twisted such that the wire tightens around the trunk and radical bends, corkscrews, and twists are introduced the trunk. If there are any
branches, they should be wired as well. You should try to keep all the twists moving in the same direction.
For example, if you coil the trunk counterclockwise, you should coil the branches counterclockwise. In the beginning of the process (the first couple of years) you may wish to coil the juniper into a more compact form so that as the trunk thickens, a more woody material is closer to the base of the tree. However, you may wish to create an long and elegant tree with gentle bends and curves. The choice is yours! There is no need to settle on a final design for your plant.

Introducing movement into the main trunk is most important in this stage. Branch placement and the apex will be developed many years from now. Over the years, the tree will grow and the bends will become permanent. As the wire cuts into the bark,
remove it, and rewire, each time adding more bends and curves. With these plants, you should experiment with different movements and designs. In fact, to get the most out of this exercise, you should start several dozen plants in this fashion at the beginning of every year. With more plants to chose from, you will increase your chances of creating a masterpiece like Jim’s fine specimens.

As the tree fattens and the trunk holds its form, start thinking about jin and shari development. You can grow long twisted shoots into position and once the branch thickens and matures, you can strip the bark leaving long curly and elegant jin. The same is true for shari development. Twisting trunks and branches will allow for shari that twists along the lines of the
runk all the way to the apex. As the tree out-grows its container, repot it into a larger, shallow pot like a terra cotta bulb planter. Better yet, if you have access to the ground, plant a few plants in your garden. Trunks will fatten much quicker while the plant is growing freely in the ground. Also, don’t forget to fertilize. A fully mature tree using this method will take several years to mature. Whatever steps you can tae to decrease this time is to your own benefit. Be sure to use the clippings from your work to start new cuttings. Especially if the material is an excellent variety of shimpaku such as ‘Kishu’ or ‘Itoigawa’. Starting juniper cuttings is not difficult. Just keep a container of potting soil nearby and as you cut, jab the cut stems into the soil. Keep them moist either a clear lid or plastic bag. In a few months, the cuttings will begin to grow signaling the formation of roots. Later in the year, you can repot the cuttings into individual pots. Within a year, you will have new material to start more bonsai - for free! If you are bit more serious with your cuttings, consider dipping the tips in rooting hormone to help with root formation and development. Junipers, for all garden or nursery stock is almost always propagated by cuttings. It is the best way to insure that your plant will have the good foliage characteristics that are found in the mother tree.

As with all aspects of bonsai, you should also consider studying trees growing in nature. Take a weekend and visit the alpine regions of Yosemite, Lassen, or other mountainous park to see these trees growing in the wild. Ask around the club for suggestions on where to hike. If you can’t get out, look at images of high mountain trees on the internet. Make sure to look at the deadwood on the trees and examine how the wood as been sandblasted smooth over hundreds of summers. Look at all the tree’s twists, turns, and deadwood and try to imagine what natural event caused each. Your understanding of these trees growth habits and experiences will help with your own bonsai designs and styles.

No Tags