This is a prostrata juniper I've been training for 3 years. This spring, I decided to rotate the tree forward...this allowed for a much more dramatic drop in the cascading branch. It also seems to have offered a different front option, though with a catch. This is a pic from the angle of the original front.



This is a pic from the new proposed front...



the issue is that the main cascading branch is actually moving toward the back/left away from the veiwer at first, then sharply moves downward and back out toward the front. I like this angle because the shari really pops and the descending branch seems more dramatic and the upper portion appears less straight. Opinions??

Dave

Dave for me the new proposed front is heaps better. To begin with the long straight section of the trunk is broken up by the jin in front of it...takes away the ho hum aspect of a long straight section. As you said the shari (deadwood on top) really pops. Best of all the angle which it sits in the proposed image gives depth to the tree and makes it look more over all more compact.

I like the second (proposed) front...

I'm a jin and shari guy, so you know which front I like, hands down,


Ciao,
Harry

Thanks guys, I was hoping you would say that

Dave

I'm going for the second front . Perhaps a little shading on the jin/shari might be a good thing.... you know, either burn or stain with india ink..

Thanks, Susan. I've got a bit more carving to do so the shari may look different down the road...thanks again.

Dave

That is really shaping up to be a beautiful specimen!

Thanks, Mark. This was a bush like pre-bonsai I picked up off the sales table at New England Bonsai 3 summers ago. The tree is very healthy, vigorous, and really responds to wiring and pruning.

Dave