Design a Juniper Bonsai

All right, we last styled the tree exactly one year ago, put on the wire, pruned it and also put it in a pot, so we did a lot at the same time. So the tree responded by growing quite heavily, mostly around the apex, so the lower parts have not grown that much. The wire that we put on, I had to take away about six months after we put it on, just because the branches are growing thicker and I don't want the wire to damage those branches. So I took the wire out in the early summer, and right now it's fall and the tree is ready to be styled again. So like I said, we'll focus most of the pruning around the apex of the tree to redistribute growth to the lower parts. So pruning is important and then the other thing is a few of the branches, we will wire again, not all of them, but some branches grew up again, so we'll use some wire to put them down. And that's about all we do today. We begin with cleaning the tree. We remove dangling growth again, as well as branches that grow downwards, or have become too thick. We use scissors for most of the pruning, but the fine growth can also be removed with your fingers. Deciding on the design of a bonsai isn't always easy, especially when a tree is as full and overgrown as this plant. Try to apply the pruning guidelines we just mentioned to your own trees. And if you are interested to learn more about these techniques, consider enrolling in one of our online bonsai courses. Here, expert teachers explain the relevant techniques, and you can ask them questions. For a free lesson, go to bonsaiempire.com slash courses. I think that's all for, well, basically the cleaning and pruning of the tree. So we removed all the growth that was growing downward, all the crotch growth, and now the tree is ready to be wired. Next, we wire the main branches, starting with the lower branches and slowly working our way up to the apex. Try to wire two branches with one piece of wire. Between these two branches, make sure to wrap the wire at least once around the trunk for stability. We aim to apply the wire at an angle of 45 degrees. The wire should be thick enough to hold the branch in the desired shape once we bend it. A rule of thumb is to use a wire of about one third to half the thickness of the branch you are wiring. Okay, we have wired mostly the bottom branch. I think I'll wire a few more, bring this down a bit. We could wire the entire tree and detail wire every little trick, and it would make a very nice end image. But for now, the tree is still in development, so it doesn't need to be wired completely. As long as the main branches are set in position and light enters the tree very well, then it's enough for now. So we'll continue wiring just a little bit more, and then we are done for today. Okay, we finished wiring the tree. We ended up wiring a bit more than I anticipated. So it's not completely detail wired, but most of the main branches are set in position now. This tree, so now it's late summer. So during fall and winter, we don't do anything other than fertilize a little bit in the next few months. And then after winter, in early spring, start fertilization again. And then wait until summer, until all these shoots start elongating a bit more, and then we prune those back. And I do that mostly in the apex of the tree, but also the lower branches. And what the pruning in late spring will do is create more back budding. So by pruning the outsides of these branches, new shoots will start growing closer to the interior of the tree. The wire that we put on will have to be taken off in several months from now. So during winter, the tree doesn't grow that fast. But in spring, the wire will probably start biting into the branches, and that's the right moment to take the wire off again. But for now, the tree is finished. Learn how to create your own bonsai trees by enrolling in one of our online bonsai courses. We explain techniques like pruning, wiring and repotting. And you can ask questions to the teachers. For the curriculums and free lessons, go to bonsaiempire.com courses