Memory Lane – Academy Class 2009….Juniper Styling

In December 2009 I introduced a fairly large Juniper Chinensis into the class. The tree had been on the nursery for more than 5 years. Some general pruning work had been carried out over the years but basically the tree had been allowed to grow to gain some vigour.

When it arrived in the class you can see that it’s colour and condition is excellent. There is plenty of foliage on this now bushy tree and it is ready for it’s first styling. The students were divided into four groups and each group studied the tree before presenting their ideas in turn.

After a consensus of opinion work on the tree is commenced. The trunk splits in half around the middle of the tree so a specific trunk line would have to be selected. There are far too many heavy branches in this area also. Some would have to be made into deadwood jins.

Some of the jins are linked by a shari. There are also too many jins emerging from one place so some would have to be removed.

The tree was now ready for wiring. This work was carried out after the class and in January the tree was styled. The resulting foliage canopy is now much more compact and in sympathy with the trunk’s diameter and the style of the tree.

The lower branches have been left on to help the tree recover from the work by maintaining adequate vigour, and also to give the option for a fuller traditional Japanese image. These lower branches could be removed to create a more “literati” style tree and the deadwood extended to become a more prominent feature. A jin to the right needs to be removed to open up that side of the trunk. The last picture was taken two months later in March.

Trees like this are great for discussions on styling. There is so much to go at, so many options, and with all that foliage nothing is too obvious. There is of course the added bonus that after all the talking, all the debate, and some most enjoyable practical work..

…….we are left with a very good tree!