just a heads up some might call me out as a double post but my last post about this tree was on the pruning and wiring thread and i wanted to start a progression thread but don't know how to delete the other post.

Here is a 16yr old juniper needle I've had and finally decided to work on. Ive decided to jin the bottom 3 branches cause they were to hard to bend down without the nasty arch at the trunk and there is also no ramification in the mid section which looked awkward to me (might end up chopping later). i was able to wire and bend the upper branches. i do like the foliage at the apex of the tree so i decided to air layer and maybe get something out of that. As of now my next step is, once roots develop on the air layer i will chop and pot. Then i will chop the trunk at the red line of the last photo and jin the top. open to any suggestions.

progression

Good start. Nice to see you getting your fingers in and working on this.
Have a look at the branches. I think the angle will give you a typical conifer look. In the pictures it looks like the top bracnhes have a lot of movement, and the lowest is near-straight? You might want to try and get the top branches less wiggly; As the trunk is very straight, you would expect the branches to be fairly straight too.

For future reference.. I think you should have waited a little bit with this work, for two reasons:

- Your needle juniper is not a needle juniper, but rather a very unhappy juniper. You for sure have seen the few branches that have scale foliage? That is typically what all foliage should look like when healthy and strong. Some trees are quicker at throwing out needles, so some species will have some needles most of the time. But at this level, the tree is fairly unhappy.
- Airlayers are best set during the growing season. Not sure where you are, but i am guessing it is not early growing season where you are?

leatherback wrote:

In the pictures it looks like the top branches have a lot of movement, and the lowest is near-straight? You might want to try and get the top branches less wiggly; As the trunk is very straight, you would expect the branches to be fairly straight too.

i totally agree, im looking for a formal upright style and think it might be the picture but i have set all branches as straight as possible.

leatherback wrote:

For future reference.. I think you should have waited a little bit with this work, for two reasons:

- Your needle juniper is not a needle juniper, but rather a very unhappy juniper. You for sure have seen the few branches that have scale foliage?

I purchased this tree from House Of Bonsai in California 1 or 2 yrs ago and was told it was a needle juniper but may be wrong.

leatherback wrote:

- Airlayers are best set during the growing season. Not sure where you are, but i am guessing it is not early growing season where you are?

i actually was thinking the same thing. i joined a class to get more knowledge taught by a well known bonsai enthusiast here in the states by the name of Takashi “Tak” Shimazu (has an amazing collection was told it might be one of the best in California). i had the same concerns about air layering this time of year and expressed those concerns to him and i was told it should not be a problem. i live in California and its been a warm winter with literally like 3-4 days of rain all winter. currently going through a heat wave.

thank you for all advice. very much appreciated!

Ok, odd. But I suppose that ata bonsai dealership they know their species. Does that mean you have a juniper that displays scale foliage as juvinile form? Which species is it?

Ok, in california. So you probably have temps that we do not get for another 4 months. Guess you would be at the onset of grwoing with warm enough temps for root growth. Great!

leatherback wrote:

Ok, odd. But I suppose that ata bonsai dealership they know their species. Does that mean you have a juniper that displays scale foliage as juvinile form? Which species is it?

Ok, in california. So you probably have temps that we do not get for another 4 months. Guess you would be at the onset of grwoing with warm enough temps for root growth. Great!

i was told Juniperus Rigida.

yeah we have been at around mid 70*F to low 80*F.

as you guys can see from the pictures, im currently air layering this needle juniper but the tree is in major need of a repot. would it be safe to repot the tree or should i wait till after i chop the air layer. im starting to see some new buds and wanted to take the chance now to repot it.

I personally repot juniper later in the year, once the weather warms up.

leatherback wrote:

I personally repot juniper later in the year, once the weather warms up.

good to hear from you again. welcome back. im in California and we are already getting weather above 70*F (21*C) almost all my trees are starting to bud except my JRM. or when you say warm weather do you mean like a late summer type of thing?

I mean weeks after you would normally report your trees. I have been repottng junipers in june, july even august. I am not recommending this to anyone, but it is what I do.