Guess I could not help myself. Went to the hardware store today to get some salt in case winter arrives.. And they were tossing out all sorts of plants. One of them tis cute Juniper. It is one of the crawling types. I thought it was useless, untill I pushed my fingers in the moss. Then I decided: Let's spend the 2 euro's. Worst case, I need to plant it in full ground for 5 years




When I got home, I started by removing most of the moss from the surface. That resulted in a nice view of a trunk with steep angle, and way toom any branches.



Then I started to remove all material I was not going to use. Some of the stumps I left to develop Yin from. Some other branches were left to assis in branch-thickening.



I decided upon a cascade form, but somewhat unusual: There were three branches that lend itself for the cascade. So now I have three cascades, all of them in serious need of growth.




And the final result, re-potted in a pot a serious size larger. THis will allow for growth after winter. Although I hope to be able to do some root-work after winter, this may be in late april. I hope to get some flush in spring.



I'd be happy to get any advice on better placement / adjustments

Hi Jelle,

Very nice little Juniper. I think it's great how you like to rescue the abandoned misfits and make something beautiful from them. This one is a natural for the cascading form and the three cascading branches are so unique. I wonder what it would look like if each branch were at different levels of height...the shortest one being closer to the top and the longest one at the bottom. I can envision a form that mimics steps (or stairs).

When you pushed your fingers into the moss, what did you find that convinced you to buy the Juniper? :huh:

Abandoned misifts you say? I would say: undiscovered gems!

What I felt for is the development of the trunk. As you can see, the plant seems to only have very thin branches. yet, when I felt, I could feel a much thicker trunk, and I felt changes in direction. I was very tempted to start pulling the moss out there and then. But well.. For 2 euros I decided to take the risk.

The tree branches are of different lengths. This will be much stranger later on; For now, I would like to grow the tree another maybe 10-15cm (4-6'). That should be possible over the next growing season. Once that is done, the final styling (branch selection, size & position, & side branches) will be done, after which I will focus only on getting tapen & trunk thickness through explosive growth, and trimming back as well als letting one or 2 side branches per cascading main trunk grow out for maybe 2 years (Sacrifice branches).

When I said "abandoned misfits" I was referring to the average consumer and how they must *see* these plants as they pass them by. Someone practicing bonsai however, is more likely to see the beauty and potential (ie: undiscovered gems) in these over-looked plants. I was paying you a compliment.

Hey Leslie,

I know Just forgot to put the smiley there! See my earlier post in large taxus baccata: I truly believe that other people's junk plants, can often be the basis of great bonsai (Think of that 20yr old shrub that has been standing in the corner, continuously kept under a meter and its trunk al fat, hardly any growth left in the thing. We should toss it out, and get us a new plant; This one looks old and tired; not a compliment to our garden).

Exactly! And you have the vision to find them. Thanks Jelle!