Hello all,
I have just started my first bonsai with a juniper plant, and so far so good. I have chosen to do an unconventional 'double cascade' with two leading branches on the right hand side. I had a question regarding choosing and styling the sub-branches coming from the Main cascading branches. At the moment it feels a bit messy, but i'm not sure how to resolve it, if needed.
Also please feel free to comment on my first attempt.
Cheers.

JGRA wrote:

Hello all,
I have just started my first bonsai with a juniper plant, and so far so good. I have chosen to do an unconventional 'double cascade' with two leading branches on the right hand side.

While onconventional isn't necessarily bad, you should not try it with your first plant. You'll get the result you have now, which is not unconventional, but just strange. It does not work.

I would remove one of the two branches - or probably shorten the top one. Next, I'd tilt the tree to the right, about 45 degrees, to make the left part the top.
The photo shows one side, but I don't think I'm happy with the movement of the first main branch. You'd have to restyle that anyway.

Your wiring needs improvement. You should wire the branch all the way, so you can shape it the way you want it.

Hello, I agree that the wiring is sort of... sloppy?
But as for the styling, there is a huge "T" between the cascades and the triple apex, very leggy, almost impossible to manage.
Perhaps with some really heavy bending (raffia, rubber tape, guy wires, bending vices, the works) it will get better.
The way I see it now it looks almost like two completely different trees, the left one and the right one.
But IF it were mine I would probably turn the second cascade into the new apex, keep the "main" cascade and chop the rest off .
Air layering junipers is very difficult, but possible. But chopping is the easiest route.
Does it hurt?
Yes.
But...
Make it ugly to make it beautiful in the long run.

Hey, good to see you getting started!

I think you have seen some comments. I am not worried about the wiring. You will improve over time. For a first time wiring it is not that bad. I assume you have wire crossing to the left, to pull the cascading branch aside.

You can improve the look by putting much stronger bends in the cascades. Now they gently flow down. I would make the bend much more extreme. The side branches will need to grow befor eyou cn do much with them. Just let them be.

I am not sure I am a fan of 2 cascading branches. It does not work for me.