Large Tosho Needle Juniper Bonsai – Summer Maintenance January 2018

Needle Juniper After Summer Maintenance January 2018 Project 3

Large Tosho Needle Juniper Bonsai – Summer Maintenance January…

This Large Tosho Needle Juniper Bonsai has been really well fed, given loads of sun and plenty of water with no work done since being repotted. The focus has purely been on the health and vitality of the tree. I followed the basic principle of patience…

But January 2018 is the time for the Summer maintenance which is primarily pruning to shape and removing wire as needed. Here is where the tree started before work commenced –

Needle Juniper January 2018 Before
Needle Juniper January 2018 Before

It looks very full and I’ve been waiting to give it a clean up for a long time now but did not want to rush the process. All good things come to those who wait.

So starting at the apex and working my way down the tree, I started cleaning up the pads. Here’s about half way from the side view –

Needle Juniper Summer Maintenance Progress
About halfway

I am really pleased at the volume of foliage this tree has now but not so keen on the sharpness of the needles. All work was performed using scissors and tweezers so it’s not so bad.

The foliage that had grown had some scale as well as needle and it was pointed out to me that it may be a Juniperus foemina. This may well be as this scale foliage has only occurred in this growing season.

Juniper Needle and Scale Foliage

And after 2 long sessions over 2 days here is the final result –

Needle Juniper After Summer Maintenance January 2018

Just to see how far this tree has come, here is a photo from July 2015 showing how the tree was purchased. It just reinforces my belief that to develop good bonsai you just cannot rush the process. Correct actions taken at the right time will end in a better bonsai.

Needle Juniper July 2015

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *