~5 year old juniper originally transplanted from my Brother-in-law's house to my front yard about 4 years ago. Other than a little pinch-pruning here and there, it's grown relatively unencumbered since.
I've always favored the Bunjin/Literati style and intended to sculpt this tree that way. Admittedly, I probably should have paid a bit more attention to the way the branches were growing, but I wanted to see where nature would take it and if it would present a different personality than the one I had prescribed for it. Turns out, it hasn't, really. Along with a lot of back-yard cleanup yesterday, I decided that it was about time I started its training. here's how it looked before and after its first major branch removal:
Ran wrote:The pictures have some sort of forced perspective, so it is hard to tell how big the tree is.
good point, although, again, i think it's merely a trick of how small my front yard is... it's maybe a bit over 3' tall. when the top is cut back and wired into position it will probably be less than 2.5'. i should have tried to find a large piece of posterboard or something to put behind it so it would be easier to see, but i don't have anything that size that would stand up well on its own. i suppose a piece of sheetrock might suffice. i could get my daughter or the missus to stand behind it in order to hold it in place.
for the intended final style, there is still a good deal of cutting to be done, but i didn't want traumatize the tree any more than i already have. the bunjin/literati style is particularly known for sparse foliage mainly located at the top third of the tree, with a sinuous, often twisted trunk.
