Kusamura Bonsai Club

A Four Trunk Raft Style Prostrata Juniper

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From Harunobu Tokita and Kathy Shaner's Presentation at the October 2000 Meeting
Thanks to Seiji Shiba for acting as interpreter.

Those who attended were enthralled by the transformation of the demonstration tree and learned much about developing a mature plant: bringing all the elements into harmony and revealing all the best features.

"Don't ruin something just to fit a rule." The demonstration tree was a four trunk raft style Prostrata Juniper. It was originally collected from a nursery where it had been used for years as a stock plant for cuttings.

The best feature was the beautiful and varied curves in the trunks. Nevertheless, there were "faults" that could not be corrected:

  1. Two of the trunks crossed one another and could not be redirected by wiring.
  2. Removal of one of the trunks to conform to the "rule" of uneven numbers would have spoiled the appearance of the bonsai completely by leaving a huge, empty area in the design.

Despite these shortcomings, the tree was so beautiful that it had already been chosen as a future show tree for the GSBF Collection-North. The styling was begun by clearing out weak interior branches and removing foliage growing downward and from branch crotches. (Kathy reminded us that this is the time of year that we should all be cleaning up our conifers in this way to make the remaining branches stronger.) The goal of the styling was to create a light, airy effect without any clots of foliage. Branches were first wired and then their foliage was thinned. One branch in front that obscured the curves of the forward-most tree was wired to the side.

The instructors feared that a large straight branch in the back would break if they put curves into it with wire alone. They first wrapped it with raffia. Then two heavy wires were applied and the bending was successfully performed. The two wires were used to distribute the force over more area along the branch. The ends were used to wire two different branchlets at the end of the main branch. Several other items were noted during the evening:

  • At the ground surface, about one-fourth of the diameter of the raft was left exposed.
  • The presence of many curves in the bonsai suggested that an oval pot should be used.
  • Pollen heads on a juniper suggest that the root ball is too crowded.
  • When a lot of foliage is removed in the fall, it is better to wait until the period March through July to repot.
  • On junipers, foliage should be cut back a little here and there over a long period to prevent the sprouting of juvenile foliage.
  • When going to a workshop, first clean up your tree at home to reveal its basic structure. This will allow you to use your time with the instructor to develop a design.

     

 

Last Updated November 19, 2000.
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